CYP Now - Measure Once, Cut Twice: Using Data for Continuous Improvement and Impact Evaluation in Education Programs

This research paper describes a “quality to outcomes” (Q-O) evaluation design that was used to evaluate out-of-school time provision for young people in the US.

Measures of practice quality are at the core of the Q-O design. Picture: Christian Schwier/Adobe Stock

The Q-O design offers an alternative to “gold standard” counterfactual studies, such as randomised control trials, by integrated impact evaluation and continuous improvement within the same youth organisation. Through combining measures of quality and outcomes, the approach can offer detailed information about practice that is needed for continuous quality improvement alongside insight to help understand impact.

Aims and methodology

The purpose of Q-O design is twofold: first, to identify and differentiate subgroups of provision for young people according to the quality of practice that is provided; then, to compare the social and emotional skill growth of individual young people across those subgroups. In other words, the evaluation design assesses “skill growth by level of quality” across a cohort of youth organisations.

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