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Collect Program Data

Many districts have created systematic polling, monitoring, and evaluation processes that measure school improvement, family satisfaction with current schools, and stakeholder interest in having specific types of choice options in the future.

Program Practices

Administer Surveys and Monitor Data Results to Assist in Program Improvement
Since opening in 1999, FRCS has administered surveys as part of the school’s accountability plan.

Collect Feedback from School Staff
In the Houston Independent School District, the district polled magnet coordinators to find out whether the goals of the program were being met from their perspective.

Conduct School Evaluations
The magnet program of the Houston Independent School District is continually engaged in monitoring and evaluating the magnet program at both the district and the school level through site visits and technical support.

Decide Which Indicators Are Important and Develop Assessment Tools
The Wake County Public School System has centralized its data collection efforts to monitor the achievement of choice program goals.

Develop Data Collection Tools for Individual Schools
Mesa Public Schools utilizes a districtwide system to analyze individual school and student performance. The Research and Evaluation Department develops a Principal’s Data Book for each school, containing school- and student-specific information.

Develop Parent Resource Centers in Strategic Areas
Developed through the ongoing efforts of the state-level Florida School Choice Resource Center (FSCRC), Florida’s local-level School Choice Parent Resource Centers offer parents a neutral location to receive information and support regarding school choice options.

Evaluate Teacher Performance
Arkansas Virtual School uses a performance rubric, semi-annual home office visits and parent satisfaction surveys to evaluate teacher effectiveness and justify annual teacher contracts.

Evaluate the Program and Network With Schools Nationally to Improve
Arkansas Virtual School hired an external evaluator to assess the effectiveness of the overall program and recommend areas of improvement.

Implement a Districtwide Evaluation System That Includes Student, Parent and Staff Feedback
The Whole School Effectiveness Model Survey was developed in 2000 by a former Hillsborough County Public Schools Chief Academic Officer to ensure consistent quality of education at all school sites.

Monitor Student and Academic Program Progress Using Internal and External Evaluations
Hot Springs School District uses both district-developed and external assessments to monitor academic programs and student progress.

Partner With a Researcher to Study Program and Advise
New Haven Public Schools has been working with the same evaluator since 1995, Dr. David Kikoler from American Education Solutions, Inc, who has worked with the district in a range of ways.

Provide High-Quality and Transparent Program Evaluation
KIPP’s success with student achievement draws much scrutiny, and the program has responded by developing transparent evaluation strategies for all aspects of the program.

Provide Rigorous School and Staff Evaluation to Inform Practice
At KIPP Houston, midyear (January) and end-of-year (July) staff evaluations assist in focusing and improving the school’s impact on student achievement.

Research Promising School Choice Practices and Disseminate Findings to Choice Audiences
The Florida School Choice Resource Center (FSCRC)—with consultants from Nova Southeastern University, the University of South Florida, the University of West Florida, and the Florida Association of Charter School Authorizers—produces reports compiling best school choice practices throughout Florida. The reports address a variety of school choice issues, including marketing and outreach, transportation, and parent involvement.

Run a Web-Based Diagnostic Assessment System to Frequently and Systematically Assess Student Progress
In order to ensure that Brighter Choice schools were adequately teaching all academic subjects and meeting state education requirements throughout the year, the Foundation contracted out with a consultant in 2004 to create a separate nonprofit organization called School Performance.

Support Charter Schools Within Your District
Portland Public Schools' School Board has hired a consultant to help the charters reach out to a broader audience and provide more students—especially those in lower-performing schools—with information about their school choice options.

Train Staff to Collect and Utilize Data
Montclair Public Schools trained its principals to analyze and utilize data in running their schools.

Rigorously Evaluate Choice Program Using Multiple Sources of Data
Miami-Dade County Public Schools has implemented multiple strategies to collect and review pertinent data in order to evaluate its choice program.

Sample Materials

District Calendar of Assessments
This website features the Hot Springs School District’s testing schedule.

Evaluation and Research Webpage
Wake County Public School System publishes the results of surveys and evaluations conducted in the district, and provides public access to the reports on this webpage.

KIPP Report Card Website
This KIPP website offers users the ability to find program- and school-level data through an easy online interface.

School Performance
The Brighter Choice Program uses this system developed by School Performance, which provides assessments for charter schools to administer throughout the year. Results from the assessments allow schools to monitor and adjust instruction to best support students.

School Performance Diagnostic Assessment System
The Brighter Choice Program uses this system developed by School Performance, which provides assessments for charter schools to administer throughout the year. Results from the assessments allow schools to monitor and adjust instruction to best support students.

