As you may already know, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) administers the DC School Report Card, which shares comparable data we have about public schools, local education agencies (LEAs) and the District with the public. We are required by federal law to provide a state report card, and the DC State Board of Education (SBOE) has authority over the data elements that we put on the website. For years, we had been hearing from the public for school climate survey data, but we did not have a tool to collect these data. We have been working behind the scenes across our agency to make it happen, so when the SBOE passed a resolution requiring school climate survey data, we were ready. The first District-wide school survey, the DC Survey About Your School (DC SAYS), is here!
In spring 2025, for the first time, DC students in grades 3 and above, school-based staff, and parents/caregivers are taking a statewide school climate survey. We will publish an overview of the results on the DC School Report Card in December 2025.
Defining School Culture and Climate
OSSE defines school culture as the prevailing norms, actions, values, and routines cultivated and actively promoted by a school community, including interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures. School climate is a product of school culture and forms the experience of students, parents, and educators in the school community. Together, school culture and climate (SCC) can create positive, welcoming, and inclusive environments where all students are prepared to succeed in school and in life.
What We Are Asking
The surveys will cover a lot of ground, as demonstrated by the table of topics below (each topic has 5-7 questions):
The questions are written to be accessible and age appropriate and are available in seven languages. Accommodations to meet individual student needs, like read aloud, are easily available. OSSE has two unique questions about safety and attendance, but all other questions have been trialed in other states and districts by our vendor (Panorama Education). OSSE also developed a survey specifically for adult students. You can see the content of all of the surveys on our school climate survey website.
Piloting the Surveys
The surveys have been vetted by our LEAs. In spring 2024, OSSE convened an Advisory Cohort of 16 LEAs to pilot the surveys and listen to feedback about the content, administration and supports. These LEAs administered the surveys and gave OSSE feedback every month. (We also supported them with School Climate Enhancement Grants, which you can read about here.) For the spring 2024 administration, OSSE only had access to participation data from the Advisory Cohort – only the LEAs could see their own data and comparisons to the group overall. OSSE was happy to see that the demographics from our Advisory Cohort aligned closely with the demographics of the District overall (see below).
Another encouraging sign was the time it took folks to complete the survey. We do not want these surveys to be a drag for schools to administer or for people to take; OSSE understands that there are a lot of surveys that LEAs and schools are being asked to complete and distribute. The median time for students, as well as school-based staff, to complete the survey was around 10 minutes. Parents/caregivers only needed six minutes, and we shortened the survey, as well.
Surveys in 2025
The first DC SAYS window ran from Feb. 24-April 4, 2025. OSSE provided promotional flyers, blurbs and a parent notification letter in multiple languages on our school climate survey resources website. If you have any questions or concerns, please email [email protected].