With generous contributions from the Altria Group, The Keystone Center has initiated a two-phase evaluation of the Youth Policy Summit program. Collaborative Research Associates (CRA) is conducting the program evaluation and simultaneously working with YPS program staff members to build their capacity for ongoing evaluation of YPS. We are so grateful for this opportunity to better understand and improve the YPS program.

The primary metric of success for this program is to demonstrate positive outcomes on student participants in terms of their collaboration, complex communication, and non-routine problem solving skills, all of which are identified as essential 21st century learning skills. The evaluation is also measuring changes in the teaching methods and content knowledge of the teachers who attend Summits with their students. By impacting classroom teaching methods, we can influence many additional students in current and future classrooms over the years. Finally, the evaluation is measuring the performance of the program itself to strengthen it over time.

Phase One Evaluation: Phase One of the Youth Policy Summit program outcome evaluation began in March 2010. The primary goals of Phase One evaluation were to describe in-depth the program context, intended outcomes, and implementation strategies as well as to begin the measurement of program outcomes for both students and teachers.

Phase One of the YPS Evaluation demonstrated some interesting and exciting results! Please choose a file from the list below to find out more:

• YPS Evaluation Phase One Executive Summary
• YPS Evaluation Phase One Full Report

Phase Two Evaluation: Phase Two of the Youth Policy Summit program outcome evaluation was completed in December 2011. Phase Two evaluation results combine results from multiple years and timeframes, creating stronger conclusions about the impact that Youth Policy Summit programming has on participants. Please download the report for full results.

• YPS Evaluation Phase Two Executive Summary
• YPS Evaluation Phase Two Full Report

Continuing Evaluation: A primary goal of the evaluation process was evaluation training and capacity building for Keystone staff, so that Youth Policy Summit evaluation monitoring will continue after the completion of the initial Altria grant. Keystone staff will continue to evaluate YPS programs through participant and alumni surveys and feedback in an effort to continually improve and enhance the YPS experience.

Please contact us if you have any questions about our evaluation process or to request a printed version of any of our evaluation reports.