Logic models connect your work to your expected outcomes—often expressed in changes in student performance and achievement. Included in most logic models are four components: resources, activities, outputs, and outcomes.

Resources are the raw materials needed to create the program, implement its activities, and attain the desired outputs and outcomes. Sometimes called inputs, resources include both material items (such as curricula, instruction materials, facilities, and funding) and nonmaterial items (such as time, community support, and specialized knowledge and skills).

Activities are the processes, actions, and events through which the program resources achieve the intended outcomes; they are the steps in implementing a program. Examples include collaborating with partners, developing training or curriculum materials, conducting training sessions or workshops, and collecting and analyzing student performance data.

Outputs are tangible, often process-oriented results or products typically expressed in numbers, such as number of students tested, number of teachers trained, and number of books read. While outputs provide information derived from the completion of program activities, they cannot indicate whether a change has occurred. For example, an output can tell you how many teachers attended training but not whether the training increased the teachers’ knowledge of the training topic.

Short- and mid-term outcomes are the changes in program participants’ knowledge, beliefs, and behavior due to their involvement in the program. Outcomes can also be quick adjustments in organizational practices or system design. Short-term outcomes are observable almost immediately after participation; mid-term outcomes can take months or years to emerge and typically build toward long-term outcomes.

Long-term outcomes, sometimes called impacts, are a program’s lasting influences. Like short- and mid-term outcomes, long-term outcomes can be changes in knowledge, beliefs, and behavior. Examples include higher student achievement scores, increased high school graduation rates, and greater college acceptance rates.