When asked to affirm the statement "My child likes going to school," eighty-six percent of DPS parents responded positively, according to results being released today from the 2001-2002 School Satisfaction Survey.

The 2001-2002 survey was administered in February 2002 to assess the views of district constituents on the key elements of each school‚s educational program. The survey solicited the views of all District parents, students, teachers, and support staff on classroom learning, homework, school safety, discipline, teacher expectations, school-parent communication, and Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) preparation.

Over 69,000 students, parents, teachers, and support staff responded to the survey. Those who responded indicated a high level of satisfaction with their schools, felt safe in their buildings, felt challenged in their classes, and felt prepared to do well on the (CSAP) assessments.

Results are comparable to prior years. There was a slight increase in overall satisfaction with schools performance. Complete district-wide results and results for each school are available to all interested parties through the District's Website. The results of the survey comprise over 5,000 pages.

The School Satisfaction Survey was first administered during the 1999-2000 school year. The surveys used that year were reviewed by the Steering Committee during the fall of 2000 to identify items for the 2000-2001 survey; these items provided longitudinal data to track change in the perception of the individual School's programs and policies. The 2001-2002 survey is based on the 2000-2001 survey. The Department of Assessment & Testing directs the technical aspects of survey development and administration and is responsible for developing, administering, and analyzing the survey on behalf of the school CDM committees.

Separate surveys were developed for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12; surveys were also separately developed for teachers, support staff, and parents.

Each survey included from 15 to 21 items. All items were presented in either a Yes/No format or a Strongly Agree/Agree/Uncertain/Disagree/Strongly Disagree format appropriate for the age of the respondent.

School Collaborative Decision-Making (CDM) committees were permitted to optionally add up to five custom items to each survey. Over 40 school CDM committees submitted custom items. All student and parent surveys were translated into both Spanish and Vietnamese versions for completion by students and parents that were not English speakers. In all, over 200 different item, language, and population versions of the School Satisfaction Survey were produced.

All surveys returned to Assessment & Testing by March 19, 2002 were analyzed. Over 69,000 students, parents, support staff, and teachers responded to the survey. The large response represented a slight decrease from the 2000-2001 response rate of over 70,000. Figure 1 illustrates the survey returns in 1999-2000, 2000-2001, and 2001-2002.

Highlights include:

• The responses were overwhelmingly positive about the schools, district programs, and our teaching staff. Eighty-six percent of parents responded to the question "My child likes going to school" in a positive way. Eighty-four percent of parents responded to "Teachers are doing a good job teaching my child" positively. These results are consistent with previous surveys.
  
• 76 percent to 83 percent of elementary school students, 64 percent of middle school students, and 69 percent of high school students feel safe in school; these results are a slight increase over the previous year.
  
• Grade 6-12 students were asked if discipline was enforced consistently in school. 55 percent to 60 percent agreed. This result is consistent and slightly higher than last year. 72 percent of parents and 56 percent of teachers believed that discipline was consistently enforced; this result is consistent with last year.
  
• K-5 students were asked if they believed that "other students were nice" to them. 50 percent of grade 3-5 students agreed; 71 percent of K-2 students also agreed with the statement. These results are similar to the prior year.
  
• Three-fourths of grade K-8 students report that their parents know what they are learning in school, a slight increase over last year. Fifty-seven percent of students in grades 9-12 report that their parents know what they are learning, a slight decrease from the prior year. Eighty-four percent of parents report that the schools report on their child's progress, a slight increase over the prior year. Ninety-two percent of teachers report that they keep parents informed about their children‚s progress.
  
• 64 percent of grade 6-8 students and 66 percent of grade 9-12 students report that they are given challenging work in their classes. 78 percent of parents and 85 percent of teachers reported that students are given challenging work. The results for students and teachers are somewhat higher than last year.
  
• 81 percent of grade 3-5 students, 73 percent of grade 6-8 students, 49 percent of grade 9-12 students, 68 percent of parents, and 71 percent of teachers reported that students were adequately prepared to take the CSAP. These results closely mirror last year's responses.
  
• Two questions for parents, teachers, and support staff addressed the Collaborative Decision making (CDM) team communication and effectiveness. In all cases, a high level of "uncertain" responses suggests that the CDM function is not universally understood. Between 12 percent and 31 percent of respondents selected the "uncertain" option.

The high response to this year's survey supports conclusions that differences of more than one percentage point are statistically significant. Any survey interpreters are cautioned, however, that practical differences of four or more percentage points should stimulate discussion. The responses may suggest specific policy or activity discussions or correct "common knowledge" about how parents, teachers, or students feel about our schools.

Questions and comments may be directed to Dr. David B. Thomas, Department of Assessment & Testing, 900 Grant Street, Room 610. E-mail to Dave_Thomas@dpsk12.org or phone 720-423-3746.

You may view the Satisfaction Survey results at: http://atweb.dpsk12.org/dss2001/select.asp