Teacher Input is Powerful!
We’d love to hear from you.
2023-2024 VKRP Teacher Survey
Recently you received a personalized email generated from Qualtrics with a unique link to the 2023-2024 VKRP Teacher Survey. From the beginning of VKRP, educator feedback has been critical to the development and growth of the assessment system. In this blog, we want to outline the topics of the current survey questions and highlight aspects of the VKRP that have been impacted based on educators’ responses about their experiences and insights.
This year’s Teacher Feedback Survey includes questions on how educators are using VKRP data in their classrooms with students. One section, for example, seeks information on how educators connect with families around data reports, specifically for children who are struggling behaviorally and/or academically. It also includes questions that ask for feedback about a mid-year pilot from about 400 educators who are participating.
Every year the VKRP team administers a survey to gather information from YOU – our users of the VKRP assessments, reports, and resources! The questions vary each year focusing on different aspects of the VKRP online system (e.g., training, assessment experience, family reports). For some questions, teachers respond using a rating scale, and for other questions, we ask educators to provide open-ended written feedback.
Why Should You Participate in the Survey?
The short answer: YOUR VOICE MATTERS! The VKRP Team compiles all responses to the survey questions, organizing open-ended feedback into “themes” to share with the entire VKRP staff. We analyze your input, focusing on the common themes, sharing these themes with our partners at VDOE, and together we use that information to help direct our next steps. Your feedback supported key decisions and improvements to VKRP including:
- Assessment selection and improvement
- Expansion of VKRP
- Grades 1-3 assessment pilot
- Resources to support families
Assessment Selection and Improvement
Over a decade ago the VKRP team began working with educators across the commonwealth and VDOE representatives to gather information about mathematics and social-emotional assessments being used in Virginia school divisions. During that process, information shared from educators made it clear that no common assessment in these areas existed across divisions and that many schools and teachers either did not have assessments in these areas or were not pleased with the assessments they currently used.
During the initial piloting of various measures, educators participated in focus groups and welcomed observers into their classrooms during assessments. During this process we learned that teachers preferred streamlined manipulatives and online scoring of the Early Mathematics Assessment System (EMAS) mathematics assessment vs. other assessments they had used in the past. In addition, the Child Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS) was rated easier to complete than other social-emotional learning assessments that were piloted.
Educator feedback was also key in finding a solution to the cumbersome process of logging into separate programs for each assessment. This feedback led to our current method of educators using their VLP (PALS) account credentials to login and then selecting the VKRP button within the literacy website.
Expansion of VKRP
The VKRP assessment system has continued to grow and expand thanks to teacher feedback. Educator expressed a need for assessments that could track students’ growth. This led to the expansion of VKRP first to spring of kindergarten, followed by the addition of fall and spring assessments for publicly-funded three- and four-year-old pre-k children.
1-3 Assessment Pilot
Responding again to educator and legislative feedback, the VKRP team is partnering with numerous school divisions to explore the feasibility and useability of mathematics, social-emotional, and mental health well-being assessments in first, second, and third grades.
Resources to Support Families
Your feedback led to the creation of the Family Information Report that can be used to share information with families about their child’s VKRP data. Additionally, thanks to educator feedback, we created the instructional resource pages to share with families and facilitate dialogue about how to support their child’s continued skill development.
We hope it is clear that educator input continues to significantly impact the growth and improvement of the VKRP assessment system, so please let us hear from you.
And, back to that unique link we mentioned earlier. Using this type of distribution allows you to share your feedback as you have time – starting it today and finishing it next week – whatever works for your schedule. In addition, the unique link allows us to quickly conduct the random draw for 500 $50 gift cards in early March and to email them out to the recipients.
If you haven’t seen a link for the VKRP survey, please check your “spam” or “junk” folder by searching “VKRP Teacher Feedback Survey.”
Thank you in advance for your input on this year’s VKRP Teacher Survey and most of all, for the important work you do on a daily basis supporting Virginia’s youngest learners!
More Questions for the VKRP Team? VKRP provides support via the online chat feature when you are in the system, via email vkrp@virginia.edu, and via toll free 866-301-8278
