Don’t wait until the last inning to make a change: Gather real time data to implement meaningful interventions with Direction Survey

Don’t wait until the last inning to make a change: Gather real time data to implement meaningful interventions with Direction Survey

Students have the greatest stake in their school experience, yet they often have limited say in how it is delivered. We must listen to them, gain their confidence and commitment, and genuinely center their voices in decision making.  To do so, we must allow students to regularly share their perspectives—and make their voices, critical to any school change effort, heard.

Consider what would happen to a manager of a baseball team who waited until the last inning to make a pitching change, despite trailing by double- digit runs.  The manager had the data but simply didn’t use it until the end of the game. Too late.

Likewise, end of the year surveys, while valuable, are often too late to provide the information needed to implement interventions for struggling students or help to achieve a proactive and preventative school climate.  With Direction Survey, however, educators can check the pulse of their school community on a real-time basis to inform policies and practices that shape the school experience and develop targeted interventions to change a student’s trajectory. 

Recently, Direction Survey added questions specifically designed to measure stakeholder perception of diversity, equity, and inclusion.  The questions address a site’s commitment to and climate for equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as an assessment of specific practices in support of these efforts.  At one site, leaders were surprised to learn the majority of their high school students responded “no” to the question of whether school staff seeks and listens to student voices when making school decisions.  Despite what leadership believed were robust efforts to encourage student voice, students felt otherwise, compromising engagement and trust in school leadership. 

Data tells a story. But that story can’t wait until the last pitch. Young people have important insights about their own learning. They also have the most to gain when they succeed in school. For more information on Direction Survey go to Direction Survey.com

(3) With Direction Survey, educators can create unlimited surveys relevant to their local school site, collect and analyze data quickly and efficiently, and leverage a bank of resources specific to the needs reflected in the survey findings.