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Learn how to successfully administer student surveys by following New Jersey's active consent law and implementing strategies to increase participation and maintain anonymity.
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Social Norms ProjectSuggestions 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 “opt-out.” • Response rate • A higher response rate increases the sample size, yielding more representative results.
Active Consent Form Distribution and Collection • Parent nights and school events. • Back 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.
