Evaluation Efforts

Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG)—independent evaluator of Echoes and Reflections since 2005—concluded in its Executive Summary: “It is clear that Echoes and Reflections meets a need and fills a gap for many public, private, and parochial educators by providing materials to implement and enhance a comprehensive Holocaust education program. The Anti-Defamation League, USC Shoah Foundation Institute, and Yad Vashem have developed a strong product that has been successfully disseminated thus far.  Further research and refinement will help solidify its niche as a unique and premier educational resource.”

These conclusions were reached after collecting and analyzing data from eleven separate formative and summative evaluation activities conducted with 200 students and more than 300 educators. The most recent activity, a classroom study conducted by GRG in spring 2007, revealed that students were most impressed with the video testimony and the photographs and pictures included in the curriculum and said they will most remember how people were treated and the firsthand accounts they viewed. As indicated through pre- and post-survey instruments, after using Echoes and Reflections, student attitudes reflected a better appreciation for the importance of studying the Holocaust, its relevance to their own lives, and the need to act against stereotyping and racism. Teachers indicated that their students learned more about the power and responsibilities of an individual and the consequences of remaining a bystander.

All educators reported that they were “quite satisfied” with the content and organization of the curriculum and found it easy to navigate within and across lessons. The visual history testimony was described as easy to incorporate and engaging.

In addition, participants complete evaluations at all regional and national training programs so that Echoes and Reflections staff can gauge participants’ satisfaction with various aspects of the workshop. A sample of 5,803 evaluations representing 257 programs reveals that 93 percent of workshop participants rated the facilitation of the workshops as “very good” or “excellent”; 98 percent rated the curriculum as “very good” or “excellent”; 98 percent rated the video clips associated with the curriculum as “very good” or “excellent”; and 96 percent of all participants rated the overall workshop experience as “very good” or “excellent.”