In applying a methods-oriented approach to evaluation, this study interpreted the effectiveness of a summer reading program from three different stakeholder perspectives: practitioners from the school district, the funding agency supporting the program, and the policymakers considering mandating summer school. Archival data were obtained on 2330 students reading below benchmark in Grades 2–5. After propensity score matching participants to peers who did not attend the summer program, the final sample consisted of 630 students. Pre-to-posttest growth models revealed positive effects in Grades 2–4 (standardized slopes of .40–.54), but fifth graders demonstrated negligible improvement (standardized slope of .15). The standardized mean differences of propensity score matched treatment and control group students indicated null effects in all grade levels (d = −.13 to .05). Achieving proficient reading performance also was not attributable to summer school participation. Findings underscore the importance of operationalizing effectiveness in summative evaluation.

在应用以方法为导向的评估方法时，本研究从三个不同的利益相关者的角度解释了暑期阅读计划的有效性：来自学区的从业者、支持该计划的资助机构以及考虑开设暑期学校的政策制定者。档案数据是在 2-5 年级阅读低于基准的 2330 名学生中获得的。在将参与者与没有参加暑期课程的同龄人进行倾向评分匹配后，最终样本由 630 名学生组成。前后测增长模型显示了 2-4 年级的积极影响（标准化斜率为 0.40-0.54），但五年级学生表现出的改善可以忽略不计（标准化斜率为 0.15）。d = -.13 到 .05）。获得熟练的阅读成绩也不能归因于暑期学校的参与。调查结果强调了在总结性评估中实施有效性的重要性。