Evaluation Center Projects

Project EXCEL (Expertise for Classroom Equity through Literacy)

Contracting Agency: UK College of Education, Department of Curriculum & Instruction

 

Evaluation Plan Summary:  This project provides professional development for in-service classroom teachers to support learning and achievement for English Learners. The project will be evaluated through a cluster-randomized trial to determine its effectiveness for teachers and students using the Culturally Responsive Instruction Observation Protocol (CRIOP) as a PD framework for classroom teaching and family literacy.

Kentucky’s Statewide Full-Service Community Schools Program State Scale-Up

Contracting Agency: US Department of Education (Prichard Committee)

Evaluation Plan Summary:  This evaluation will provide formative feedback to Prichard as they implement a coaching model for leadership in Full-Service Community Schools. The evaluation includes a study on Fidelity of Implementation and Impact.

Primary Care Training Enhancement Program

Contracting Agency:  University of Kentucky, College of Medicine & College of Nursing

Evaluation Plan Summary: The goals of the Primary Care Training Enhancement Program are to incorporate new content on health disparities, team-based care, and population health analytics methodologies into existing Quality Health Care Curriculum for residents in Lexington, KY and Hazard, KY; for medical students; and for nurse practitioner students. The evaluation will focus on outcomes related to increasing confidence, knowledge, and awareness related to working in interprofessional teams and working with underserved populations. Evaluation tools include focus groups, a multi-rater assessment tool to rate individual student/resident growth, pre/post surveys, and fidelity documentation.

#iCANEndtheTrend Youth Advocacy Program

Contracting Agency:  Kentucky Department of Public Health (KDPH)

Evaluation Plan Summary: Led by KHP Professor Melinda Ickes, the evaluation of KDPH’s youth advocacy training program will assess youth attitudes toward training, advocacy, and tobacco policies. The Evaluation Center will provide support with surveys, instrument development, data analysis, and final report development.

Evaluation of Central Appalachian Regional Education Research Center (CARERC)

Contracting Agency: Central Appalachian Regional Education Research Center (CARERC)

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: Utilizing an evaluation plan developed in conjunction with the CARERC, the Evaluation Center will assist in the analysis of CARERC collected data and with the development, distribution, and analysis of stakeholder survey data including alumni, employers, and participants in continuing education. Analysis will be utilized by CARERC advisory board as part of annual decision making.

Evaluation of Southeast Center for Agricultural Injury and Health Prevention (SCAHIP)

Contracting Agency: Central Appalachian Regional Education Research Center (CARERC)

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The Evaluation Center is currently in the process of assisting the SCAHIP team in developing a multi-year evaluation plan for their upcoming grant renewal. Past evaluation work includes review of past evaluation work, development of progress reports, and engagement surveys with stakeholders.

Producing STEM Teachers for Urban and Rural Schools in Kentucky (NOYCE)

Contracting Agency: University of Kentucky College of Education STEM Education

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The University of Kentucky – New Opportunities Yielding Classroom Excellence (UK-NOYCE) recruits UK juniors and seniors in STEM fields to become credentialed secondary education STEM teachers with the goal of increasing student achievement and increasing K-12 students to pursue STEM majors and careers.

From a Carbon Centric to Circular Economy: Generating Advanced Manufacturing Excellence for Change (GAME Change) for the Southeastern Commerce Corridor (Engines)

Contracting Agency: National Science Foundation

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: This project aims to build a circular economy by advancing innovations in next generation manufacturing across the local industries. The evaluation center has been brought on part of the leadership team and will help guide conversations around strategic goal alignment and planning.

Isaiah House Workforce Training and Placement

Contracting Agency: Isaiah House Incorporated                                                                                            

Evaluation Plan Summary: The evaluation supports the Isaiah House Project Director in all data collection and performance measurement activities so that SAMHSA can meet its obligations under the Government Performance and Results (GPRA) Modernization Act of 2010, ensures all data elements and reports to enable SAMHSA to determine the impact of the program on opioid use, and opioid-related morbidity and mortality, reports client-level data on elements including but not limited to: demographic characteristics, substance use, diagnosis(es) services received, types of MAT received; length of stay in treatment; employment status, criminal justice involvement, and housing, and tracks all gaps and activities of the statewide Recovery Network and the unduplicated number of individuals receiving job linkages, trainings and employment opportunities through this grant.

