To assess the extent to which students, parents, and teachers perceive the district schools are conducive to learning, Research and Evaluation Unit (R&E) within the Department of Testing, Research, and Evaluation (DTRE) conducted a survey during the spring of 2017.
Publication Year: 2017
Abstract
Since 2007, PGCPS has conducted a school climate survey on a biannual basis, which included participation of students, parents, and teachers. To assess the extent to which students, parents, and teachers perceive the district schools are conducive to learning, Research and Evaluation Unit (R&E) within the Department of Testing, Research, and Evaluation (DTRE) conducted a survey during the spring of 2017. Some of the factors about which stakeholders were asked to opine include school leadership, the level of safety in the schools, and parental involvement, which, when analyzed, reveal what the respondents think about their school’s overall climate. Overall, more than 48,000 responses were received from students (33,621), teachers (5,732), and parents (9,119). Analyses of survey data indicate that approximately 85% of the survey respondents perceive their schools as having a climate that is conducive to effective instruction and learning. When the data are disaggregated by subscale we find differences in the extent to which stakeholders view each positively. Of the subscales that all stakeholder groups were asked to express opinions, ‘High Expectations for all Students’ is viewed positively by 85% of stakeholders making it the subscale most often positively perceived. At the other extreme, only about 60% of stakeholders had positive opinions about ‘Effective Plant Operations’, which is related to the condition, and upkeep of buildings, facilities, and technology on school campuses. There is also a difference in how each stakeholder group perceives each subscale of school climate. Parents expressed positive perceptions about their schools more often than students or teachers. Lastly, the range of opinion about the climate within individual schools varies widely across the district.
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