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DIY Assessment.administrative
Why Engage in Administrative Assessment?
- Get creative with assessing the effectiveness of your organization’s protocols and practices.
- Inform the protocols and practices with evidence that points out areas of effectiveness and need.
- Infuse exploration and ownership into your organization.
Do It Yourself (DIY) Administrative Assessment
Our use of “Do It Yourself” (DIY) means that assessment activities can be headed by your staff team. We recommend that your org or school hire an assessment specialist to simply facilitate a conversation with one office or department in your organization (i.e. a single team of staff members). Have this specialist support the staff team in outlining the goals of their office, identifying outcomes that are central to the work of the office, and listing the major protocols and practices that feed into the outcomes.
From this point, thank the specialist for their assistance and have the staff team take it from there. The team will decide which outcome to focus on during the first year of Administrative Assessment, adding an outcome each year to progressively develop a more and more robust approach to Administrative Assessment. For example, the staff team might have three outcomes for their office, focusing on the first outcome during year one, and so on.
Based on the work accomplished with an assessment specialist, the staff team can move forward with developing details about how to explore outcomes for their office by developing indicators that looks like this:
EXAMPLE: ASBA_Vlog_DIYAssmtAdmin_08292016
After the Plan, Then What?
Use the plan to guide all Administrative Assessment work in that office. The staff team can focus on one indicator until is has been fully assessed in terms of the following: 1.) Engage in meaningful conversations about what the evidence/data communicates, and 2.) Celebrate successes and/or develop an action plan for improving protocols and practices.
Spread It Around: Coach Other Offices
After one year, the staff team can meet with the initial assessment specialist and share the results of the Administrative Assessment, seeking feedback and thoughts from an external “pair of eyes.” The assessment specialist may have additional tips that match the stage and strengths of the staff team. Some point after that, the staff team can share with other offices or departments in the organization how they went about engaging in Administrative Assessment and act as a coach for the remaining offices/departments.
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