Healthy Tree App Pilot

Contracting Agency: University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service                                                                                                                            

Evaluation Plan Summary: Analyze survey data and assist with the preparation of manuscripts from a project.

College of Education: Quality Assurance System Accreditation (QAS)

Contracting Agency: University of Kentucky College of Education

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The Evaluation Center has been contracted by the College of Education to assist in the development of the College’s Quality Assurance System to meet Standard 5 of Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) requirements. This five-year project will focus on the validation of college-wide assessments; the development, distribution, and analysis of surveys; the development of the overall quality assurance system; and on providing feedback to the college as they progress toward the next accreditation visit.

Johnson County Second Chance Act: Co-occurring Disorders Substance Abuse Treatment Program

Contracting Agencies: Mountain Comprehensive Care Center and Johnson County Fiscal Court

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: This project centered on enhanced treatment services for incarcerated adult offenders re-entering the community with co-occurring behavioral health problems. The evaluation employed client-level quantitative intake and follow-up data collection and analysis, as well as qualitative stakeholder data collection and analysis.

Johnson County Second Chance Act: Family-Based Offender Substance Abuse Treatment Program

Contracting Agencies: Mountain Comprehensive Care Center and Johnson County Fiscal Court

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The project’s primary objective was to provide enhanced treatment services for incarcerated adult offenders re-entering the community who have substance abuse disorders or co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders and who are parents of minor children. The evaluation employed key informant qualitative data collection and analysis to explore how inmates learn coping strategies and use available resources to reduce substance use and enhance parenting skills. Client-level quantitative intake and follow-up data were analyzed to examine outcomes.

Pike County Drug Court Expansion and Enhancement Project

Co-Funding Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

 

Contracting Agency: Administrative Office of the Courts

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: A process evaluation, this evaluation examined the expansion and quality of evidence-based services offered by the Pike County Circuit Drug Court. The evaluation of outcome measures included client-level data analysis to examine behavioral health changes over time using Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) data at intake, 6 months’ post-intake, and at program discharge.

Fort Campbell Military Base Consortium Evaluation

Contracting Agencies: Montgomery County, Tennessee and Christian County, Kentucky School Systems

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The evaluation examines client-level intervention outcomes for military-dependent students in the development of a parent engagement model.

Christian County Kentucky School District Evaluation

Contracting Agency: Christian County KY School Systems

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The Evaluation Center examines client-level intervention outcomes for the district’s military-dependent students.

Project PLACE (Partnerships for Learning, Achievement, and Classroom Engagement)

Contracting Agency: UK College of Education, Department of Curriculum & Instruction

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The evaluation will examine progress toward project outcomes related to teacher efficacy for culturally and linguistically responsive instructional practices, growth in student achievement levels, higher levels of engagement of families and community members, teachers’ sustained involvement with families and communities, and sustained teacher leadership.

ECTC Center of Excellence for Veteran Student Success

Contracting Agency: Kentucky Community & Technical College System, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: Implementation and outcome evaluation utilizes quantitative and qualitative methods to gauge the extent to which the new Center of Excellence for Veteran Student Success provides coordinated and comprehensive services and contributes to the growth in enrollment, persistence, and completion rates for veteran students.

Strengthening Institutions: Elizabethtown Community & Technical College First Year Experience Program

Contracting Agency: Kentucky Community & Technical College System, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The ECTC First Year Experience (FYE) program evaluation assesses the impact of the FYE program on retention and student success at ECTC.

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grant

Contracting Agency: Elizabethtown Community and Technical College

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The three-phased evaluation plan includes a pre-implementation review of the contract agency’s current intervention model, a longitudinal comparative case study of program implementation for formative assessment, and a participant cohort outcome evaluation utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data.

Gateway Region Community and Technical College Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grant

Contracting Agency: Gateway Community and Technical College

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The program’s primary goal is to enhance and accelerate career pathway preparation in logistics, manufacturing, energy, and heating and cooling fields by providing academic and career coaching in cooperation with workforce development partners, community agencies, and industry employers. The Center will employ a case study of program implementation in its formative assessment, while summative evaluation efforts include participant cohort analysis of employment and wages.

