Committee debates new program-evaluation policy aimed at public-facing ROI reporting

Montgomery County Public Schools staff presented a draft Policy IEE on Dec. 3 to create a consistent, public-facing framework for program evaluation and academic return on investment.

"The key purposes of the policy are to align programmatic investments with district strategic priorities and equity goals, establish systematic and transparent reporting to the board and the community on the efficacy and efficiency of district instructional programs, and to provide an overall framework for assessing academic return on investment," Dr. Keesha Addison, who led the presentation, told the committee.

Board members debated whether a separate ROI policy was necessary and how prescriptive it should be. "I think the consensus now is that the Board wants there to be more a public showing of the program evaluation work for the return on investment," said Carla Silvestri, School Board Member at Large, arguing for public-facing reporting and clearer follow-up actions for programs that are flagged for further review.

Several members urged staff to develop a rubric that the Fiscal Management Committee can use to assess academic impact, cost and next steps for programs rated 'yellow' (maintain for one more year). Dr. Addison said the district already uses a program-evaluation framework (first shared publicly in the 2022–23 school year) and a 'response to recommendations' form that records whether program managers fully, partially or have not started implementing recommendations and includes a timeline; she acknowledged follow-up accountability is an area for improvement.

The committee did not take a formal vote on Policy IEE at this meeting. Members directed staff to consider incorporating the proposed rubric and to return with more details and suggested follow-up mechanisms in subsequent committee meetings.