NCBelief Survey

Belief Survey - The North Carolina MTSS Beliefs Survey contains items designed to measure educator beliefs about student learning, problem-solving and expectations for instructional effectiveness. Having an instrument to begin examining educator beliefs about key components within a Multi-Tiered System of Support allows school and district leadership to insure that professional development and coaching is targeted for each staff’s unique needs. Research is clear that educator beliefs about the system they work within and the students they work with can have profound effects on student achievement. 

The North Carolina MTSS Beliefs Survey What is it? The North Carolina MTSS Beliefs Survey was adapted from the Florida Beliefs on RtI Scale developed by the Florida Problem-Solving/Response to Intervention Project team. Like the original Florida instrument, The North Carolina MTSS Beliefs Survey contains items designed to measure educator beliefs about student learning, problem-solving and expectations for instructional effectiveness. The Florida instrument was modified to update the language and to insure alignment with North Carolina’s MTSS model. In order to insure this was fully representative and valid for use in North Carolina, an expert panel of North Carolina implementers reviewed and provided input on the instrument in July of 2015. 

The North Carolina MTSS Beliefs Survey has 17 items. Respondents rate their level of agreement/disagreement with each statement using the following response scale: 1=Strongly Disagree; 2 =Disagree; 3 =Neutral; 4 = Agree; 5 = Strongly Agree. Although cursory examination of the items may suggest relationships of certain items to one another, unlike the Florida instrument, items are not grouped into domains or factors at this time. Interpretation of responses is intended to take place on an item level basis only. 

Why are we measuring beliefs? Having an instrument to begin examining educator beliefs about key components within a Multi-Tiered System of Support allows school and district leadership to insure that professional development and coaching is targeted for each staff’s unique needs. Research is clear that educator beliefs about the system they work within and the students they work with can have profound effects on student achievement. 

Who should complete the NC MTSS Beliefs Survey? The NC MTSS Beliefs Survey is intended for completion by an entire school staff that is implementing or beginning to implement MTSS. It should be completed and collected anonymously for aggregate belief data. No identifying information should be gathered during or after administration. In order to ensure that consensus regarding critical components of MTSS has been reached at the district level, members of the MTSS district team and district leadership team should also complete the instrument anonymously. 

Who should use the results of the NC MTSS Beliefs Survey? The MTSS School Leadership Team will receive and examine staff results first. These teams will then wish to share the aggregate results with building staff. This should be used to facilitate discussions and build consensus for MTSS at the school level. District teams will also wish to receive the schools’ results in order to provide appropriate leadership, professional development and coaching. 

Directions for administration and interpretation: At the school level, best practice is to introduce the MTSS Belief Survey at a staff meeting or within a grade level meeting. The school principal is the most appropriate staff member to introduce the instrument to the staff. The introduction should include the purpose of collecting this information, how the data will be used and assurances that all responses will be anonymous. Educators should then complete the survey independently. 

For analysis, teams should examine the average score for each item (mean) or the frequency of each response on individual items. On items that indicate a lower average score (if using the mean) or high number of responses indicating disagreement (if using score frequency), the school and district leadership will wish to use a systematic problem-solving model to move towards building consensus with staff. Data collection and analysis is best undertaken using an electronic format. 

Frequency of Use: When determining how often educators should complete the North Carolina MTSS Beliefs Survey, it is important to consider the resources available within the schools and district so that plans are adequately supported. In other words, the decision to administer the instrument should be based on the capacity within the system. With this in mind, general recommendations for administration are as follows: ● Prior to formal implementation of MTSS as a baseline of beliefs ● At the end of the first year of implementation to determine any changes in beliefs ● At least one time each subsequent year to inform the next year’s professional development and coaching support