Survey of Voluntary Public School Choice Teachers
Desert Sands Unified School District annually monitors teacher satisfaction for its choice schools using this teacher survey.

Executive Summary: Magnet Programs 2002-03
Houston Independent School District's Department of Evaluation and Research conducts an annual evaluation of magnet program data for the district.

Site Visit Evaluation Form
Houston Independent School District uses this form to conduct site visits for its magnet programs. Each school manages its own records so auditing documentation is critical to maintaining their records system.

Online Volunteer Registration Form
This online tool for registering and tracking volunteers at individual schools and charting lengths and types of participation has recently been implemented in Portland Public Schools.

Arkansas Virtual School Program Final Evaluation Report 2005-2006
During the 2005-2006 school year, the Arkansas Virtual School (ARVS) administrators hired an external evaluator to assess the ARVS processes and policies and recommend areas of improvement. At the conclusion of the evaluation, the evaluator presented its findings in a final report.

Acuity Assessment System Handbook for Principals
Mesa Public Schools provides this handbook for principals to assist them in the use of the Acuity Assessment System, a system that provides frequent feedback on how students are progressing toward mastering state standards.

Acuity Assessment System Handbook for Teachers
Mesa Public Schools provides this handbook for teachers to assist them in the use of the Acuity Assessment System, a system that provides frequent feedback on how students are progressing toward mastering state standards.

Acuity Assessment System - Predictive Assessment Reports
Mesa Public Schools has implemented the Acuity Assessment System, a system of three high-accuracy, predictive assessments of a student’s performance on the state assessment, Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards, to help schools provide targeted intervention for those students who might need help.

School System Annual Report
Wake County Public School System creates and publishes an annual report for the community to disseminate district accomplishments and student performance data.

Data Analysis Presentation
Each year, principals in Mesa Public Schools attend a data analysis workshop led by the district's Research and Evaluation Department. This PowerPoint presentation details testing efforts in the district, examines testing outcomes, and discusses how to address testing results.

Demographics Report
Wake County Public School System leaders use local demographic data to evaluate the success of their program.

Equity and Diversity Report
This report compiled information on issues of diversity, equity, and the operation of choice programs in districts in the mentorship program during the 2005–2006 school year.

Evaluator Job Description
This Evaluator job description from Miami-Dade County Public Schools outlines the responsibilities and qualifications of their school choice evaluator.

Transportation Survey
This survey was distributed to Foxborough Regional Charter School families to better assess their transportation needs.

Focus on Results: An Academic Impact Analysis of the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP)
Conducted in 2005 by the Educational Policy Institute, Inc. (EPI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and nongovernmental organization, this report outlines the significant achievement gains made by KIPP students in the early years of the program.

Annual Report Card
The KIPP Annual Report Card provides background information on the KIPP program along with demographic and achievement information from each of the KIPP schools across the country.

Quality Matters: A Wake Community Review of the Public’s Schools
The Wake County Public School System's Education Partnership creates an annual report of progress toward the county's education goals.

Evaluation Rubric for Magnet Schools
Miami-Dade County Public Schools use this rubric to identify magnet programs for replication.

Marketing and Outreach Study Results
This study used an online survey in order to ascertain the most common and productive methods of communicating with district populations about choice options, identify districts not marketing choice to all populations, and build a database of district choice staff responsible for marketing efforts.

Online Marketing and Outreach Survey
Information from this online survey was used to compile the Marketing and Outreach Study that outlines marketing strategies districts throughout Florida are using to market their school choice programs.

School Climate & Perception (SCIP) Survey
These are the surveys that Hillsborough County Public Schools administers to students, parents, and staff to collect annual data on the quality of education in the district.

School Climate & Perception (SCIP) Survey Results
Hillsborough County Public Schools administers a survey to students, parents, and all staff annually to collect data on the quality of education in the district. This is a school’s results summary for the 2008-09 survey.

School Development Visit Observation Criterion Rubric
KIPP Houston staff use this rubric to rate the overall health of the school, including areas they excel in as well as those areas in need of improvement.

San Francisco Bay Area KIPP Schools: A Study of Early Implementation and Achievement
This is the final volume in a series of reports done by SRI International that documents increased math and language arts achievement for KIPP students in the Bay Area.

Teaching Rubric
KIPP SHINE Prep, a KIPP Houston elementary school, uses this teaching rubric to assess various teaching practices of its staff.

Data Analyst Specialist Job Description
Hot Springs School District employs a data analyst specialist to assist with the student assessment process and analysis.

Media

Three Things to Consider

• Collect a variety of data from multiple sources
• Staff can be trained to utilize data and make data-driven decisions
• Evaluate school programs in person