California County Superintendent Survey
Under a contract with the U.S. Department of Education, WestEd, a non-profit research, development, and service agency headquartered in San Francisco, is conducting this survey to determine the needs of educators in the western region.
Developed for teachers, school and district administrators, and school board members in the western states (Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah), the survey is designed to yield valuable information about school practitioner needs and priorities as they relate to issues of school improvement, educating English learners, quality of teaching, teacher workforce, assessment, student readiness to learn, and secondary school reform.
As an educator or policymaker, your views are critical in shaping research that will then inform the development of policies, programs, and services in these areas—both for WestEd and for education policymakers throughout the region. So, please do take the time to respond.
Completing the survey will take about 20 minutes.
Responses to this survey will be used only for statistical purposes. The reports prepared from this survey will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific school, district, county, or individual. We will not provide information that identifies you or your school, district, or county to anyone outside the survey team, except as required by law.
If you should have questions about this survey, please contact Emily Rosenthal at Berkeley Policy Associates (the organization administering this survey for WestEd) at 1-800-XXX-XXXX.
For information about WestEd and our programs and services, log on to our website at www.WestEd.org. To learn more about the U.S. Department of Education’s Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Program, under which WestEd heads the REL West and is conducting this survey, please visit http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/ .
Thank you, in advance, for responding to this survey.
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is xxxx-xxxx. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 20 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202-4651. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: Rafael Valdivieso, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Room 506E, Washington, D.C. 20208.
Your cooperation in completing this survey will help to make the results of this study comprehensive, reliable, and timely. The information collected will be presented as aggregate statistics only, with no individually identifying information.
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE SURVEY
Please read each question and click on the box for the response choice (see examples 1 and 2) that best represents your position. Select only one response (unless otherwise specified) for each statement or question.
Example 1:
Please indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements.
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Strongly disagree |
Disagree |
Agree |
Strongly Agree |
Don’t Know |
1. In my county, we currently need to do more to improve secondary education.
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Example 2:
To improve secondary education, how critical is the need in your school to . . .
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Not at all critical |
A little critical |
Rather critical |
Extremely critical |
2. strengthen curriculum content?
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1. In which county do you serve as County Superintendent?
[Dropdown list of California counties]
2. Does your county offer all grades K-12?
Yes, grades K-12 → Skip to question 4 (automatic)
No, grades 1-12 only → Skip to question 4
No, my county also offers prekindergarten (PK-12) → Skip to question 4
No, my county offers another combination of grades → Check grades offered in next question
3. Which of the following grades does your county currently offer? Mark all that apply.
Prekindergarten
Kindergarten
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
My county is ungraded
Please indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements.
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Strongly disagree |
Disagree |
Agree |
Strongly Agree |
Don’t Know |
4. School improvement is a critical issue for my county (whether or not enough is being done to address it).
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5. In my county we currently need to do more related to school improvement. |
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To improve your schools, how critical is the need to provide support for . . .
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Not at all critical |
A little critical |
Rather critical |
Extremely critical |
6. data-driven decision-making? |
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7. information on school improvement models? |
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8. teacher professional development? |
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9. administrator professional development/leadership training? |
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10. aligning goals across grades and schools? |
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11. math and reading interventions? |
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12. school restructuring? |
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13. parent involvement? |
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14. school safety? |
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15. school finance? |
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16. physical school building maintenance? |
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17. Is there another critical need related to school improvement in your county?
No → Skip to question 19
Yes
18. Please list this other critical need related to school improvement in your county.
__________________________________________________________
Please indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements.
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Strongly disagree |
Disagree |
Agree |
Strongly Agree |
Don’t know |
19. Educating English learners is a critical issue in my county (whether or not enough is being done to address it).
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20. In my county we need to do more to address concerns about educating English learners. |
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To better address the issue of educating English learners, how critical is the need in your county for. . .
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Not at all critical |
A little critical |
Rather critical |
Extremely critical |
21. effective instructional strategies for teaching English learners?
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22. effective instructional materials appropriate for English learners?
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23. clear academic standards to guide instruction for English learners?
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24. curriculum to specifically guide instruction for English learners?
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25. clear communication about rules and procedures for re-classifying or re-designating English learners? |
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26. Is there another critical need related to the instruction of English learners in your county?
