Certified in Public Health (CPH) Practice Exam

Evaluating whether a program met its stated goals and objectives is an example of:

1. Outcome evaluation

2. Formative evaluation

3. Process evaluation

4. Evaluation report

The correct answer is: Outcome evaluation

Evaluating whether a program met its stated goals and objectives is fundamentally an outcome evaluation. Outcome evaluations focus specifically on assessing the final results of a program, including the extent to which it achieves its intended goals and objectives. This type of evaluation looks at the impact of the program on the target population and examines whether the changes that occurred are attributable to the program's activities. In contrast, formative evaluation involves assessments that occur during the implementation of a program, primarily aimed at improving the program’s design and performance. Process evaluation, on the other hand, examines the implementation of the program itself—such as fidelity to the program model, the level of engagement from participants, and how activities are conducted. An evaluation report is simply a document that presents findings from any type of evaluation but does not classify the nature of the evaluation itself. Thus, the focus on measuring outcomes against the defined goals and objectives makes outcome evaluation the correct categorization of this assessment activity.