What is summative evaluation?

Summative evaluation refers to the assessment of a program’s effectiveness after its completion. It is designed to evaluate the outcomes and overall impact of a program, determining whether the objectives have been met and assessing the value of the program’s results. This type of evaluation typically occurs at the end of a program and helps to inform decisions about future programming, funding, or policy changes based on how well the program achieved its goals.

In contrast, the other options describe different types of evaluation methods or focuses. Ongoing evaluations during program implementation are more aligned with formative evaluations, which provide real-time feedback to improve a program as it unfolds. Stakeholder interviews, while valuable, form part of qualitative research methods and do not constitute a standalone evaluation type. Setting evaluation standards is a preliminary step in the evaluation process but does not provide insights into the program's actual outcomes. Thus, option B rightly captures the essence of summative evaluation by focusing on the assessment of completed program effectiveness.