“…the most difficult goal has been to organize data that can inform our practice at the site level…nothing will be more important than supporting…practice that gives voice to those closest to the business of teaching and learning: teachers, students, and parents…. ”    John Wann, PrincipaL    Valley View School    Phoenix, Arizone

How the ASK Process Works

Preparing: The school first outlines the kinds of data it wants to collect (and why). Staff then meets with a sample of students to explain the purpose of this survey. Students are asked to review the survey questions and to help improve the survey instrument as needed.

Analyzing Data: Once the completed survey sheets are returned, graphs or charts are created for items of interest and diverse student groups are selected to review the survey results. To prevent overload, small groups of students are each given a portion of findings. Students are guided to look at grade-level differences and at gender, racial, and ethnic response patterns. Students summarize the trends and report these to each other.

Next, the small groups discuss why students may have responded in this way. Students are encouraged to bring their own insights and interests to these discussions, but the ultimate goal is for the students to get a picture of what the whole data set portrays about their school.

Making Recommendations: When the students understand the results and have had peer discussions, they are ready to make recommendations for improvement. Often, students will suggest ways that they themselves can be more involved in the improvement work and encourage a re-administration of the survey at a future date.