Who Needs a
Needs Assessment?
Aneeds assessment is one of the smartest hings you can do to support program implementation. It is a form of evaluation
whereby, prior to implementing (and even designing) a new program, an evaluator or other qualified
project staff person surveys stakeholder groups to
assess the current state of affairs, including compe-tencies, needs, concerns, and opportunities.
Needs assessments often use what most people
think of as a survey. Open-ended questions offer
respondents space to share their vision with the
evaluator, but they are time consuming to process,
so you have to consider if a well-defined set of
questions and response options will sufficiently
paint the picture. A needs assessment may also
include interviews, focus groups, observations, or
analysis of quantitative data, as information collected through self-report surveys are prone to
respondent bias due to such factors as time of year
and limited access to information. Collecting several types of data gives evaluators a better sense of
the status so they can come to better conclusions.
Every needs assessment ISTE’s Research and
Evaluation Department conducts is tailored to the
needs of the client—often a school district consid-
ering implementation of a new initiative, includ-
ing professional development and infrastructure
upgrades. Despite the need to customize such
services, there is a lineup of usual suspects for sur-
vey items, including teacher technology use, con-
fidence with technology, NETS implementation,
and ratings of the NETS Essential Conditions,
such as equitable access to technology, technical
support available, and local leadership and support
policies. Think about how these conditions might
differ across schools and how those differences
could affect a school’s readiness to adopt a new
technology plan. Teachers, administrators, and
support staff may complete surveys about these
topics to reflect the perspectives of a plurality of
stakeholders. Evaluators also frequently interview
key stakeholders—say, the principal, tech coach,
and a union representative—to identify the most
pressing issues. Sometimes early interviews can
help an evaluator identify those issues and build
items around them to make the survey highly rel-
evant for different stakeholders. Looking at survey
data prior to a site visit can also help an evalua-
tor hone questions for in-person interviews and
observations to make the best use of everyone’s
time and collect information that can help schools
and districts understand their stakeholders and be
successful with new initiatives. Having an expert
who is external to your organization conduct the
evaluation can really pay off too, as people tend to
be more honest when they are assured that their
confidentiality will be protected and that they can
say what they think without risking job security.
ASK DR. EVAL
Dr. Eval is part of ISTE’s
Research & Evaluation
Department, which
provides needs assessment, grant development,
and program evaluation
services to school
districts, universities,
public agencies, and
private organizations.
Through ISTE’s Technology Research Exchange
(TRx) review site and
the Ask Dr. Eval column,
R&E helps ISTE members use research and
evaluation in their work.
