The Board Self-Assessment Questionnaire

Thank you for participating in this self-assessment of your school board. You will be answering a total of 73 questions. The questions are broken up over three pages. When you have finished answering all of the questions on page one, click the "Page 2" button to move to the next page. On page 2, after answering all of the questions, click on the "Page 3" button to move to the final page of questions. Finally, on page 3, when done answering, click the "Quiz Results" button to see your score. Please make sure to answer all of the questions before heading to the quiz results page or the quiz results will not be accurate.

The following statements describe a variety of possible actions by boards. Some of the statements may represent your own experiences as a member of your board, while others may not. For each of the items, there are four possible choices. Please mark the choice which most accurately describes your experience as a member of this board.

  Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
1) This board works to reach consensus on important matters.
2) I have participated in board discussions about what we should do differently as a result of a mistake the board made.
3) There have been occasions where the board itself has acted in ways inconsistent with the district's deepest values.
4) This board has formal structures and procedures for involving the community.
5) I have been in board meetings where it seemed that the subtleties of the issues we dealt with escaped the awareness of a number of the members.
6) Our board explicitly examines the "downside" or possible pitfalls of any important decision it is about to make.
7) Usually the board and superintendent advocate the same actions.
8) This board is more involved in trying to put out fires than in preparing for the future.
  Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
9) The board sets clear organizational priorities for the year ahead.
10) A written report including the board's activities is periodically prepared and distributed publicly.
11) This board communicates its decisions to all those who are affected by them.
12) At least once every two years, our board has a retreat or special session to examine our performance, how well we are doing as a board.
13) Many of the issues that this board deals with seem to be separate tasks, unrelated to one another.
14) The board will sharply question certain administrative proposals, requiring the superintendent to reconsider the recommendations.
15) The board is always involved in decisions that are important to the future of education in our district.
16) If our board thinks that an important group of constituents is likely to disagree with an action we are considering, we will make sure we learn how they feel before we actually make the decision.
  Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
17) Board members don't say one thing in private and another thing in public.
18) This board and its members maintain channels of communication with specific key community leaders.
19) This board delays action until an issue becomes urgent or critical.
20) This board periodically sets aside time to learn more about important issues facing school districts like the one we govern.
21) This board relies on the natural emergence of leaders rather than trying explicitly to cultivate future leaders for the board.
22) This board has formed ad hoc committees or task forces that include staff and community representatives as well as board members.
23) This board is as attentive to how it reaches conclusions as it is to what is decided.
24) The decisions of this board on one issue tend to influence what we do about other issues that come before us.
25) Most people on this board tend to rely on observation and informal discussions to learn about their roles and responsibilities.