WXXI and WSKG Health Campaign on Childhood Obesity Evaluated

Focusing on childhood obesity, PBS stations WXXI and WSKG collaborative lauched public awareness campaigns in their respective communities (WXXI in Rochester and WSKG in Binghamton).  Supported by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from September 2009 to October 2011, the stations engaged Hezel Associates to evaluate their health campaigns to reduce childhood obesity. The stations implemented their individual health initiatives “Healthy You” and “Working on Wellness”, but also shared content and ideas to amplify their efforts. In conjunction with community partners, the stations conducted different community outreach activities for their programs. These included television and radio programs and spots/advertisements; web site content (including a Toolkit); CD, DVD, and promotional item distribution; televised community forums; a visibility campaign (such as billboards, press releases, articles, newsletters); and children’s activities (such as walking with pedometers, creating art work depicting heart-healthy behaviors, writing songs, and creating recipes).  

Hezel Associates provided a process and outcome evaluation to the PBS stations, as well as technical assistance.  Formative feedback addressed interactions between the stations, implementation progress, components of the initiatives that might be effectively replicated by other PBS stations, and the role both stations played as conveners of multiple community partners.  The summative feedback was considered preliminary and focused on the degree and nature of impacts of public broadcasting at the community level and on childhood obesity.  Imbedded in the project was capacity building for the station program teams.  The Hezel team provided technical assistance in survey development, secondary data analysis, obtained IRB approval, and supported evaluation data collection, analysis and reporting to CPB.

The final report is included below, along with the initial project announcement.  

 WXXI WSKG CPB LSI Assessment Final Report (2011) (785.92 kB)

 WXXI Health Campaign Tackles Childhood Obesity Press Release (2009) (627.14 kB)

Additional information on each stations' efforts, including replicable compontents is available online.

WXXI - Healthy You:  http://interactive.wxxi.org/healthyyou/toolkit

WSKG - Working on Wellness (WoW):  http://wskg.org/educate/wellness

StraighterLine Student Survey 2011 Final Report (First Report Card)

Recognized as a revolutionizing force in education since its 2008 inception, StraighterLine has offered a new way of reducing the cost of a college degree: self-paced, pay-as-you-go introductory level college courses.  The underlying philosophy of the program is that students can get an equivalent, if not superior, educational experience in introductory college courses (e.g., calculus, accounting, English composition) through an individually paced, tutor-supported course than in the large lecture hall setting that is common at traditional colleges and universities.  Furthermore, StraighterLine is able to offer these courses at much lower cost than colleges and universities.  Depending on the registration option and time spent completing the course, StraighterLine students can potentially pay less than $30 per credit.

Demand for the program has been substantial, with nearly 2000 registrants since the first courses were offered in 2008.  To better understand its clientele, StraighterLine hired Hezel Associates to develop, execute, and analyze an online survey of its alumni.  All students who had either successfully or unsuccessfully completed a StraighterLine course since the company’s 2008 inception to present.  The resulting report provided important insights into StraighterLine’s student base, including market intelligence related to drivers of enrollment, student satisfaction and loyalty that inform the company’s growth management strategy.

 StraighterLine First Report Card 2011

Hezel Associates secured the contract to provide a comprehensive formative and summative state-level evaluation of technology integration subgrants, awarded to districts and collaborative under Title II-D.  This 20-month evaluation ended in the summer of 2011, and examined a broad range of school, teacher, and student outcomes across three types of award.  Data from a variety of extant and new data sources were synthesized for this evaluation, including information generated through the use of a suite of data-collection tools developed specifically by the research team for NHDOE—a classroom “walkthrough” observation tool, and standardized web-based survey instruments for school staff members and students in Grades 4-12.  Formative findings from multiple points of data collection have been developed for both the state and grantees, and analyses have been, and will continue to be, completed to support federal reporting of GPRA and ARRA measures.

State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) profiled the EETT initiatives, including our work with New Hampshire, in a set of 28 case studies.  

 State-wide Evaluation of the New Hampshire ESEA Title II, Part D Grant Program (2011 Final Report) (2.74 MB)

 State-wide Evaluation of the New Hampshire ESEA Title II, Part D Grant Program (2010 Interim Report) (1.66 MB)

 SETDA ARRA Case Study - NH EETT