Five Lessons from the ATE Evaluation Community

Evaluation is more than collecting data and writing reports. At its best, evaluation helps ATE projects understand what is working, identify opportunities for improvement, and make informed decisions. During our final Community Conversation, ATE evaluators and project staff reflected on the advice that shaped their work. Their experiences highlighted five lessons that can help strengthen evaluation partnerships across the ATE community.

1. See evaluators as partners, not judges.

One of the most common themes was the importance of viewing evaluators as members of the project team. For many project leaders, evaluation can initially feel like a process in which someone assesses whether they’ve succeeded or failed. However, effective evaluation depends on collaboration.

Building trust takes time. When evaluators and project teams develop strong relationships, they can have more honest conversations about challenges and identify areas for improvement. As one participant shared, “Evaluators are part of the team. They are not judging me.”

A strong evaluation partnership creates space for questions, reflection, and problem-solving.

2. Begin with the end in mind.

Several participants emphasized the importance of designing evaluations around how findings will be used. An evaluation report should not simply be a document that gets submitted and stored away. It should provide information that helps projects make decisions.

Before selecting methods or collecting data, consider:

• What questions do we need to answer?
• Who will use the findings?
• What decisions will this information support?

Keeping the intended use of evaluation findings at the center helps ensure that evaluation activities are meaningful and manageable.

3. Build relationships beyond the project team.

ATE projects often involve complex institutional environments, especially at community colleges, where enrollment patterns, staffing, and student pathways can change quickly. One evaluator shared that early in their ATE work, they learned the importance of partnering closely with institutional research offices while also recognizing that project-level data may provide important context.

Strong relationships with institutional partners can help evaluators understand what data already exists, avoid unnecessary duplication, and identify additional information needed to answer evaluation questions.

4. Document your decisions.

Good evaluation requires more than collecting numbers. It also requires documenting how decisions were made.

Participants highlighted the importance of documenting how benchmarks were established and the sources of the data. Clear documentation helps current teams interpret findings and new project staff understand the evaluation process during transitions.

5. Communication is a core evaluation skill.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway was that effective evaluation depends on communication. As one participant noted, “90% of being a good evaluator is being able to communicate effectively and build relationships.”

Whether discussing evaluation findings, navigating challenges, or explaining data, communication helps transform evaluation from a requirement into a tool for learning and improvement.

The advice shared during Community Conversations reflects what makes the ATE evaluation community valuable: a willingness to learn from one another, share experiences, and continuously improve evaluation practice.

Note: This blog was created from an EvaluATE Community Conversation in June 2026. The following ATE community members were present:

Sondra LoRe, Pamela Silvers, Shannon Sharp, Lyssa Wilson Becho, Brianna Hooks Singletary, Maureen Green, and Elizabeth Sweeney