Program Evaluation, Surveys, and Research

Evaluation staff conducts summative evaluations of instructional programs and departments for the purpose of continuous improvement.

• Program Evaluation Reports
• Program Evaluation Schedule

P&E coordinates the review of applications for research and evaluation studies to be conducted in Arlington Public Schools, and provides technical assistance for internal research projects.

• Research Application for APS Students
• Research Application for All Others

Research Application Deadlines Requests are reviewed on a semi-annual basis. Applications should be submitted in accordance with the deadlines stated below.

• June 30th  for research that is to begin during the fall semester (September – December)
• November 15th for research that is to begin during the spring semester (January – June)

Applicants will receive follow-up to their application within 15 APS business days after the submission deadlines.

Please email completed applications or questions to research.applications@apsva.us.

Evaluation staff coordinate and report on the biennial Your Voice Matters Survey, our new climate survey that replaces the Community Satisfaction Survey and Site-based Survey.

The Your Voice Matters provides feedback from more than 21,000 respondents, including APS families, students in grades 4-12, staff, and teachers. Topics include safety (school and community climate), health and well-being, voice, and engagement. APS and the Arlington Partnership for Children, Youth, and Families (APCYF) partnered on the survey to gather insight on areas of mutual importance and to deepen understanding of youth and family well-being. The results are used to inform work across both the school division and the County. The data also provides APS with new benchmarks for measuring progress with stakeholders on the 2018-2024 Strategic Plan. Your Voice Matters is conducted biannually.

Results from 2022 Your Voice Matters Survey

Below are links to the survey results dashboard and an Insights Report, which provides key takeaways and insights summarized by our survey contractor, Panorama Education. School-level data will be added to the dashboard when available.

• 2022 Your Voice Matters Insights Report
• Survey Results Dashboard

Results from 2020 Your Voice Matters Survey

Below are links to the survey results dashboard and an Insights Report, which provides key takeaways and insights summarized by our survey contractor, Panorama Education. School-level data will be added to the dashboard when available.

• 2020 Your Voice Matters Insights Report   (Español)
• Survey Results Dashboard

Results from 2018 Your Voice Matters Survey

Below are links to the survey results dashboard and an Insights Report, which provides key takeaways and insights summarized by our survey contractor, Panorama Education. School-level data will be added to the dashboard when available. 

• 2018 Your Voice Matters Insights Report
• Survey Results Dashboard
• 2018 Survey Results Press Release

The Office of Program Evaluation reviews surveys distributed school-wide or division-wide prior to administration to help address the following goals:

• Support work/project plans with program and school staff
• Develop a timeline that incorporates all other work in APS
• Provide support and assistance to stuff in areas of survey development and data analysis

Students and staff receive numerous surveys throughout the year which can lead to survey fatigue, loss of instructional and work time, and low response rates. Prior to administering a survey it is important to think through the need and use of a survey.

Survey Considerations Checklist

When thinking a survey, consider the following questions:

• Does the data already exist?
• Does the survey have a clear purpose?
• Has a respondent group been identified?
• Is there an outreach plan for the respondent group?
• Has a survey window been identified? Does this window conflict with other APS surveys, testing, or other circumstances that could impact surveys? (Survey calendar information below)
• Will the survey be distributed in a manner that minimizes impact on workload and instruction?
• Is the survey concise? Are the questions clear and focused to ensure the a limited commitment for the respondent?
• Is the content of the survey free of sensitive topics or questions?
• Has a peer reviewed the topic, language, and accessibility of the survey?
• Do the survey owners have the capabilities and resources to analyze the survey response data?
• Do the survey owners have the capabilities and resources to ensure that individual responses and respondents cannot be identified?
• Is there an approved plan for survey results to be shared with stakeholders?

Survey Review Applications should be completed by any APS staff member that is requesting a survey to be administered to any APS stakeholder – community members, parents, school-based staff, central office-based staff, students, and others.

Requests will be reviewed quarterly and deadlines are listed below. Approval or denial with reason will be provided with 15 business days after each deadline:

• August 31
• November 30
• February 28
• May 31

Be cautious of the dates of review and response time and factor this into your survey timeline. For example, if you want to administer a survey in January, a survey review application should be submitted by August 31st. An application can be submitted by November 30, but your survey administration window may be impacted if there edits are needed to your survey.

Exceptions Not all surveys need to go through the survey review process. Exceptions to the survey review process include:

• Exit/feedback surveys from trainings and events;
• Class surveys/projects;
• Surveys used for scheduling/availability;
• Advisory Group surveys;

If you aren’t sure if your survey needs to go through the survey review process, please reach out to robyn.ristau@apsva.us.

Survey Review Applications will include Two Levels.

Level 1 applications are for surveys that need only review and no other level of support.

Level 2 applications are for staff that are requesting support in several areas from the Evaluation Team, including:

• Reviewing survey questions/assisting with question content
• Assistance with survey design
• Pre-testing survey data
• Pulling data needed for survey distribution (ex., enrollment)
• Uploading survey in K12 Insight survey platform
• Identifying adequate distribution methods
• Cleaning raw data
• Analyzing data
• Providing data summary tables

The Survey Review Application can be completed here.

The Office of Program Evaluation has developed a Survey Calendar that incorporates the current academic calendar, major assessments, and approved surveys. Please consult the 2023-24 Survey Calendar before submitting a Survey Review Application.

For questions about the survey review policy, please contact

Robyn Ristau, Assistant Director of Program Evaluation

robyn.ristau@apsva.us

703-228-6172.

To see the calendar of currently approved APS administered surveys for the 2023-24 School Year, click here.