The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
Customer Satisfaction Survey
In November 2011, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) hired the Donahue Institute at the University of Massachusetts to conduct a reprise of a customer satisfaction survey originally conducted in 2009. The survey gauged perceptions about the agency's services from three of our key constituencies: superintendents, principals, and charter school leaders.
I am pleased to report that DESE has made substantial strides in improving customer satisfaction over the last two years. The attached reports provide an overall look at the results and details on responses from each of the three groups surveyed. Highlights are summarized below.
The majority of respondents somewhat or strongly agreed that DESE had articulated a clear vision for educational improvement in Massachusetts, and most felt that DESE's apparent level of commitment to its six major goals was moderate or high.
All three groups rated us as less compliance-oriented in 2011 than in 2009, though the rate of change varied by group.
Percent rating us in the bottom three points on a nine-point scale from predominantly compliance to predominantly assistance. Superintendents Principals CS leaders 2009 2011 2009 2011 2009 2011 To what extent has DESE's contact with your district focused on ensuring compliance as opposed to providing assistance? 77.9% 64.2% 57.8% 52.0% 78.6% 72.2% We achieved statistically significant improvements in DESE engagement with districts and overall perceptions of quality among superintendents and principals.
Percent that somewhat or strongly agreed with the following statements. Superintendents Principals 2009 2011 2009 2011 DESE provides effective support for educational improvement in my district (school) 32.6% 58.7% 41.9% 49.6% DESE focuses on enhancing my district's ability to support curriculum and instruction (enhancing the quality of C&I) 24.7% 58.9% 64.6% 77.4% DESE offers my district (school) a chance to provide input regarding policy and program development 46.4% 64.2% 37.2% 57.3% DESE is effective in its efforts to improve the overall quality of public K-12 education 41.7% 60.0% 58.4% 64.1% We received high marks for customer service.
- 94.7% of superintendents, 90.0% of principals, and 86.1% of charter school leaders somewhat or strongly agreed that "ESE responds to inquiries in a professional and courteous manner."
- 82.5% of superintendents, 80.0% of principals, and 75.0% of charter school leaders somewhat or strongly agreed that "ESE communicated proactively when there are important policy or regulatory changes."
Most DESE services were rated fair on a scale of excellent / good / fair / poor, typically with about 40% to 50% of respondents choosing that option.
- Services rated: curriculum, instruction, and assessment; educator effectiveness; support for district and school improvement; student support services.
- Superintendents and principals noted significant improvements in the quality of services for curriculum and instruction and coordination of the accountability system, though levels of satisfaction were still lower than desirable.
Some perceptions differed across groups of respondents.
- Principals were consistently more positive about DESE services than superintendents were, and they were also more likely to show statistically significant improvements in their ratings of our quality.
- Respondents from Level 3 and 4 districts were more likely to say that DESE provides effective support for educational improvement, as compared to respondents from Level 1 and 2 districts. They also rated DESE more favorably on the compliance-assistance scale.
- Charter school leaders showed almost no statistically significant changes over the prior survey and were generally a little less positive about DESE overall.
Survey response rates:
- Superintendents: 189 responses, 71.3% response rate
- Principals: 822 responses, 48.8% response rate
- Charter school leaders: 40 responses, 59.7% response rate
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