FLEXspace at Gateway Community and Technical College

Contracting Agency:  Kentucky Community & Technical College System, Gateway Community and Technical College

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The goals of the FLEXspace project include enhancing the current model of developmental education courses and streamlining existing academic and non-academic services to meet the needs of students to eliminate unintentional institutional barriers. Specific interventional objectives include increasing student success (passing courses and accumulating credit hours), retention, and completion. Utilizing regression discontinuity and randomized control trial designs, the evaluation will determine the impact the project has on students’ grades, retention, cumulative credits earned, and completion rates.

Family and Community Medicine

Contracting Agency:  University of Kentucky, College of Medicine & College of Nursing

Evaluation Plan Summary: The project seeks to improve access to primary care physicians in rural and underserved Appalachian Kentucky by training future physicians to practice in rural and underserved settings. The evaluation will use a longitudinal, mixed-method technique to study processes and outcomes. Resident and residency graduate knowledge, confidence and behaviors will be analyzed with repeated administration of quantitative measures. Qualitative analyses will be conducted on data from interviews and critical reflection assignments. Qualitative and quantitative data will also be gathered from residency graduates and their employers.

Kentucky Statewide K12 Principal Survey

Contracting Agency: Kentucky Association of Colleges for Teacher Education                               

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The goal of the Kentucky Statewide K12 Principal Survey Pilot Project is to test the efficacy of developing and implementing a statewide K12 principal survey designed to provide all Education Preparation Providers (EPP) that participate in the Kentucky Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (KACTE) KITEP group with K12 principal feedback on the preparation of the EPP’s graduating teachers The evaluation tests the efficacy of developing and implementing a statewide K12 principal survey designed to provide all Education Preparation Providers (EPP) that participate in the Kentucky Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (KACTE) KITEP group with K12 principal feedback on the preparation of the EPP’s graduating teachers.

Clinical Apprenticeship to Prepare Teachers for the Elementary School (CAPT-E)

Contracting Agencies: Eastern Kentucky University College of Education and Corbin Independent School District

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The evaluation will provide a holistic perspective of the CAPT-E clinical model and its impact on teacher candidates, students, and elementary school teachers and faculty. Teacher candidate data include multiple measures from program entry through placement. Process evaluation examines the degree to which the program was implemented as it was planned utilizing administrative document review, evaluation of EKU and participating school operational processes, and analysis of stakeholder perceptions. Outcomes evaluation, including a pre-post survey design and a nonequivalent group designs study, will gauge program impacts and the extent to which program goals have been met.

Designing Mathematics and Science Project-Based Environments: Spanning Astronomical and Atomic Spaces (SAAS)

Contracting Agency: University of Kentucky College of Education

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: This project provides participating districts with professional development on designing curriculum that integrates the Next Generation Learning Standards, the Kentucky Core Academic Standards, and the Common Core Standards. The evaluation of the training program, through surveys, stakeholder interviews, and direct observation, considers both quantitative data of specific outcome measures and qualitative data to contextualize quantitative results. Quantitative data include pre-post reasoning assessments and participant satisfaction ratings, while qualitative data illuminate project barriers and progress.

Project-Based Investigations on Water Quality in the Kentucky River Watershed

Contracting Agency:  University of Kentucky College of Education and the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The evaluation of this professional development initiative employs surveys, direct observation, and secondary data collection and analysis to examine the initiative’s impacts on the implementation and utilization of Project-Based Investigations in middle school classrooms.

Read to Achieve

Contracting Agency: Collaborative Center for Literacy Development

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The evaluation, guided by legislative requirements, focuses on the efficacy of the Read to Achieve program in its objective to ensure students’ reading proficiency by the end of the primary grades. The evaluation utilizes a quasi-experimental, mixed-methods approach to provide a holistic, contextual perspective of the project. Data sources include surveys, state sponsored assessment and intervention databases, semi-structured phone interviews, and structured observations.

