Literacy Basics - Community Literacy of Ontario

You will most likely find information about your outcome targets from existing program documents. For example, we have already talked about how the LSP probably includes projected targets for learner numbers and specific target groups. But don’t forget to also refer to the annual funding proposal – after all, we are expected to identify targets in that document! You don’t have to create new targets – just refer back to what you already committed to.

As mentioned above, exit statistics are a great place to find outcome indicators. You can get a lot of information from the mandatory exit survey, but you can also use the exit survey to ask other questions … you are not restricted to just asking six questions! For example, you could ask learners to identify one thing they can do at exit that they were not able to do when they started. Gathering this information from a number of learners could provide a very valuable marketing tool!

Northern Connections Adult Learning Centres has put together a very comprehensive exit survey. You can link to the full document here. In their survey, they asked the standard questions included on the MTCU Exit Survey, but they also asked if the student’s training plan was geared to his or her needs and if the student was given enough opportunities to demonstrate skills. They asked what barriers the student faced (and provided examples) and why the student left the program.

Once you have decided which outcomes you want to evaluate, you can include related questions on the exit survey. Granted, this won’t give you the information you need right now because it will take time to collect the data, but if you plan ahead, you can prepare for your next evaluation.

The exit surveys can help you identify how many learners (and what percent) indicate that they met their goals or that they were satisfied with the hours the agency is open. Although actual learner satisfaction isn’t an outcome in itself, it is still important information to report on, and it can be a contributing factor towards outcomes.

Another good source of information is the IMS where you can pull out the data concerning goal completion and “where are they now?”

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