Academic Achievement: Likely the most straightforward measurement, examining students’ performance levels in writing and grammar, as well as overall academic performance.

To measure improvement in academic achievement, SVP will utilize the CAHSEE and CST scores of students at the very beginning and at the completion of each year of the SVP program in each school. The test group would consist of students participating in the SVP program, and the control group would consist of a random selection of students at the same SVP partner school who are not participating in the SVP program. In this way, SVP can measure the progress in academic achievement across two parallel groups over the period of SVP involvement.

Critical Thinking: Many definitions exist, but in the journalistic context, this is the ability to observe a situation, analyze what is occurring, and form a viewpoint.

In order to measure improvement in critical thinking skills, SVP will utilize a “pre-“ and “post-“ method of evaluating students that participate in the SVP program. SVP will administer a survey intended to assess a series of lower- and higher- order processes in critical thinking. By tracking the scores resulting from the survey, SVP can determine the trend of improvement as a result of participation in the journalism program.

Student Engagement: Again, many definitions exist, but the general theme is willingness to participate in the educational process and improve it.

SVP will create a survey to assess the level of student engagement; this will be an amalgamation of accepted surveys currently in use today. The survey will be administered using a similar methodology to that for assessing academic achievement, using the same test and control groups. Students in each group will take the survey at the beginning and end of the SVP program, in order to measure improvement in levels of student engagement.