Transcript Social Norms Project Suggestions for successfully administering student surveys Active Parent Consent - It’s The Law!  New Jersey Statute (N.J.S.A.

Social Norms Project
Suggestions for successfully
administering student
surveys
Active Parent Consent
- It’s The Law!  New
Jersey Statute (N.J.S.A. 18A:36-34)
Parents/guardians must be given two weeks to
review the student survey, if they choose.
All student surveying is “opt-in,” rather than “optout.”
 Response
rate
A higher response rate increases the sample size,
yielding more representative results.
Active Consent Form
Distribution and Collection
 Parent
 Back
nights and school events.
to School Night.
 Required parent meetings before student events, such as
the prom.
 Have
a drop-box available in the school lobby or
main office for parents to return consents.
Active Consent Form Collection
 Homeroom
incentives for returning the consent
forms.
Provide a “Pizza Party” or any non-sugar based
food to the class with highest response rate.
Offer a “No Homework Pass.”
Give small prizes.
Offer “skip to the front of the lunch line” pass.
Special Considerations
 Be
sure the consent form has a space to indicate
whether or not parent permission is granted. The
samples included in the Social Norms Project Tool
Kit have a space for parent permission.
 Email
“blasts” have been more successful in
informing parents about the project than in
increasing collection of the consent forms.
Technical Requirements for the
Electronic Student Survey
Personal
computers (PCs) running
Windows 2000 or higher.
Microsoft
Excel (XP or higher) with
the ability to enable “macros.”
Installing the Student Survey Electronically
 The
survey is an Excel spreadsheet coded with
Visual Basic. The workbook will need to be
installed on as many computers as will be in use for
the survey (recommended less than 20).
 Copy
and paste the data from all computers into
one master spreadsheet.
Administering the Student
Survey - Paper
 Some
schools may find it easier to use the paper
version of the survey provided on the CD in the Social
Norms Project Tool Kit. If this is the case, it may be
easier to use an electronic scanning form to tabulate
results.
 If not, results would be counted by hand, and entered
into an Excel spreadsheet provided on the CD in the
Tool Kit.
 Be sure you have signed parental consent forms for all
students taking the survey.
Administering the Student
Survey - Electronically
There
are detailed instructions included
with the Tool Kit for installing and running
the survey.
The
survey must be installed on each
computer, since it is not a web-based
survey.
Anonymity
 Be
sure not to stand directly behind students
where their monitors or papers can be read while
they are taking the survey.
 For
the paper survey, ask students to place
completed surveys into an envelope or box, at
random (not by seating or the alphabet) to ensure
anonymity.
Interpretation of the Data
 Social
norms messages are based on the percent
of students that answered a question in a certain
way.
Data Example: 85 out of 100 students surveyed
indicated they “feel safe in our school.”
Message: “85% of us feel very safe in our
school.”
 Remember,
the perception will change before the
behavior, in most cases.
Tips and Tricks for Surveying
Verify
before surveying that you have a
signed parental consent form for each
student taking the survey.
A
school can determine the period of time
between surveying.
For
example, schools can survey in the
beginning of consecutive years, or they can
choose to survey every other year.
Tips and Tricks for Surveying
Ask
students to stop surveying if
they are being disruptive to the
process or other students.
Remind
students that their answers
are anonymous.