Kentucky Invests in Developing Success (KIDS) NOW Early Care and Education Evaluation

Contracting Agency: Kentucky Early Childhood Advisory Council Evaluation

 

Plan Summary: The Evaluation Center followed a cohort of children through first grade classrooms as part of a longitudinal study, including data collection and analysis of children’s academic outcomes and social-emotional skills.

Research and Evaluation Services for the Vulnerability Assessment Instrument

Contracting Agency: Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Evaluation

 

Plan Summary: The project involved an evaluation of the reliability and validity of the vulnerability assessment instrument utilized by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice to help identify those at risk of being physically or sexually assaulted in custody and those juveniles that are likely to carry out these types of assaults.

NASA Fellowship Program

Contracting Agency: NASA Kentucky and Bluegrass Community and Technical College

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The evaluation examines the process of initiative implementation and explores changes in student knowledge, self-efficacy, and perceptions of STEM careers that may result from participation in a mentoring and instructional content-focused pilot study developed by NASA Kentucky and the Bluegrass Community and Technical College.

Geopaths

Contracting Agency: University of Kentucky Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the University of Kentucky College of Education Leadership Studies, in cooperation with Fayette County, Kentucky’s STEAM Academy

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The project’s primary objective is to test a model of cooperation between a geosciences department and a local early college high school (ECHS) designed to increase recruitment and enhance retention of a diverse body of students. The Center conducts project implementation evaluation as well as outcome evaluation to examine the impact of program exposure, internships, and dual enrollment.

Research Analytics Using the Higher Education Research and Development Survey (HERD) to Impact Institutional Strategy

Contracting Agency: National Science Foundation                                                                                  

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: This project examines best practices in benchmarking using National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics’ annual Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey data that inform decision making and strategy of institutional leaders. The evaluation includes aligning benchmarking methods with institutional mission and values and developing survey instrumentation in order to provide additional resources for continuous improvement.

Contracting Agency: University of Kentucky College of Education STEM Education Laboratory

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The project’s primary objective is to expose aspiring K-12 educators to research involving STEM teaching and learning. The Evaluation Center will assess student outcomes through pre-post test surveys and pre-post interview data.

“If I Had a Hammer” Program and Curriculum Evaluation

Funding/Contracting Agency: Kloiber Foundation

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: “If I Had a Hammer” is a hands-on, technology-driven math curriculum that is intended to teach elementary school students fractions and other core mathematical concepts related to fractions. As part of its evaluation of the “If I Had a Hammer” program, the Evaluation Center will collect observation data; interview teachers, administrators, and students about their perceptions of the program; survey students about their confidence in math; and use institutional data to analyze programmatic impact.

Contracting Agency: Mountain Comprehensive Care Center

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The AAFT program is designed to expand treatment services to adolescents with substance use or co-occurring mental health problems in the Central Appalachian region. A process evaluation, the Evaluation Center’s evaluation methods included staff and participant qualitative data collection and analysis. Client-level behavioral health measures were collected and assessed at intake, 3, 6, and 12 months’ post-intake.

Contracting Agency: Kentucky Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The evaluation reported on various performance measures, including housing and employment status, criminal justice system involvement, abstinence from use, access to services, service retention, and social connectedness; with the goal of enabling the contracting agency to report on key outcome measures relating to the project population’s substance use and mental health.

Contracting Agency: Kentucky Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The project focused on enhancing services for youth ages 12 to 18 that are eligible for court diversion or who may have substance use issues or co-occurring mental health and substance use issues. Pre-post test stakeholder data were collected and analyzed to evaluate interagency collaboration, workforce development, and financial mapping; while client-level data at intake and 3 and 6 months’ post-intake were utilized to examine treatment outcomes for youth with co-occurring disorders.

Child Care Aware (CCA)

Contracting Agency: University of Kentucky Human Development Institute

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The Evaluation Center developed and employed phone and web-based surveys to examine stakeholder perceptions of the initiative’s structural changes, including evaluation of interactions with CCA technical assistance and training services.

First-Year Engineering (FYE) Program

Contracting Agency: University of Kentucky College of Engineering

 

Evaluation Plan Summary: The purpose of the FYE evaluation is to assess student and faculty perceptions of the FYE program. Data collected includes student and alumni surveys, faculty surveys, and faculty focus groups.