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 | NEASC-CPSS Committee on Public Secondary Schools |
CPSS Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
- Are the surveys available in another language other than English?
All CPSS surveys are available in English. A Spanish version of the parent survey is also available online. Text versions are available on the Survey Resources page which can be used to create your own translations.
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- Can I see the survey before I place my order?
Text versions of the surveys are available for review purposes only on the Survey Resources page. Please note that this text version is not suitable for distribution or data collection.
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- Do you have a database of how other students in other schools have answered these questions so we can compare our results?
Each school´s data on its own is confidential. We are not at liberty to share the results of particular schools. However, annual aggregate reports are available on the Survey Resources web page. Please keep in mind that this is merely an aggregate of school data over a single academic year, which does not act as a benchmark. We also encourage schools to compare their results against their own Mission Statement, stated standards, and objectives, or to their own results from previous surveys.
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- How can we prevent someone from taking the survey on line more than once?
There is no way to prevent this, although to date after surveying 100´s of schools this has not been an issue in schools as far as we know. Our suggestion is that students be monitored and not given the survey code. A teacher could read the code, which is typically 8 digits. If a mischievous student wanted to remember the code and take the survey multiple times they could; just as a mischievous student (or parent with an agenda) could collect more than one paper survey and slip them into a pile. There are a few things to keep in mind. When the process is finished we will know exactly how many respondents in each group have taken the survey. If you have 1000 students and 1200 have taken the survey we will know there has been a problem. Also, a student (or parent) would have to take the survey many many times to have a statistically significant impact on the results.
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- How do I sign up/register my school to take a Self Study survey?
To register your school for a Self Study survey, simply send an email directly to our project manager, Judi Sabella (jsabella@endicott.edu). Judi will email you a link to our online registration form. Once completed, you will receive instructions on how to administer the survey at your school.
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- How long does it take to take a survey?
It takes about 15 minutes to take each survey except for the professional staff survey, which takes approximately 25 minutes to complete.
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- How long will I have access to the on line surveys?
The Endicott Research Center recommends a two-week window from the beginning to the end for the survey taking process. Once all respondent groups have completed the surveys and you have notified us, access will then be closed.
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- How will we know when we should close the on line survey?
You should set a window for taking the survey if it is not happening completely under your control. (for example: parents taking the survey at home) In your cover letter indicate a deadline for finishing the survey (a two week window seems to work for most schools). When the deadline arrives you can contact us and we can see in the database how many have taken the survey. If the results are satisfactory (15-20% for parents), then we can process the results. If not, you can get the word out to parents that you are extending the deadline for another week to generate more participation. We recommend only doing that once. Alternatively, you can simply set a deadline and adhere to it.
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- Is it possible to get the raw data for my school after we are done taking the survey?
The raw data file is available by request for an additional fee. Please contact Judi Sabella (jsabella@endicott.edu) to request your data file. The file will be emailed, depending on the size of the file (more respondents means a larger file and the email server has a limit on the size of file it will allow). If the file is too large to email, it will be hosted online at a secure site where you can then download it.
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- Should parents of students too young to take the survey themselves still take the survey?
One parent of every child in the school should be offered the opportunity to participate in the survey. This includes parents of students who are too young to take the survey themselves.
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- What do you mean by professional staff?
The professional staff survey is for everyone in a school who is part of the professional staff... that is: certification level and above. This includes teachers, building administrators, certified guidance personnel, certified media services, and any other certified staff such as social workers, etc.
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- What percentage of the students am I required to survey?
All students and professional staff are expected to take the survey. It is also expected that all parents have the opportunity to take the survey.
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- What grades should take the NEASC/CPSS surveys?
Grades 6-12
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- When will I be invoiced?
Your school will receive an invoice from Endicott College´s business office the month following submission of your completed survey order to The Endicott Research Center. (for example if you submit a registration form on October 1st, you will be invoiced in the month of November).
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- Who should take the survey?
The survey should be taken by all students (CPSS: Grades 6-12; CIS: Year Groups 5-13), the entire professional staff, and as many parents as possible (15-20% is considered satisfactory). One parent of every child in the school regardless of grade should be offered the opportunity to participate in the survey.
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- What if I need to re-open my online surveys after I´ve closed them?
There is a $200 fee to re-open surveys once a school has indicated they should be closed out. If a report has been issued to the school requesting to re-open the surveys, the fee is $500.
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