No → Skip to question 28
Yes
27. Please list this other critical need related to the instruction of English learners in your county.
__________________________________________________________
Please indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements.
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Strongly disagree |
Disagree |
Agree |
Strongly Agree |
Don’t Know |
28. Improving the quality of teaching is a critical issue in my county (whether or not enough is being done to address it).
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29. In my county we need to do more to improve the quality of teaching. |
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Not at all critical |
A little critical |
Rather critical |
Extremely critical |
30. teaching gifted and talented students? |
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31. teaching students with special needs? |
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32. teaching mathematics? |
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33. teaching language arts? |
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34. teaching science? |
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35. teaching social studies? |
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36. teaching foreign language? |
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37. managing classrooms? |
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38. Is there another critical need related to the quality of teaching in your county?
No → Skip to question 40
Yes
39. Please list this other critical need related to the quality of teaching in your county.
__________________________________________________________
Please indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements.
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Strongly disagree |
Disagree |
Agree |
Strongly Agree |
Don’t Know |
40. Recruiting and retaining good teachers is a critical issue in my county (whether or not enough is being done to address it).
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41. In my county we need to do more to recruit and retain good teachers. |
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To better address the recruitment and retention of good teachers, how critical is the need in your county for . . .
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Not at all critical |
A little critical |
Rather critical |
Extremely critical |
42. good candidates entering the teaching profession? |
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43. assigning good teachers where they are most needed? |
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44. mentoring and other support for new teachers? |
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48. Is there another critical need related to teacher workforce issues in your county?
No → Skip to question 50
Yes
49. Please list this other critical need related to teacher workforce issues in your county.
__________________________________________________________
Please indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements.
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Strongly disagree |
Disagree |
Agree |
Strongly Agree |
Don’t Know |
50. Student assessment is a critical issue in my county (whether or not enough is being done to address it).
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51. In my county we need to do more to address concerns about assessment. |
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To better address assessment, how critical in your county is the need for . . .
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Not at all critical |
A little critical |
Rather critical |
Extremely critical |
52. aligning assessments with standards?
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53. better assessment accommodations or alternative assessments for English learners?
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54. better assessment accommodations for students with special needs?
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57. Is there another critical need related to assessment in your county?
No → Skip to question 59
Yes
58. Please list this other critical need related to assessment in your county.
__________________________________________________________
Please indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements.
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Strongly disagree |
Disagree |
Agree |
Strongly Agree |
Don’t Know |
59. Students coming to school unprepared to learn is a critical issue in my county (whether or not enough is being done to address it).
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60. In my county we need to do more to address the issue of students not being ready to learn. |
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To better address students’ preparation for school and learning, how critical is the need for strategies to address . . .
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Not at all critical |
A little critical |
Rather critical |
Extremely critical |
61. students’ cognitive skill development (e.g., academic skills, grade-level specific skills)?
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62. students’ social-emotional development?
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63. student health (e.g., immunizations, nutrition, sleep)?
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66. Is there another critical need related to students’ preparation for school and learning in your county?
No → Skip to question 68
Yes
67. Please list this other critical need related to students’ preparation for school and learning in your county.
__________________________________________________________
→ If Elementary county superintendent will automatically skip to question 80
Secondary Reform
Please indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements.
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Strongly disagree |
Disagree |
Agree |
Strongly Agree |
Don’t Know |
68. Improving secondary education is a critical issue in my county (whether or not enough is being done to address it).
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69. In my county we currently need to do more to improve secondary education. |
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To improve secondary education, how critical is the need in your county to . . .
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Not at all critical |
A little critical |
Rather critical |
Extremely critical |
70. strengthen curriculum content?
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71. increase academic requirements for graduation?
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72. implement structural changes (e.g., reduce school size, change length of school day)?
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78. Is there another critical need related to secondary school reform in your county?
No → Skip to question 80
Yes
79. Please list this other critical need related to secondary school reform in your county.
__________________________________________________________
80. Do you have any additional comments?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please provide the following information so that we may contact you if we have further questions.
81. Name of person completing survey ______________________________
82. Telephone __ __ __ -__ __ __ - __ __ __ __
83. Email _________________________________
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 0000-00-00 |