Assessing Student Engagement

Assessing Student Engagement and Voice in Classroom Practices

This assessment is designed to help you think about specific domains of classroom activity and then reflect on how student voice is engaged in each of those domains. *Listed domains are not exhaustive!

1. Using the Hart’s Ladder model, review specific classroom domains in which student voice may be elevated (please note this is not an exhaustive list).

2. For each context, mark the box of the correlating ladder step that is most consistent at your site.

3. Score individually, or as a team (made of adults and students!), to promote conversation and goal setting as you continually work to amplify student voice in your school. (See detailed information and examples in Hart’s Ladder Model above.)

(Adapted from CPS Student Voice 360 Guide)

Classroom Goals/Rules/Culture: Amplifying student voice in identifying the goals of a classroom (for the day, week, year; learning goals, behavior goals, relationship goals, etc.) as well as the guidelines for how to engage and be engaged helps build a collaborative culture of participation.

Formative Assessments: Formative assessments are a planned and ongoing process that allows students and educators to check student learning and understanding, provides educators feedback from students to determine if learning goals are met, and helps students and educators revamp the lessons and what is being taught. This process involves student voice by design, and can be deepened by inviting students into the planning and implementation processes.

Progress Reporting: Progress reporting invites educators and students to share and reflect upon academic progress. Student participation in this process allows for insight into the particular challenges, interests, and opportunities a student sees in their development.

Classroom Projects and Activities: Building opportunities for students to brainstorm and dream around big picture ideas, provide feedback for adaptations and future improvement, and even being involved in the teaching itself can be meaningful ways for students to collaborate on classroom projects and activities.

Family Engagement: Inviting students to share their thoughts, ideas and engage in planning and implementation for family participation is important for student investment and is more likely to increase caregiver participation.

Assessing Student Engagement and Voice In School/District Systems and Practices

This assessment is designed to help school/district representatives think about broad domains that impact school and district systems and then reflect on how student voice is engaged in each of those domains. *Listed domains are not exhaustive!

1. Using the Hart’s Ladder model, review building/district domains in which student voice may be elevated (please note this is not an exhaustive list).

2. For each context, mark the box of the correlating ladder step that is most consistent at your site.

3. Score individually, or as a team (made of adults and students!), to promote conversation and goal setting as you continually work to amplify student voice in your school. (See detailed information and examples in Hart’s Ladder Model above.)

(Adapted from CPS Student Voice 360 Guide)

School Improvement: Integrating student voice into the broader school improvement process is a very meaningful way to engage students in impactful decisions that will shape their school. If you have student leadership groups in place, students can drive the work of gathering feedback from all students in the school, lead their own assessment, conduct root cause analyses, poll students or conduct focus groups, and/or develop a proposed action-plan.

Classroom Walkthrough: Students’ feedback on teaching and learning provides a first-hand perspective into high-quality classrooms where students feel they belong and are engaged in deep and meaningful learning. During walkthroughs students can share in formal and informal ways what they are learning . Students can weigh in on instructional priorities and focus areas for the school or network. Students can also partner with other educators in classroom observations, as well as aid in gathering feedback from their peers.

Budgets: Engaging students in the budgeting process is an incredibly powerful opportunity for amplifying their voices and needs. Engaging student voice in the budgeting process can include upfront gathering of student priorities to help inform budget development up through including students in each part of the budgeting process throughout the school year.

Hiring: Learning how candidates interact with students and students taking a leadership role in such a process is an important opportunity to determine whether someone is a fit for your school community. Students can be invited into a feedback process after a candidate visit, participate in experiencing and responding to demonstration lessons, engage in candidate interviews, and be a part of the hiring committee.

Attendance, Discipline, Culture and Climate: Building a strong and productive school community relies on inclusive and respectful collaboration with students. Connecting with students through building community agreements, identifying norms and solutions when challenges arise, and planning for response and action are all important. Students can also share perspective and work with their peers to identify the root causes behind challenges related to attendance, discipline, or otherwise so that solutions are authentic and productive for the school community and solved collaboratively.

Curriculum Content/Technology Use: Engaging students in what and how they want to learn is just a first step in building broader engagement in the learning process. While students can engage directly in the classroom on their day to day learning and activities, involvement through survey feedback, observation, focus groups and even involvement on the curriculum team provide meaningful opportunities for student participation in the earliest stages of the learning process.

Family/Community Engagement: Engaging students in how, where and when to invest in partnerships with families and the community can lead to student advocates who can build the broader voice and message of a district while simultaneously helping build the web of support that is most needed for their success in the day to day of life.

Building Use/Design/Care: Students care about the space they are required to be in. Involvement of student voices in the design of new spaces, the reimagining of current spaces and how to engage in the care and upkeep helps adults understand student hopes and needs while also building a natural investment in the care of resources.