ACET, Inc. Blog

Although there are multiple ways to summarize evaluation findings, I wanted to share three valuable pointers that ACET has found to write good evaluation summaries.

1. Don’t start a sentence with an actual number (e.g., “50 respondents said…”). Instead, restate this as “A total of 50 respondents…” or at a minimum spell out 50 if starting a sentence with a number is critical. This is the correct method per APA style and it helps to reduce confusion for readers.

2. Avoid the use of the word “it” to describe an action or a finding (e.g., “It was described as…”). Be as specific as possible so that the “it” being discussed at any given point is clearly delineated (e.g., “Participants described the program as…”).

3. Reserve the use of “I” or “we” to describe the process used in analyzing data (e.g., “I reviewed all the quotes and highlighted the corresponding themes…”). Instead, restructure the sentence as “All quotes were reviewed and corresponding themes highlighted,” for example. This makes for a more professional tone, and keeps the focus of the evaluation summary where it belongs, on what is being evaluated.

Stella

Please join us in welcoming our new Administrative Assistant, Kate Price. Prior to joining ACET, Kate provided support in multiple fields including outdoor recreation, volunteer coordination, and public schools. She also studied visual communications and completed her design internship in one of Minnesota’s largest park districts. Kate looks forward to furthering her career and life experience in the areas of communications, education, and social justice. In her spare time, she sings in a band, drags her boyfriend to an almost criminal amount of family get-togethers, and drinks a lot of coffee.

Last week, we posted about document sharing resources that organizations may find useful. This week, we would like to follow up with a post sharing online resources that you may appreciate.

Tagxedo is a free program that creates tag clouds, also known as word clouds, in visually-appealing images and styles. This resource can be particularly useful in helping to analyze and display qualitative data. Users simply copy and paste all their prose into the text box. From there, the program automatically removes common words such as “and” or “so,” and allows people to select words from a list that they want to include. Users can choose an image that best depicts the text subject(s) or upload an image of their own. They can also create tag clouds from a blog, a Twitter ID, a news story, or a variety of other online sources by uploading a link rather than pasting in text. The program will require you to install Microsoft Silverlight in order to run, but the program is free, simple, and entirely safe. See below for the poem “Peanut-Butter Sandwich” by Shel Silverstein.

Prezi is a free web-based presentation application that uses a single page instead of multiple slides. All information (i.e., text, images) is put on one canvas and then grouped into frames. This allows the user to create a nonlinear “story” of sorts. The presenter can create a path for the frames or choose to select a section at will. Although the application is web-based, the user can download the presentation at any time if they don’t have an internet connection. The basic version of Prezi is free to use, but must be published on the Prezi site; however, private licenses can be purchased.

Another presentation tool, MindMeister, allows users to create a mind map to show information. Users can change font size and color, insert images or icons, add links, and rearrange spaces as needed. The map fits as many paths as you need for any given area, automatically readjusting to make space. Each caption and path is easy to create – click “add” to create a new path, “delete” to remove an unwanted path, or move a path by clicking on the caption and dragging it to a different path. MindMeister does only allow three free maps before you have to buy a membership to use the program, but the membership is low-cost at $4.92 per month. See below for my example that, again, highlights peanut butter sandwiches.

What tools or programs do you find most useful in your work? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Cassie

The ACET team posed for new company photos last week, which include a team photo for the first time. We were very pleased with the results and have posted our new smiling faces on the ACET team page – feel free to check them out.

We are looking to add to our team! We have an opening at ACET and would love to review your application. To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to stella@acetinc.com.

The concept of race and the associated terminology has altered over time. Dr. Michael Rodriguez, associate professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota, sent me a very intriguing example of the evolution of the race item on the U.S. Census. The census is administered every 10 years, and almost every administration seems to contain a variation in the language surrounding race. The full pictorial history of its evolution can be found here: http://racebox.org/

Some interesting things of note:

1. “Colored persons” started to be counted in 1830, and then only if they were classified as “free” (although the three-fifths compromise, allowing African slaves to count as three-fifths of a person for representation and distribution of taxes, began in 1787).
2. The distinction of counting only “free” people disappears after 1850 (the Civil War began in 1861).
3. The item specifically concerning “…of Spanish/Hispanic origin or descent” begins in 1980.
4. Also beginning in 1980, “color” (the color of a person’s skin) is no longer affiliated with race in the item stem.

Anything interesting you see? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Joseph

As you may know, organic food has become a craze in our culture. Organic food has gotten a lot of attention in recent years – for good reason. Some studies, such as the 97 studies reviewed by the Nutrition Research Center, have shown that food that has been produced organically often has higher amounts of nutrients. Other studies, such as reported in Science Daily, have found little difference between organic food and non-organic foods. Mayo Clinic states that the answer remains unclear.

Just how does a product become classified as “organic?” Organic products have some strict agricultural requirements that must be met. To meet organic requirements for crops, products be grown in safe soil and have no modifications. Farmers cannot use any synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes (GMOs), petroleum-based fertilizers, or sewage sludge-based fertilizers to help the crops grow or sustain. For organic livestock, the animals must have access to the outdoors and be fed with organic feed. As with the crops, the animals cannot be given antibiotics, growth hormones, or any animal-by-products. Bear in mind, however, that “organic” means that the product only has to be 95% organic, whereas “100% organic” requires all products to be made by natural means alone.

