Projects

How can we improve evaluations used for special education programs?

Improving special education programs by improving program evaluations

Challenge

In recent years, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has emphasized the use of evidence-based practices as well as research-driven accountability (RDA). This emphasis has become integral to OSEP’s assessment of its grant programs and of individual grantees.

For OSEP, Westat is providing the technical assistance that grantees and project officers need to ensure that program and project evaluations produce reliable, objective, and rigorous data that can be used to describe the projects’ achievements, help the projects improve, and demonstrate valid results.

Solution

We are providing the following assistance

  • Developing evaluation-related tools and products—such as a tool to help projects demonstrate evidence of results, an evaluation toolkit, and guidelines for working with external evaluators—to help grantees and project officers better understand how to design and conduct high-quality evaluations
  • Using webinars and conference presentations to share evaluation strategies and methods with grantees and project officers
  • Offering an array of supports to help OSEP grantees with their evaluations

Results

OSEP grantees will be better able to

  • Collect, report, analyze, and use high-quality data for project evaluations
  • Design and conduct high-quality evaluations

OSEP project officers will be better able to

  • Monitor the grantees’ progress and achievements
  • Judge the effectiveness of their grant programs

Insights

Deep Dive with Our Experts

view all insights
  • Perspective

    Diverse Journeys: Westat Women in Leadership

    March 2024

    In celebration of Women’s History Month, we’re shining a spotlight on the remarkable women leaders at Westat. Their diverse backgrounds, experiences, and insights have helped…

  • Perspective

    Spotlight on Maternal Mental Health

    March 2024

    Mental health conditions are the most common complications during pregnancy and the postpartum period. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identifies mental health…

  • Perspective

    Access to Birthing-Friendly Facilities for Maternal Care

    February 2024

    Preventable maternal mortality in the U.S. has grown considerably and spurred the federal government into action, most noticeably with the development of the White House…

Projects

Keep Reading

view all projects

How can we help?

We welcome messages from job seekers, collaborators, and potential clients and partners.

Get in Contact

Want to work with us?

You’ll be in great company.

Explore Careers
Back to Top