For Program Evaluation, You Best Dance with Them That Brung Ya!

Most anyone who grew up in the South or in rural areas aof America is familiar with the saying, dance with them that brung ya, or some derivative there of. The old saying, often credited to former University of Texas football coach Darrell Royal, actually has roots that that go far beyond the man for whom the Longhorn's stadium is named. According to a website dedicated to sayings from and about Texas (Popik, 2006), the phrase was the title of a popular song from the 1920s. The saying has also been used in modern songs, book titles, and newspaper articles. Regardless of the exact wording or application, the phrase clearly communicates the value and need to be loyal to those who helped a person or group reach their current status. This axiom should be remembered as we consider the comprehensive evaluation of school based agricultural education programs. There is consensus that educational programs should be regularly evaluated. In fact, federal and state legislation mandates that schools and their various programs be evaluated and compared to a specified set of standards or performance expectations. Opinions vary, however, regarding how evaluations should be conducted and by whom they should be administered. So, who is the best partner for school-based agricultural education when doing the program evaluation dance! As a part of the 10X15 initiative, National Quality Program Standards (NQPS) for Agricultural Education recently waltzed onto the dance floor (Team Ag Ed, n.d.). These standards are intended to be a measure of quality for existing programs and a foundation for new programs. Several articles in this issue of The Agricultural Education Magazine espouse the merits of this newly unveiled tool, so they will not be reiterated here. If all agricultural education programs in all states, in all communities, and in all secondary schools are to fit the same mold, the NQPS provides an admirable standard for which to strive. In addition, the NQPS will certainly allow agricultural educators to assess for the first time relationships between curriculum taught in high school agricultural education programs and standards for other academic areas. For some time, several states have done the Macarana with a system of evaluation designed specifically for agricultural education program improvement. Such evaluations are typically based upon a set of standards or criteria adopted by state education officials and/or professional associations. An excellent example of this type of state based agricultural education program evaluation is the system currently used in Missouri. The Standards and Quality Indicators for Agriculture Program Improvement (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, n.d.) were developed by the Missouri Agricultural Education Joint Staff, a body composed of Agricultural Education officials from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), all agriculture teacher educators in the state, and representatives of the executive committee of the Missouri Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association (MVATA). For each of the 1 3 standards, there is a set of quality indicators. In turn, each quality indicator has a rating scale with the expectation that some specified indicators be achieved in order to meet the standard. In theory, if a program meets these standards, students will have a quality experience consistent with the best programs in the state. The other potential partner with whom agriculture programs should consider doing the evaluation two-step is the local community. Generations of agriculture teachers have been counseled to customize their teaching, supervising and advising to fit the community. In the first edition of the Handbook on Teaching Vocational Agriculture, Glen Cook ( 1 933) advised agriculture teachers to be flexible and adaptable enough to address the conditions of the local situation. Placing greatest emphasis upon the needs and expectations of the people who have the greatest stake is the most logical pathway to a successful program. …