Community Evaluation

It is important that communities that are implementing Let’s Read are supported to undertake an evaluation. Each community is provided with a Community Guide and this includes a range of suggestions about how Let’s Read could be evaluated. Each community can tailor their evaluation to meet their needs.

Why is a community evaluation strategy needed?

When considerable time, effort and funds are being put into delivering Let’s Read in your community, it is essential to have an evaluation strategy to let you know:

• If the processes of implementing the Let’s Read program are working; this is evaluating whether the program is delivered in the way it was designed to be delivered.
• If the program is having an impact on families and literacy behaviour.

By evaluating both the processes and the impact you can highlight the areas that need change or modification. You can also identifying the areas that are working well and celebrate these.

By identifying areas for change and areas of success, you have the greatest opportunity to bring about a long-term change in parents’ behaviour in relation to early literacy activities, and increase the literacy standards for children in your community.

There are two steps in evaluating the introduction of any new program:

• Step 1 is to assess or measure what is happening before the program begins, ("base-line” data)
• Step 2 is to repeat the same measures to see if the program has made a change in the target audience after it has been introduced, (“post-intervention” data)

Evaluation resources and processes are currently under review. Please direct any queries about local evaluation resources and support to evaluation@letsread.com.au.

There will be more news on evaluation coming soon.