In this era of accountability, Extension agents are expected to evaluate their programs for accountability. New Extension agents are not exempt from this expectation. If they lack evaluation capacity, this scenario can contribute to frustration and burnout. Therefore, it is paramount to explore new Extension agents' evaluation challenges and…

Increased demand for accountability has forced Extension educators to evaluate their programs and document program impacts. Due to this situation, some Extension educators may view evaluation simply as the task, imposed on them by administrators, of collecting outcome and impact data for accountability. They do not perceive evaluation as a useful…

The research reported here examined the impact of the Government Performance and Results Act on accountability and evaluation activities in two state Cooperative Extension Systems. Accountability was examined using five dimensions from Koppell's (2005) framework. Findings indicated both Extension systems transferred accountability activities to…

Extension educators need simple and accurate evaluation tools for program evaluation. This article explains how to use aspiration as an outcome indicator in Extension evaluation and introduces a practical evaluation tool. Aspiration can be described as the readiness for change. By recording participants' levels of aspiration, we will be able to…

Properly used, evaluation can be--and should be--more than a tool for measuring performance and establishing value. If evaluation is to be a useful tool of the change agent, he will have to borrow concepts and procedures from educational evaluation and adopt them to his needs. (Author)

Extension programs are traditionally human, personal, and responsive in character. The challenge is to design, implement, and evaluate programs that maintain their humanistic qualities while meeting increased accountability demands. (SK)

The Cooperative Extension Program Evaluation Survey tests seven variables: behavioral change, tax dollars, support, family coping, quality of life, self-esteem, and stress and depression. Tests in family life programs in two states with 244 participants demonstrated its usefulness. (SK)

Participants in cooperative extension family life programs (N=916) identified family strains, coping, quality of life, self-esteem, stress, and willingness to support extension services with tax dollars. The resulting normative data can be used to measure the impact of cooperative extension programs. (SK)