Monitoring and Evaluation Checklist for K-12 Schools

Purpose

As K-12 schools reopen for in-person instruction, it is important to have systems in place for the monitoring and evaluation of COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Monitoring and evaluation provide practical information for making timely decisions, addressing community needs, and identifying best practices to promote the health, safety, and well-being of students, faculty, and staff.

Intended Audience(s)

State and local education and public health agencies, school and district administrators, and evaluation professionals, in collaboration, may use this checklist when planning for monitoring and evaluation of COVID-19 mitigation strategies implemented in K-12 schools.

The checklist contains fundamental information to support development of a useful and feasible monitoring and evaluation plan.

This checklist is not an exhaustive list, but rather includes key considerations that address how to:

• Determine the scope of a monitoring and evaluation plan
• Develop an evaluation design for the monitoring and evaluation plan
• Identify key indicators and data sources
• Determine how findings may be shared for timely decision-making and transparency

How to use this checklist

This checklist is intended to help the user adapt monitoring and evaluation approaches for local situations and the mitigation strategies that may be implemented in K-12 schools in each community. This checklist may be helpful in navigating available tools and resources, and in developing a high-quality, useful, and feasible monitoring and evaluation plan:

• Review the checklist in its entirety, and other resources for monitoring and evaluation of mitigation strategies in K-12 schools, before developing a tailored monitoring and evaluation framework for your local situation:
  • Considerations for Monitoring and Evaluating Mitigation Strategies Implemented in K-12 Schools
• Share the checklist with key partners, staff, and any individuals involved in planning and implementing the monitoring and evaluation plan
• Discuss each checkpoint to develop practical steps for the monitoring and evaluation needed to inform the successful implementation of the mitigation strategies on COVID-19 outcomes and other relevant outcomes
• Review CDC’s Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health and Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health: A Checklist of Steps and Standardspdf iconexternal icon

1. Determine the scope of your monitoring and evaluation plan

• Assess capacity and resources to conduct monitoring and evaluation in K-12 schools
  • Resource: Monitoring and Evaluation Capacity Assessment Toolkitexternal icon
• Identify the types of mitigation strategies being implemented in your school
  • Resource: CDC’s Considerations for Schools
• Prioritize and focus the goals and objectives of your plan in collaboration with individuals involved implementing in the monitoring and evaluation plan
  • Resource: CDC Evaluation Brief on Writing SMART Objectivespdf icon
• Determine feasibility and resources for monitoring and evaluation and develop a budget, if applicable
  • Resource: Checklist for Developing and Evaluating Evaluation Budgetspdf iconexternal icon
• Determine which aspects of monitoring and evaluation of COVID-19 mitigation strategies implemented in K-12 schools are feasible, useful, and acceptable to your local situation and capacity. Developing a logic model may help focus your monitoring and evaluation
  • Resource: Checklist of Key Considerations for Development of Program Logic Modelspdf iconexternal icon

2. Develop an evaluation design for your monitoring and evaluation plan

• Select an evaluation design that fits your needs, capacity, and context and accurately answers evaluation questions
  • Resources: Evaluation Design Checklist, CDC’s Framework for Program Evaluation Step 3: Focus the Evaluation Design
• Tailor evaluation questions from CDC’s Approach for Monitoring and Evaluation of COVID-19 Community Mitigation Strategies
  • Resources: CDC’s Library Guide on Evaluation Questions, Checklist for Assessing Your Evaluation Questionspdf icon, Considerations for Monitoring and Evaluation of Mitigation Strategies Implemented in K-12 Schools
• Decide what methods (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods) you will use for the evaluation, in collaboration with the Department of Education or local health department.
  • Resource: CDC’s Framework for Program Evaluation Step 4: Gather Credible Evidence

3. Identify key indicators and data sources

• Review considerations and example indicators and data sources
  • Resource: Considerations for Monitoring and Evaluation of Mitigation Strategies Implemented in K-12 Schools
• Consider criteria to use and select indicators based on your evaluation design that will accurately answer your evaluation questions.
  • Resource: Criteria for Selection of High-Performing Indicatorspdf iconexternal icon
• Determine availability and access to existing data sources (e.g., public data sources, data obtained through data use agreement) and whether new data collections are needed and feasible
• If new data collections are needed, consider what is ethical, appropriate, and accessible for the respondents
  • Resource: CDC’s Program Evaluation Resources for Adolescent and School Health (Data Collection & Analysis tab)
• Consider data that could be used for comparing indicators over time or comparing between populations with different characteristics (e.g., race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, and others)

4.  Determine how findings may be shared for timely decision making and transparency

• Identify appropriate data analysis to answer evaluation questions (e.g., comparison, thematic analysis)
  • Resource: CDC’s Framework for Program Evaluation Step 5: Justifying Conclusions
• Determine what information is needed to support decision-making about mitigation strategies (e.g., expand or reduce mitigation, modify operations, or allocate resources)
• Consider the best way to organize and display findings to help stakeholders (e.g., parents, teachers, school administrators, local public health officials, and others) make sense of data
  • Resource: Data Visualization Checklistexternal icon
• Determine when data and findings should be used to inform timely decisions and actions
• Identify the best formats (e.g., dashboard, brief, fact sheet, situational awareness, and others) to share the findings and lessons learned with stakeholders (e.g., parents, teachers, school administrators, local public health officials, and others)
  • Resources: CDC’s Framework for Program Evaluation Step 6: Ensure Use of Evaluation Findings and Share Lessons Learned, CDC’s Program Evaluation Resources for Adolescent and School Health (Share Results and Improve Program tab)

Please refer to CDC Evaluation Resources for a list of resources organized by topics.