Suba, K. (1997). School Quality Satisfaction Survey: Assessing expectation for and satisfaction with quality of education provided by elementary schools. PhD Dissertation, Pennsylvania State University.
Comments: The 44-item survey assesses the opinions of parents, teachers, and administrators regarding the delivery of an excellent quality education. It examines the characteristics of an excellent elementary school and their perceptions about the absence or presence of these characteristics in their current school situation.
Sample: The League for Educational Advancement, which is comprised of a group of seven Pennsylvania school dis- tricts, selected the pilot school districts for the sample. Three school districts, representing eight elementary schools, agreed to take part in the study. They represented urban, suburban, and rural districts.
Reliability: The following alpha coefficients were obtained with a pilot study using three elementary schools: parents— excellent school (0.92) and parents—your school (0.92); teacher—excellent school (0.91) and teacher—your school (0.84); and administrators—excellent school (0.93) and administrators—your school (0.84). In addition, alpha coef- ficients are reported for each of the three groups by category.
Factor Analysis: Although a principal components factor analysis yielded one interpretable factor, school quality sat- isfaction, the author breaks down the items into the following five categories: physical attributes (1–4); attention to individual needs (5–24); instructional leadership (25–32); community involvement (33–38); and learning outcomes (39–44).
Data Analysis: Aggregated mean scores are reported for each of the 44 items as well as for each of the five categories.
In addition, gap analysis provides information about differences among the three groups.
References
Babakus, E., and Mangold, W. G. (1992). Adapting the SERVQUAL scale to hospital services: Empirical investigation. HSR: Health Services Research 26:767–86.
Hartman, W. T. (1994). TQM goes to school. University Park, PA: Center for Total Quality Schools. Jacobson, L. (1997). PTA issues parent involvement standards for schools. Education Week 16:8.
National Institute of Standards and Technology. (1996). The Malcolm Baldrige national quality award: 1996 award criteria. Gaithersburg, MD: United States Department of Commerce Technology Administration.
School Quality Satisfaction Survey
Physical Attributes
1. Schools have modern-looking equipment.
2. The school’s physical facilities appear to be safe and in compliance with building code regulations.
3. Teachers and staff are neat in appearance.
4. The school’s physical facilities provide a neat and clean educational environment.
Attention to Needs of Individuals
5. The school staff carries out promised actions such as educational activities, by the time agreed upon.
6. The school responds correctly to the needs of a parent or student the first time.
7. Teachers and staff inform students and parents of the date and time of educational activities.
8. Teachers and staff give prompt and accurate information to students and parents.
9. Teachers and staff are respectful with the students.
10. Teachers and staff are respectful with their student’s parents.
11. Informational materials associated with the education (such as pamphlets and letters) received by parents are visu- ally appealing, grammatically correct, and factual.
12. The school gives students individual attention.
13. The school gives parents individual attention.
14. The school and school activity hours are convenient for their students.
15. The school and school activity hours are convenient for the parents.
16. The teachers and staff understand the specific needs of their students.
17. The teachers and staff understand the specific needs of parents.
18. The teachers and staff are helpful to their students.
19. The teachers and staff are helpful to parents.
20. Teachers and staff respond to parent questions in a timely manner.
21. Students feel safe in their interactions with the school staff.
22. Parents feel safe in their interactions with the school staff.
23. When a student has a problem, the school shows a sincere interest in solving it.
24. When a parent has a problem, the school shows a sincere interest in solving it.
Instructional Leadership
25. The school has a curriculum that is meaningful and relevant to the students and to the community.
26. The school has a curriculum that encourages the students becoming involved in their education.
27. Homework is required to be performed by the students on a regular basis.
28. Homework is assigned as a review of the instructional activity in the classroom.
29. Homework is assigned which may require further guidance and assistance from the parent.
30. The behavior of teachers and staff instills confidence in students.
31. The behavior of teachers and staff instills confidence in the parents.
32. Teachers and staff have knowledge to answer parents’ educational questions.
Community Involvement
33. The school includes the community in the development of the curriculum.
34. The school works with the community as equal partners to set and meet goals for the students.
35. The school works with the students and their parents as equal partners to set and meet goals for the students.
36. The school has individuals in leadership positions who invest time to develop a common sense of purpose in the school community.
37. The school promotes parental involvement in the education of their child (for example by volunteering).
38. The school offers parenting skills classes to the parents on a voluntary basis.
Learning Outcomes
39. The school maintains accurate and up-to-date student performance records (for example assessment tests and report cards).
40. The school’s primary purpose is to assist the students in achieving the district’s academic goals.
41. The school promotes methods that focus on teaching the basic content areas (for example, reading, math, science, and social studies).
42. Teaching methods are utilized to foster creative thinking skills.
43. Student achievement results are used to assess the overall academic performance of the school.
44. Students achieve at or above an average level in their academic subjects.
Scoring: For Excellent Schools: 1 = Not Essential; 2 = Slightly Essential; 3 = Neutral; 4 = Essential; and 5 = Absolutely Es- sential. For Your School: 1 = Not at All; 2 = Rarely; 3 = Sometimes; 4 = Almost Always; 5 = Always; and 6 = Don’t Know.