The Transparency Files: Annual Parent Survey

After making transparent the results of my own evaluation by both myself and my faculty, here, it is time to turn to our other annual survey: the Annual Parent Survey.

For comparison sake, you are welcome to explore last year’s survey, here.

I will try to highlight any trends I see between the two years as well as indicate anything of import in this year’s survey.

The first trend is that far fewer parents (39 vs. 64) filled out surveys this year.  Possible explanations?  We did have an incorrect link to the survey that may have taken the air out of the sails of the first families to attempt to fill them out.  We had an additional snafu with the settings to allow families to fill out multiple surveys for multiple children, which is the recommendation, that did get corrected, but perhaps too late for some parents to sign on.  Other possibilities?  Families could be thrilled with what’s going on! (I’d love to vote for that one!)  Families could be resigned that the results are not taken seriously enough to invest the time in.  Hopefully, the impact of last year’s results in tangible changes for this year would have dulled that sentiment, but you never know.

Nevertheless, the rate of return is less and, therefore, the possibility of strong validity is somewhat reduced.  But in the spirit of hoping to learn from whatever there is to learn…let’s move on to the results!

A little more even than last year, but still skewed a bit towards the younger grades, as expected in school surveys.  Let’s look at the BIG PICTURE:

That’s terrific!  On a  scale of 1-10, our average score wound up being 8.3.  Last year we scored 7.7.  So it is trending in the right direction, it is an indication that we are doing pretty well, but still leaves us soon room to grow.  Let’s dig deeper.

When it comes to communication, we continue to have high marks.  It looks very similar to last year in that both our highest marks continue to be in communication via electronic means and the lowest marks coming in providing opportunities for parents to be involved in student learning.  This is a disappointment.  We were to have found some new ideas for improving parent partnerships this year, and it did not seem to resonate. We will have to do better next year to raise this up.

Last year, I blogged this survey’s results prior to my self-evaluation.  This year, for no particular reason, they are reversed.  In combination with my faculty’s review of myself, my own self-evaluation, and the 360 evaluation performed by my colleagues and direct reports, this additional data (although with a reduced sample size) validates a lot of what I am proud of and confirms areas for growth.  The scores are basically the same as last year, but I am disappointed that the impression of our enforcement of the student code of conduct is no higher than it was a year ago.  Perhaps it is a failure of communication rather than a failure of execution, but I was hoping to see this number go up this year.  I will do some reflecting this summer and aim to do better in the future.  I am also disappointed, but less surprised, to see my marks in “Accessibility” take a dip as well.  I have absolutely been less accessible this year.  It was not by design, and in many cases necessary to serve the greater good (FCIS Re-Accreditation, edJEWcon, the 50th Anniversary, etc.), but no less true and no less worthy of reversal in the years to come.

I know it is a little crowded, so let me break down some of the highlights.

Let me unpack the non-subject specific areas first:

• Most important increase!  The education offered at our school is high quality: 8.28 (this year) vs. 7.72 (last year)
• Our lowest mark last year was for teaching in different styles.  I am pleased that it is now 7.21 vs. 6.98.  I would have liked it to be “much higher” as I indicated last year, but at least it is trending in the right direction.
• I am very pleased that teaching to different levels is also up: 7.8 vs. 7.18.  This is hopefully an indication of increased emphasis on differentiated instruction, even though that specific question (How satisfied are you that your child is getting individualized attention?) scored exactly the same, 7.77, as last year.

General Studies:

• The big picture is great!  The OVERALL rating has gone to 7.97 from last year’s 7.19. That is a trend in the right direction.
• This is reflected in increases in the two weakest areas from last year: Math (7.77 from 6.71) and Science (7.33 from 6.87).  Hopefully this is the impact of the transition to Singapore Math and having provided more opportunities for children in the Lower School to be in the Science Lab this year.
• ALL General Studies scores are up from last year!  But there is still room to grow. Math and Science will be even more enhanced next year with more training and experience in Singapore Math and dedicated, transparent Science time on the Lower School schedule.

Jewish Studies, Resources and Extracurricular Activities:

• The marks in these areas are all slightly down from last year.  Not dramatically so, but noticeable.  I’m not sure if this is a result of extra emphasis being pulled to General Studies, changes in our policies to Jewish Studies (such as the required pull-out for new students in Grades 2-5), or simply a statistical anomaly, but worthy of further reflection and study.
• Our weakest area from last year, After School Activities, did jump from to 7.04 from 6.19, which we hope is a result of the new Enhanced Kindergarten Program and our new partnership with the JCA.

So there you have it for 2011-2012!  Thanks to all the parents who took the time and care to fill out surveys.  In addition to the multiple choice questions, there were opportunities for open-ended responses.  They added an additional layer of depth; one which is difficult to summarize for a post like this.  But please know that all comments will be shared with those they concern as we use this data to make enhancements and improvements headed into next year.  By the by, we are pleased with how well satisfied our parents are with how the school is going…but be assured, just like with everything else, we expect to see growth and progress in a school where there is “a floor, but no ceiling”.