Preparing for the Needs Assessment
Within the Future Ready Planning Portal, schools are required to examine multiple layers of data as they work through the needs assessment. A challenge for schools is determining what data is needed to address their challenges. To effectively and efficiently assess needs, schools are encouraged to begin their needs assessment process through a decision-driven thinking process. The school teams need to define their questions and use the questions to collect more pertinent data that will help them uncover the answers and analysis of data for decision-making.
In the book, Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation, the authors provide a framework for organizing and analyzing data.
Level 1 is Satellite Data. Satellite data is at a large grain size, illuminates patterns, and leads the school team in a general direction for further information. For designated schools (CSI/ATSI/TSI), the satellite data could be the data used in the determination of the designation and exit criteria. Examples of satellite data are attendance data, broad standardized assessments, graduation rates, and disciplinary records such as referrals and suspensions.
Level 2 is Map Data. Map data is at a medium grain size, which helps to identify student skill gaps and instructional skill gaps or teachers, in a slightly more focused way. Examples of map data include local reading and math assessments, and parent, student, and teacher surveys. The link provided here provides access to surveys aligned with the PA Essential Practices for Schools and Communities. NOTE: CSI-designated schools should have received school-specific survey links. Please contact the CSI assigned SIF if your school team has not received them.
Links to school improvement surveys in PDF format are found here:
Level 3 is Street Data. Street data are “the qualitative and experiential data that emerges at eye level…These data are asset-based, building on the tenets of culturally responsive education by helping educators look for what’s right in our students, schools, and communities instead of seeking out what is wrong.” (from Street Data by Shane Safir & Jamila Dugan, 2021) Examples of street data include feedback from learning walks, student-teacher interactions, student and parent interviews, and focus groups.
In order to have an effective needs assessment, teams should ensure that they have reflected upon what sources of data the school needs to address the challenges and strengths of the school. This should include data at all three levels (satellite, map, and street). An example of what this might look like can be found here.
For CSI and A-TSI schools, the school improvement facilitator is an important support to assist schools with the analysis of data. As each layer of data is explored, school teams are able to better determine their priorities and address the root cause challenges that are impacting their learners.
To assist schools with preparing for a needs assessment, a number of tools have been developed to support the collection, organization, and analysis of sources of evidence that can inform the planning process.
- Individual Self-Assessment Survey: PDE recommends that the self-assessment team members complete individual, anonymous self-assessments of the 18 Essential Practices for Schools prior to the facilitated self-assessment with the whole group. This allows time for individual members to utilize the PA Essential Practices Rubric and Indicators of Operational Implementation, develop an understanding of the essential practices, and prepare initial thoughts about their own perceptions of the school’s current implementation status of each of the 18 practices. Each member of the self-assessment team completes an individual, anonymous self assessment.
- Individual Self-Assessment Survey – This link creates a copy of an electronic survey in Google Forms. Please make one copy per school and share the new Google Form link with all of the school’s self-assessment team members. Please do not share the forced-copy link provided here. Once a copy is made, you become the owner of the survey and the self-assessment data generated. If you are unfamiliar with distributing Google Forms, please refer to this helpful guide: Sending Google Forms.
- PA Essential Practices Rubric
- Indicators of Operational Implementation
- Data Inventory: This resource is created to assist school teams in getting prepared for the self-assessment activities. It will help to prepare your school team to host an Essential Practices Self-Assessment and ensure the objectives of the assessment are met. Below, you will find a list of possible sources of evidence to support in the facilitation of the self-assessment. This is not an exhaustive list; we encourage school teams to add additional sources of quantitative or qualitative information that would be helpful in assessing any Essential Practice/s. Schools are not expected to have every item on the list available for the facilitated self-assessment (FSA).
- Exploring Schools & Classrooms Protocol: An extremely important aspect of street data is ensuring that the student experience is documented and used as a key part of the needs assessment. The walkthrough tools provided below may be used to conduct explorations of the classroom and the school. These tools are also aligned with the Essential Practices for Schools and Communities.
An extremely important aspect of street data is ensuring that the student experience is documented and used as a key part of the needs assessment. The walkthrough tools provided below may be used to conduct explorations of the classroom and the school. These tools are also aligned with the Essential Practices for Schools and Communities.
Exploring Schools and Classrooms.
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