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Implementing Needs Assessment

This CoP supported state education agencies (SEAs) that had begun the roll-out, pilot, or implementation phases of a needs assessments in their state. It was predicated on state-expressed interest in receiving peer and subject matter expert (SME) support during their needs-assessment efforts related to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

CoP Summary

This CoP supported state education agencies (SEAs) that had begun the roll-out, pilot, or implementation phases of a needs assessments in their state. It was predicated on state-expressed interest in receiving peer and subject matter expert (SME) support during their needs-assessment efforts related to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In particular, CoP members worked with State Support Network SMEs to do the following:

  • Refine and continue developing their state-specific plan for implementing their comprehensive needs-assessment protocol statewide. The protocol focused on the areas of communications, training, tracking and using needs assessment data over time, and using implementation feedback
  • Include multiple stakeholders at the SEA level in the needs assessment, which will help to break down silos, streamline data collection, and move from compliance toward continuous improvement
  • Troubleshoot local implementation to ensure the needs-assessment process is responsive to local context and achieves desired outcomes, and define essential flexibilities in the process that will permit customization at the local level
  • Clearly define the role of the district staff, SEA coaches and other technical assistance providers supporting the needs assessment process who have impacted (and/or should impact) implementation
  • Formally capture lessons learned from Year 1 implementation across all levels (school, district, SEA) to improve the process overall

The resources below were used during learning cycle virtual meetings and asynchronous activities. They are organized in two sections. The first set of resources were provided to CoP members from subject matter experts (SMEs), and are comprised of resources curated from other technical assistance providers. The second set of resources were those subject matter experts created for the work of the CoP.

Participating SEAs: Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Ohio, South Dakota

CoP Duration: August 2017 through February 2018

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)
Page Last Reviewed:
September 14, 2024