LEAD & MANAGE MY SCHOOL
Using Existing Data in Your Needs Assessment


       •  Synthesis of Discussion
         

    Thank you all for participating in this event's discussion about using existing data in your assessment of local needs! We appreciate the time and energy that you devoted to this online event and are thrilled with the number and quality of your comments. You raised many important issues which we have briefly summarized in this document.

    Several MSCs asked about how much needs assessment data to collect and how to organize these data.

    As one coordinator wrote:

    " …We are swimming in data. I fear the challenge will be selecting what is relevant and putting it all together. It is exciting, yet overwhelming as it "feels" like one could spend endless time on this, yet time is of the essence to pick out what's important to address. How do you go about narrowing the field to address the most important issues, while not losing sight of "other relevant data" also?"

    Suggested strategies included:

    • Looking across data sources for a common theme (or themes) and focusing your examination of the data on that theme
    • Looking at what you have identified as the biggest problems across data sources
    • Talking to people "in the know" -- professionals who have been around for a long time, as well as students who are involved in whatever behaviors you are looking at

    Several MSCs asked about the acceptability and utility of collecting information about people other than middle school students.

    According to one MSC:

    " The MSC grant specifically states MSCs can only serve middle school (5th-9th grade) students, but I've found that the majority of my middle school students are already immersed in problems behaviors before my program can intervene."

    In response, Wayne Harding, Training Center evaluator and lead facilitator for this event, commented that while the first priority is to look at data about the MSC target population (middle school students), it can be useful to look at data on both younger and older students.

    Several MSCs discussed the pros and cons of relying on information collected from existing surveys.

    For example, one MSC who had relied on a student survey (conducted for the last 5 years by a previous CSAP Grant) wondered if she should supplement this information with a survey of community members. Another MSC expressed concern that information gleaned from a survey conducted in 1999 would be out-of-date.

    Regarding the first concern, Wayne wrote:

    " It is always useful, but not always possible, to collect data from community members … such surveys are expensive to conduct. Another, less costly approach is to hold interviews with some key community leaders whose positions relate to substance abuse/violence and to perhaps run a focus group or two with parents. The information collected using these methods may not as accurately represent the views of the entire community as a survey, but it can still be useful in guiding your prevention plans by identifying some key problems and current efforts to address them."

    Regarding the timeliness issue, he reminded coordinators that there is often a "lag time" in existing data sources, and that data from 1999 is actually not all that old. He also underscored the importance of looking at existing survey data for trends - to try and get a sense of whether things in your community are getting better, worse, or are staying about the same in your community.

    Several MSCs had great ideas for where to go to collect existing data.

    • Some underscored the importance of looking at existing grants and participating in the grant-writing process.

      "When we did focus groups for the grant [my] district was writing, I was given a few minutes at each one to present information about the MSC grant and my needs assessment and individuals and agencies shared with me their data, any prevention services they have, and observations about drug prevention and school safety."

      "Try to keep track of what other grants have already been written. You can then ask the authors if they conducted a needs assessment as part of preparing for the grant and if they would be willing to discuss/share what they found out, or share what they wrote about their findings in the application."

    • Others described information they collected from their schools.

      "I was able to obtain data on indicators of school violence from last school year's discipline report. I also obtained attendance reports for the first three nine-week periods of this school year and all of last year. I have contacted other agencies in the community to compare indicators that happen outside the school setting. I am on the discipline committee at the junior high, so I plan to look at current policies to see where (if any) changes may need to be made. I also obtained a survey which was given to students which included a map. Students were given a key such as: B for Bullying or V for vandalism, etc. and put the letter on the area of the campus where the behavior was taking place. "

    • Others provided examples of where they went or were planning to go to collect information. Sources included:

      • Police and sheriff's departments
      • County Health Department
      • Hospitals
      • Chamber of Commerce
      • Crisis Centers
      • District Attorney's office
      • County Juvenile court

      • Service organizations that target a particular population (e.g, one MSC from Oklahoma looked at indicator data collected from organizations servicing the Cherokee Nation)

    • Finally, after interviewing key people in her community, one MSC
      • discovered that her school district hires an outside evaluator to prepare a comprehensive education needs assessment report every three years which contains student, staff, and community responses to ATOD and school safety questions.

    There was a lively discussion about the importance of looking critically at the assessment information you collect.

    For example, one MSC posted this discovery:

    "After reading today's lesson, I focused on the issue of the National 1999 YRBSS figure of 17% you gave for the amount of youth that have carried a weapon in the last 30 days. Statewide, in Alaska, the figure is at 23%. In the local 1999 YRBSS, I noticed that the only question asked of the middle school youth was "have you ever carried a weapon?" which resulted in a 59% resounding yes. I have to look at the attitudes in our community which are that hunting is a value of life here and that many of our youth have carried some kind of weapon while growing up."

    Another MSC responded with this insight:

    " When we got the results that weapon carrying at school seemed higher than what we had expected, I ran focus groups with the students at each school and asked them what they considered a "weapon" when they answered that question. Their answers were surprising! They considered the following to be weapons: rolled coins, safety pins, screwdrivers, and cigarette lighters. My suggestion is to see what your students consider to be weapons!"

    Some MSCs voiced frustration with the lack of support they received of the needs assessment process. As one MSC wrote:

    " At the District level, there is often a head in the sand approach. If we don't ask about problems, then they don't exist… How are we to convince the district that we indeed have a need if we cannot collect the data to demonstrate the need?"

    Finally, many MSCs expressed an interest in having access to the information included in this event beyond the end of next week.

    While this information will not be available immediately, we will make it available to you in the future (once our evaluations are completed). In the meantime, feel free to download and/or print any or all of the information we have provided.

    Once again, thank you so much for your participation in this event. We look forward to hearing from you during the next one - Identifying Prevention Priorities and Strategies for Success, beginning on May 21!


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Last Modified: 11/19/2007