5Essentials FAQs

WHY use the 5Essentials Survey? 

A longstanding body of national research shows that learning environments and developmental experiences shape students’ outcomes.* 

The 5Essentials Survey offers a confidential opportunity for teachers and students to share their school experiences to provide insights that school leaders can use to improve or strengthen their school’s culture, climate, and student outcomes. 

*including many UChicago Consortium research studies and research syntheses, such as Investing in Adolescents, Early Insights from the Revalidation of the Cultivate Survey, 5Essentials Survey in CPS, Teaching Adolescents to Become Learners, and Foundations for Young Adult Success. 

WHO takes the surveys? 

The 5Essentials Survey includes both a teacher survey and a student survey. The teacher survey is open to all teachers of grades pre-k-12, and other school staff like coaches, librarians, and teaching assistants. The student survey is open to students in grades 4-12. 

The higher the participation rates, the more likely the surveys accurately represent students’ and teachers’ experiences in the school. 

Participation: 

• Participation is completely voluntary for teachers and students. Teachers and students can stop taking the survey or skip questions at any time, and principals are unable to see whether or not a teacher completed the survey.
• If any teacher or student feels they cannot respond honestly or they are being forced to participate, they are encouraged to contact the 5Essentials hotline at 5Essentials@uchicago.edu or (866) 440-1874.
• The University of Chicago Urban Education Institute, which includes UChicago Impact and the UChicago Consortium on School Research, takes concerns about the administration and ethics of the 5Essentials Survey seriously.
• Individuals making complaints to the hotline remain anonymous.
• In Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the complaints are investigated through CPS Central Office. 

Interested? 

• If your school or district is not yet using the 5Essentials Survey and would like to, please contact us ccsr-survey@uchicago.edu. 

WHEN are 5Essentials Surveys taken? 

Teachers and students take 5Essentials Surveys yearly, typically during a 5-6-week window in early spring. 

WHAT happens after students take the survey? 

School reports are available 6-7 weeks after the survey window closes. 

In Chicago and in Illinois, school reports are available publicly at https://www.5-essentials.org/. 

• Since 2018, Illinois uses schools’ survey participation on the 5Essentials to fulfill its fifth indicator requirement under ESSA. (Illinois began administering surveys statewide in 2013.)
• In 2023, the Chicago Board of Education passed a new Continuous Improvement and Data Transparency policy that includes data from the Supportive Environment essential in reporting on schools’ practices and student outcomes, which are shared via school profiles. 

School reports provide detailed information on measures and essentials that are strong, neutral, or weak. School reports are powerful tools to guide reflection and inform strategies for school improvement. The Dashboard Summary (see top right of school reports) is a good place to start data inquiry. School leaders and staff can compare different measures, look at how their data has changed over time, and how students’ reported experiences differ across different student groups, including by gender, grade level, race/ethnicity, individualized education plan, English Learner, and free/reduced lunch data. 

For example, at McPherson Elementary in Chicago, 2015 5Essentials Survey results revealed low levels of student-teacher trust—an issue that surprised the principal. They turned surprise into action, and spent the next year focused on clear expectations, strong relationships, and respect school-wide. The 5Essentials Survey helped McPherson’s school community identify an area for improvement, and later surveys helped them see how much their efforts were working—they almost doubled their student-teacher trust score in two years. 

Read more about that story from UChicago Impact’s case study, and see the 2021 report, 5Essentials Survey in CPS Using School Climate Survey Results to Guide Practice, for additional details about survey use in Chicago Public Schools—including the role of instructional leadership teams and external leadership coaches. 

HOW do the 5Essentials and Cultivate Surveys complement each other, in schools using both? 

Schools using both 5Essentials and Cultivate are able to access both a broad and a deep understanding of students’ school and classroom experiences, and thus identify different levers to help improve conditions at both the school and classroom levels.

Learn more about Cultivate and check out this two-page 5Essentials & Cultivate overview for more details. (Ver aquí para español.) 

WHERE can I find more information about… 

• The parent survey I received from Chicago Public Schools (CPS)?
  • The CPS parent survey is not part of the 5Essentials Survey. It is governed and administered by CPS. Please see the CPS surveys website for more information.
• What organizations govern and administer the 5Essentials Surveys in CPS?
  • The teacher survey is governed by the University of Chicago Social and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board (IRB). The teacher survey is administered by UChicago Impact. CPS receives only school-level scores for the teacher survey.
  • The student survey is governed by CPS Central Office and administered by UChicago Impact. While CPS governs the student survey, individual schools and principals do not have access to student responses. Learn more.
• Requesting a copy of the survey?
  • You can review approved survey uses and submit a request with our survey team.