Skip to main content

Measures of Program Effectiveness: Powerful Voices for Kids

Measuring the Impact of the Summer Program for Children

Children who participated in the 2009 Powerful Voices for Kids program strengthened their abilities to think for themselves, communicate effectively using language and technology tools, and use their powerful voices to contribute to the quality of life in their families, their schools, their communities, and the world. During the final week of the program, children entering K-1 through Grade 3 used a paper-and-pencil questionnaire to reflect on their learning experience. Teachers read aloud the statements and children circled various smiley faces indicating their level of agreement.  Table 4 shows children’s reflection on their learning, based on a 5-point scale, which reveals that students had a solid understanding of the knowledge and competencies they had gained.

table 4
Table 5 shows the evidence we gathered from the older children entering Grades 4 – 7. These children completed an online survey about their experience in the Powerful Voices for Kids program during the program’s final week.  Students assessed their skills on a 5-point scale. Data reveal that students had strong levels of agreement that the program had met key goals.

table 5
When we asked children what they liked about the program, children’s responses included:

•    I do a lot of fun stuff and I loved everything.

•    They help you when you need help.

•    They teach you how to work together.

•    We got to express ourselves and have fun and do work at the same time.

 

Table 6 shows children’s assessment of the value of the program.  Twenty-nine children in Grades 4 – 7 were asked to offer feedback on the statements below on a 5-point scale. Results shows high levels that students were aware of how the program blended fun and learning to develop critical thinking, teamwork, creativity and communication skills.
table 6

Education keywords
Population