What can we expect to learn from ESSA's required "fifth indicator," the non-traditional measure of school quality? One direction states are turning is toward capturing students' and teachers' experiences through school-climate surveys. Many districts use such surveys as part of their school improvement efforts. Yet, the indicators required under ESSA are about accountability, as well as school improvement, raising serious and unanswered questions about whether and how these surveys can satisfy both purposes.
Here in Chicago, sixth- through twelfth-graders and all teachers have been taking the My Voice, My School surveys since the early 1990s. Most of the survey measures the 5Essentials, a framework developed and validated by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research (UChicago Consortium). It stems from research showing schools that are rated highly on measures of effective leaders, collaborative teachers, involved families, supportive environment, and ambitious instruction are far more likely than others to show improvements in students' learning gains...