BOE Spent $150,000 on Unusable Survey - Abysmal Response Rates Make Survey Unacceptable

On October 13, 2015, the Montgomery County Board of Education will review the results of an "external review" of MCPS special education services.  The Board of Education paid $150,000 for this external review.

Resolved, That a contract for $150,000 be awarded to WestEd to conduct an external review of special education services...
http://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/9QLBA76CF1C0/$file/Award%20Cont%20Spec%20Ed%20Proc%20Servcs.pdf

However, the Final Report (shown below) that is being presented to the Board of Education presents survey data that is unreliable due to the abysmally low response rates from parents, students and teachers.   Even the Final Report notes on page 8 that caution must be used when reviewing the survey data due to the low response rate.  There is substantial risk of error in relying on these survey results.

How is it that the Board of Education could only get 9% of their own teachers to complete this important survey?  Is the Board of Education going to be making policy decisions based on survey results that barely scratched the surface of parents, students and teachers that are part of the MCPS special education landscape? 

What is the public getting for this $150,000?
 
From the Final Report:

Another limitation is the low survey response rates from parents and most school staff. Although numerous strategies were attempted over an extended period of time, the parent response rate of 10 percent was very low ... caution must be exercised when interpreting survey results. [Page 8]

Parent response rate - 10% 
Student response rate - 3%
Teacher response rate - 9%

 

   Special Education Services Audit by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Student Data in Teacher Evaluations: The Weast-Prouty Agreement

The agreement signed this week between Superintendent Jerry Weast and MCEA President Douglas Prouty says that "parent surveys" and "evidence of communication with parents" will factor into a teachers' evaluation.

Have any MCPS parents ever filled out a survey on a specific MCPS teacher?

Please note that this document does not have the weight of the MCEA Contract. The teachers' union (MCEA) contract is between the union and the Board of Education. This document is simply between Superintendent Weast and MCEA, and has not been discussed or voted on by the Board of Education.

MCPS & MCEA Using Student Data in Teacher Evaluations