I’m a budget-conscious shopper, but there are certain items that I prefer to spend the extra money and buy organic. For example, I buy organic milk, which is at least double the price of non-organic milk. I choose to spend more on this because organic milk is one of the foods that has been found to have significant health benefits. In 2008, Newcastle University released a study that found that organic milk had higher amounts of beneficial fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins. In fact, one beneficial fatty acid was found to be 60% higher in organic milk than in non-organic milk. I also find that I prefer the taste of organic milk.

Not all products, however, are worth buying organic. You may have heard of the “Dirty Dozen” and the “Clean Fifteen.” According to the Environmental Working Group, there are certain foods that contain higher amounts of pesticides than others. Certainly it is worth taking the time to investigate which foods would be better for you to purchase organically and which foods are not worth the extra effort. Check out the list here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/the-dirty-dozen-and-clean-15-of-produce/616/

What’s your take on organic foods?

Cassie

Do you have questions about program evaluation? Is there something specific you’d like to see covered on our blog? We encourage you to send us your questions or suggestions. Feel free to leave a comment on any blog post, or alternately, you can contact Cassie at cassie@acetinc.com or at 952-922-1811.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton recently released his “7-Point Plan for Achieving Excellence” in education. The seven points in the plan focuses on three main areas: improve state education funding; focus more resources and raise the profile of Early Childhood Education; and narrow the achievement gap.

Dayton spoke about the plan on his website, stating, “Education was key to our State’s past prosperity, and it will be key to our future prosperity. An excellent public education system will be the driving force behind job creation in Minnesota. We must prepare today’s students for the jobs and the industries of the future, and thus we must make important innovations in our public school system. With this plan, we will take what is good with Minnesota’s K-12 education and make it even better, to ensure every student full opportunity to succeed in this ever more competitive global economy.” (http://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/pressreleasedetail.jsp?id=9625)

Specifically, the seven points are as follows:

1. Funding education for the future – including investing in early childhood and kindergarten and maintaining efforts to close the achievement gap. Part of this mandate calls for establishing a Governor’s Commission on Better School Funding.

2. Better early childhood education – by targeting all-day kindergarten, expanding the K-12 system to a pre-K-12 system, and implementing school readiness standards.

3. Close the gap – through setting accountability targets to close achievement gaps and establishing a Governor’s Award for Excellence in Education and Governor’s Achievement Gap Innovation Fund.

4. Reading well by third grade – by launching a statewide literacy campaign, molding accountability standards to meet this goal, and adopting literacy standards for pre-K-3.

5. Support teaching for better schools –  setting alternative pathways to teacher licensure, establishing a statewide teacher performance evaluation, development system, and support networks, and supporting early childhood teacher observation and development.

6. Better testing for better results – including developing assessments for learning (i.e., formative assessments: see our former post on formative assessment), establishing a Test Reduction Task Force, and including growth as an accountability measure.

7. A department of education that provides educational leadership and support – by repositioning the Minnesota Department of Education to support teachers, schools, and districts; reauthorizing the Statewide Early Childhood Advisory Council and reestablishing the Children’s Cabinet; and charging the Commissioner of Education with leadership of early childhood initiatives.

To read the full press release, follow this link: http://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/pressreleasedetail.jsp?id=9625

For an outline of the seven-point plan, follow this link: http://mn.gov/governor/images/Better-Schools-For-A-Better-Minnesota.pdf

Joseph

Although we focus on research and evaluation tips or grant leads on this blog, we also understand the need for some lighthearted posts – that’s why we occasionally have staff book reviews. Many of you may know that I majored in English in college, which would lead you to the obvious assumption that I like to read. You may not know, however, that one of my all-time favorite authors is Dr. Seuss. My parents introduced me to Dr. Seuss when I was a very young child – I even taught myself to read using Dr. Seuss’ books when I was 3! His works stuck with me as I grew up. To this day, my favorite Dr. Seuss book is “The Sneetches” and I would give anything to own a one-piece Sneetch pajamas!

You can imagine my interest when I discovered “The Seuss, the Whole Seuss, and Nothing But the Seuss,” by Charles D. Cohen. By reading the book, I learned how Theodor Seuss Geisel gradually adapted his pen name to Dr. Seuss after he began publishing in “Judge” magazine (he was adding mock authority to a cartoon he drafted). I learned that Dr. Seuss had many varying explanations for his odd characters, so one rarely knew the accurate story of how he created them. Dr. Seuss was well-known among his schoolmates and peers as a clever and witty person – in fact, he was penning whole pieces of parody when he was only 14 years old. Although I knew that Dr. Seuss had done far more than authoring children’s books, I found that he also created adult books, publications, illustrations, paintings, sculptures, screenplays, and more! And, of course, I learned the history of “The Sneetches.” Dr. Seuss created the characters to promote equality in a world of intolerance after seeing multiple court cases involving racial segregation.

Cohen’s detailed biography of Dr. Seuss proved to be an interesting, and informative read for any Seuss bibliophile curious about the life and ideas of the popular author. The book is also filled with pictures and illustrations – some of which were nearly lost and required much research and dedication on the behalf of Cohen. Cohen’s book is particularly useful because much of the information out there is cursory or even incorrect. I appreciate that I now have a deeper understanding of a man who has influenced my entire life through his works.

Cassie

We are pleased to introduce our new Research Assistant, Audrey Peer. Audrey brings with her a wealth of knowledge in health policy research. She provides research support to our team in the development of measures to monitor progress, organization of data sets, and analyses using quantitative data. Currently, she is completing her Master’s degree in Public Policy at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota. In her spare time, Audrey likes to run, bake, spend time with friends, and explore new restaurants around the cities.

Please join us in welcoming Audrey to our team!