Scaling Needs Assessment

The Scaling Needs Assessment Community of Practice (CoP) will support states that are early in the process of developing needs assessment tools and processes to support local districts.

Research literature on education needs assessments identifies these key elements of successful needs assessments:

1. Diverse and Rigorous Data;
2. Context-specific Data Collection;
3. Stakeholder Engagement;
4. Collaborative Identification of Improvement Needs.

The Scaling Needs Assessment CoP will utilize these elements – both the research and real-world examples of related successes and challenges – as a starting place to frame structured dialogue and learning opportunities between SEA participants, supported by three Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) with 10+ years of conducting high-quality needs assessments at the school, district and state levels. The Network will also make use of concrete examples (tools/protocols) and lessons learned from Georgia, Delaware and Arizona, three state teams who participated in a Network-sponsored Peer-to-Peer Exchange (P2P exchange) focused on developing comprehensive needs assessments earlier this year. CoP outcomes will focus on states developing needs assessments based in effective practice, responsive to individual state context and needs, and aligned with the requirements of ESSA.