School Survey Evaluation System for School Assessment and
Evidence-Based Decision-Making

The evaluation focuses on each school's own progress, rather than on differences among schools. However, the results are linked to national benchmarks, such that schools can see how well they fare on certain indicators without being compared to particular schools.

Continuous Monitoring offers three options, and allows schools to choose the one they find most appropriate to their size and needs:

1. Snapshot (twice-yearly)

This option is meant for smaller schools (400 students or less). All students are invited to do the survey a maximum of two times (two snapshots, different timeframes) over the school year. The surveys are completed over the course of up to four weeks, after which time the school is able to view a snapshot report of their results.

2. Classroom Selection (monthly)

Larger schools (more than 400 students) can choose to have their students complete the survey by homeroom class, or by a specific subject classroom or a "guidance" homeroom, during school time. In a semestered school, the subject classroom chosen for survey purposes needs to be one that everyone takes at some point during the school year (most often English or Religion). This Classroom Selection Option has one or more classrooms per grade level complete the survey in the same calendar month. To make this approach work best, we ask schools to ensure that:

• for each calendar month that the school is doing the survey, all participating grades have the same proportion of classes complete the survey;


• an effort is made to get a balanced mix of student ability levels if these classrooms are streamed for ability; and


• options are considered to allow all students an opportunity to participate in the survey, whether at school or from their home.

Schools can choose in which months to do the survey, and how many classes will complete it each month. So, for example, a large high school with grades 9-12 may choose to do the survey at three times during the school year. They would strive to get one-third of the classes from each grade level for each of those three times, so that every student in the school has one opportunity to complete the survey.

3. Random Selection (weekly)

This is the most intensive of our monitoring methods, and suitable only for mid-sized, non-semestered schools. A student data upload is required for this evaluation option. At the time of student data upload, the TTFM system randomly assigns each student to one of the viable survey weeks identified by the school. Weekly, the school receives a list of students to complete the survey online the following week. Each student completes the survey once. Interactive reports are updated daily, and available after about four weeks of student inputting. Open-ended Question responses are made available verbatim to schools when the minimum number of responses to maintain anonymity has been reached (15). New responses are made available to schools on the first day of each month.

The Learning Bar's school evaluation system shifts the burden of data collection and analysis from the schools to our system. However, data and information obviously does not equal improvement. It still requires someone to consider what this means for the school or district, priority areas for resources and efforts, what should we do about what we're learning, etc. So the TTFM surveys do not "do the job for you". They simply help you to be clear about priority areas for improvement within your schools and district. It is conveniently used to begin relevant conversations with students, staff and parents, and helps you monitor the impact your efforts are having to ameliorate school climate, student engagement and student wellness and to improve student outcomes.

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E-mail: info@thelearningbar.com
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