Dear Principal:
The afterschool/summer program at our school site will collect measures of student program
experiences, skill development, and positive behavior change for program attendees.
Extensive field tests and a recent statewide implementation, involving thousands of California
students in grades 3 to 12, have determined that the Online Toolbox can be used easily and
reliably. Three types of surveys are available: student self-reports, program staff reports of
student outcomes, and classroom teacher reports of student outcomes. It typically takes about
five minutes per student for staff and teachers to report outcomes. It typically takes students less
than 10 minutes to complete their self-reports.
Student self-reports include scales of skill development (Work Habits, English, Math and
Science Efficacy) and positive behavior (Social Competencies, Reductions in Misconduct). Staff
and teacher reports assess student outcomes in skill development (Work Habits, Task
Persistence) and positive behavior (Prosocial Behavior with Peers, Social Skills, Reductions in
Aggressive Behavior). The teacher report includes a Mock Report Card that measures student
academic performance in the classroom. Students also report the quality of their afterschool
program experiences in three areas: positive relationships with program staff, interest in program
activities, and positive relationships with peers at the program.
Reports of results are provided to participating programs that enable programs to compare their
students’ skills and behaviors over time, and to compare their program and site-level outcome
scores to California aggregate scores.
We are happy to speak with you about the administration of these surveys to students and to
answer any questions. Afterschool program staff will require access to computers at the site for
students and staff to complete surveys. Classroom teachers, with your approval, will complete
surveys on their own time.
You can find general information about the Afterschool Outcome Measures Online Toolbox on
the project’s website: http://afterschooloutcomes.org/
The Online Toolbox research team at the University of California, Irvine, can be reached at 949824-9225 or [email protected] to address any additional questions or concerns you may have.
Thank you for your collaboration in our effort to administer these surveys as part of our program
evaluation effort.