Office for Victims of Crime
Community-level Replication Guide
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Step 6. Evaluating the Project’s Impact

Assess Training Effectiveness

tipsTips From the Field

Staff from the Sexual Assault Response Network of Central Ohio learned to be creative with pre- and post-testing during short trainings. Sometimes, they asked the questions verbally as part of the presentation. They kept the process simple and quick: one to three questions, allowing a maximum of 5 minutes for pre-testing and 5 minutes for post-testing. A plus of pre-testing verbally is that staff members can adjust the training based on audience answers.

You can evaluate the effectiveness of your training sessions through pre- and post-tests and through class evaluations.

Pre- and Post-Tests

One way to measure whether people are getting the information you hope they are from your training sessions is to analyze what participants know before and after the class. This can be accomplished through pre- and post-class surveys. If you use this method, develop separate pre- and post-tests for your different audiences (e.g., persons with disabilities, disability and victim service providers, law enforcement).

Evaluation Surveys

To collect feedback on training sessions or services, use evaluation surveys. Evaluation surveys might ask people (1) to rate the effectiveness of the training; (2) if they learned new information and, if so, which information was the most helpful; (3) how they will use the information; and (4) for additional comments. Evaluation forms will not measure what people learned during the session accurately, but they can give you feedback about your training methods and the information presented. You can also send followup evaluation surveys several weeks or months after the training to rate the ongoing effectiveness of the information you presented.