School Climate Surveys
Your Scorecard for School System Effectiveness
HSD®'s School Climate Survey can help improve the effectiveness of an entire school system. Research consistently shows that the variables that influence the quality of employee performance in other demanding professions are essentially the same as those for the professional and support staffs in schools. That means this survey can be a powerful tool for solving the complex and unique problems schools face every day.
Why use a School System Survey?
HSD®'s School Climate Survey can be used as a diagnostic and assessment tool for:
- Periodic benchmarking
- Teacher involvement and accountability
- Staff development
- Systematic approach to problem solving
How can I use the results?
You can use the survey results to improve:
- Teacher and administrative working relations
- School policies and practices
- Communication in all directions within the school
- Teacher satisfaction with the administration's performance
- Student and faculty relationships
What does the survey measure?
The School Climate Survey uncovers the areas of highest leverage for improvement - often the least obvious areas. The survey measures factors and conditions that influence staff and teacher success, including:
- School openness and information
- Innovation and continuous improvement
- Staff involvement, decision-making, coordination
- Student focus
- Performance management and accountability
- Recognition and rewards
- Safety and security
- Principal-leadership behavior
- Teacher relationships and team effectiveness
- Continuous learning and development
- Pride, commitment, and overall satisfaction
What services does HSD® provide?
HSD® offers an array of service and support, including:
- Survey planning and set-up support
- Collection methods by web or paper
- Comprehensive 50-item questionnaire; a 12-Factor School Improvement Priority Checklist, with examples, suggestions and comments for each improvement item selected
- Reports within 10 days of receipt of all data
- Guide for interpreting and using survey results
What will the report include?
Each survey data set includes:
- Mean response for each question item
- Percent responding favorably or unfavorably to each question item
- Prior survey comparison scores for repeat surveys
- External norms to compare your scores with other schools
- Improvement priorities ranked in order of importance
- Proofed and edited verbatim comments sorted by improvement theme
- Spreadsheet comparisons between school locations, teacher units, or grades
- Number of respondents for each question
What does it cost?
Survey costs vary depending upon the amount of customization, paper or web return, number of survey data sets (location, grades), and the number of respondents. Costs for set-up and report preparation range from $250 to $1,000. Per participant costs range from $.50 to $7.00, depending upon volume.