Preparing for Report Writing

Summarizing information from interviews is an unstructured activity which can be quite intimidating at first, but this information contributes to a vivid impression of how a program operates. Holt (1995) recommends that the evaluation team all take turns sharing the job in first reviewing entry-exit learner interviews or open ended written surveys to glean general impressions in this review.

Next, follow two steps. First, each member should identify or create a set of topics which seem to represent learner areas of interest/concern about the program or their progress. With consensus on the set of topics, the next step is to write a summary based on the topics, using selected descriptive statements which the learners offered in their interviews. Include the team's conclusions about trends or patterns. When this qualitative information is supplemented by summary information (checklists, portfolio based progress notes, observations) and analyzed across the EPE time frame, changes in participation, literacy activity, and achievement levels can be noted and included for program summary reporting.