There was much activity at the 2015 Annual ASCD conference held in Houston last month. With so many great sessions being presented and only limited seats, it was difficult to attend every session I had planned out in my itinerary. I was able to find seats in one particularly interesting session. The first session was titled “Are you paying attention? Student perception data for school improvement.” I was accustomed to college students completing surveys on their professors and the schools in general, but never fathomed the idea of surveying high school students about their perceptions toward their schools. I guess I just assumed that everything would be “Absolutely Terrible!” or “The Best Thing EVER!” Turns out, according to YouthTruth, when data analyses are put into action, they can make a positive difference in the schools. The survey asked students questions pertaining to student engagement, the student culture, relationships with teachers, relationships with peers, academic rigor and college and career readiness. Feedback from the survey provided school personnel with areas of strength and areas of weakness in their schools by grade level as well as how their students responded compared to other students in different schools as a norming frame of mind.
One question, for instance, asks “How many teachers make an effort to understand your life outside of school?” I may be confusing sessions, but I heard of one school where the teachers made an effort to talk about non-school related topics with students before class or in the hall. Their goal was two minutes a week with the students they felt needed that connection to school the most. And those two minutes turned around student behavior problems, got students to turn in homework and work to please the teacher they now knew cared more about them as more than just “a number”. I look forward to the Arkansas ASCD conference this June! I am sure I will get a lot more useful information.
Author: Kelli Blackford, Research Associate, OIE