ACSI National School Parent Survey Results
During the month of November 2007, ACSI sponsored a national survey with our member school parents regarding their perspective in a variety of issues about their Christian school. The survey was conducted online and was responded to by nearly 2500 families nationwide. Every region of the United States was represented in the responses.
Our survey asked parents to rank various aspects of the school their children attended on a scale of 1–10 with 10 representing the very highest rating and 1 representing the very lowest rating. In our opinion a ranking of 8, 9, or 10 reflects a high ranking and while a 1, 2, or 3 would be considered low ratings.
The top ranked area of satisfaction expressed by 89% was the matter of the Christian school providing a “safe environment.” This was compared to the fact that only 1% of all respondents gave this area a low rating. The next highest area, “High Expectations for Students” garnered 84% of parents giving a rating of 8, 9, or 10. In third place, three different issues each garnered 83% of respondents giving a high rating: “Spiritual Development,” “Personal Attention to My Child(ren), and the school providing a “Disciplined Courteous Environment.” The first two, “Spiritual Development” and “Personal Attention to my child(ren) each reflected a low rating by only 1% of respondents, while just 2% of them gave a “Disciplined Courteous Environment” a low rating.
In addition to the above specific issues we pursued three broader categories which we found to provide a crucial overall view of Christian schooling by the respondent families which we believe is of particular importance. We wanted to know their response first, to the issue of “Overall Academics” in their school; secondly, we asked them to give us an “Overall Rating of Your School; and thirdly we wanted to know the “Overall Value You Receive from Your School on the Basis of the Tuition You Pay.”
Again, using the same 1–10 rating, we learned that, regarding “Overall Academics,” 80% gave it a high rating while only three-quarters of one percent rated that low. In response to the “Overall Rating of Your School,” 80% also gave a high overall rating with only 1% rating it low. The final of these three broader categories, the “Overall Value You Receive from Your School on the Basis of the Tuition You Pay,” 75% rated high while 2% gave a low rating.
The entire survey with responses is available.