QT Pulse: School Health Longitudinal Survey

Graph 1 – Baseline

Graph 1 – Continuing

Graph 2 – Baseline

Graph 2 – Continuing

Staff members complete the QT Pulse Survey, an online survey that takes 10-15 minutes, every term. This survey offers your school prompt and meaningful data on the school’s culture, environment, and other key measures.

Once staff complete the survey, a report is generated and emailed to your principal within five business days of receiving the first survey response. The level of detail in the report depends on your school’s subscription type.

Please note that all responses are treated as confidential, and the report does not include any identifying information.

We provide two types of reports – Premium and Free. Our Premium Report offers comprehensive analysis and detailed reporting to enhance and guide your school change process.

The Premium Report presents 13 measures in three groups: Personal, Collective, and Students.

• Personal measures encompass teachers’ perceptions of their own practice, connectedness to the school, and wellbeing.
• Collective measures capture the way teachers feel about the school environment they are working in.
• Students measures focus on the school’s dedication to students and the interactions between teachers and students.

On the other hand, our Free Report includes data on five selected measures from the three groups.

To continue accessing the Premium Report, you need to renew your subscription annually. If your school chooses not to renew the Premium subscription, you will automatically switch to the Free subscription.

• Baseline Premium Report example
• Continuing Premium Report example
• Baseline Free Report example
• Continuing Free Report example

Your principal and admin contact will receive a baseline report within five business days of completing the first survey. The Baseline Report provides a snapshot of how your school compares to an ‘average school’ across various data measures, providing insights into teacher perceptions and school conditions. Our average results are based on a significant amount of data collected over the past five years.

We encourage schools to complete the QT Pulse Survey every term. Reminders will be sent to the principal and a nominated secondary/admin contact. Once you conduct the QT Pulse Survey for a second time, you will transition to the Continuing Report. This report tracks trends over time, offering robust quantitative data on the effectiveness of improvement initiatives.

Please note that once we receive the first survey submission, other participants will have 48 hours to submit their responses. To ensure timely completion, we recommend allocating time during a staff meeting for survey completion. On average, we have observed an 85% staff response rate in staff meetings, compared to 38% when the survey is distributed via email only. Participation by staff in the survey is optional and the collected data will be used for research purposes.

The QT Pulse Survey, as a whole-school initiative, offers valuable insights into your school’s environment and the impact of implemented school change initiatives. Administering the survey to staff requires obtaining principal consent. Additionally, staff members will be asked for their consent within the survey, with the assurance that all reported results are anonymous and the data is deidentified.

We acknowledge the busy schedules of principals, which is why we request a secondary/admin contact. Having a secondary contact ensures that even if a principal changes schools, we maintain a reliable point of contact in your school to facilitate the continuation of the QT Pulse Survey.

To achieve the best results, it is crucial that all teachers and your school executive complete the QT Pulse Survey. However, participation by staff in the survey is optional and the collected data will be used for research purposes. We will only deliver your report once we have received a minimum of eight responses. By obtaining at least eight responses, we ensure the anonymity and unidentifiability of the results. Gathering responses from the highest proportion of staff possible will provide a comprehensive overview of your school climate and a more valuable report.

To maximize the response rate, we recommend scheduling dedicated time during a staff meeting for all staff members to complete the survey. On average, we observe an 85% response rate when the survey is conducted during a staff meeting, compared to a 38% response rate when it is distributed solely via email.

We understand that this survey may not be suitable for smaller schools. If you have fewer than eight staff members but still wish to participate in the survey, please reach out to our team. We are happy to discuss alternative evaluation opportunities with you separately.

We recommend that you run the QT Pulse Survey once a term in week 4, 5, or 6. If a better time suits your school (e.g., week 7), always repeat it at the same time. Repeating the survey in consistent weeks of each term addresses how the seasonal nature of teaching can affect survey responses.

Completing the survey takes between 10-15 minutes. We recommend allocating time during a staff meeting for all staff to complete the survey. On average, we observe that 85% of staff respond in a staff meeting compared to 38% of staff when we distribute it via email only. Please note, participation by staff in the survey is optional and the collected data will be used for research purposes.

We will automatically send out your first QT Pulse Survey link upon completion of the sign-up process – usually within 15 minutes. Our team will then send you a reminder email each term. You will receive your Free or Premium Report within five business days from when you complete the first survey.

Once you receive the survey link, we recommend that you run the survey in week 4, 5, or 6 of each term. If a better time suits your school (e.g., week 7), always repeat it at the same time. Repeating the survey in consistent weeks of each term addresses how the seasonal nature of teaching can affect survey responses.

Our team will send your school’s report to your principal and a nominated secondary contact within five business days of receiving the first survey response. Before delivering the report, we need a minimum of eight responses to maintain anonymity and ensure that the results cannot be identified.

We suggest sharing the results throughout the school. It’s powerful for all staff members to view the results and actively participate in discussions with school leadership regarding their work and the school culture.

The collected data will also be used for research purposes. Ethics approval number H-2022-0201.

The QT Pulse Survey serves as an evaluation tool for school leaders to assess the overall health of their entire school environment. It is not necessary to be conducting Quality Teaching Rounds in order to utilise this survey.

Nevertheless, the QT Pulse Survey proves to be an excellent tool for evaluating the effects of QTR professional development and/or other school-wide initiatives on staff, teaching practice, or the broader school culture and environment over a period of time.

We have six tips for getting the most out of the QT Pulse Survey:

1. Schedule dedicated time during a staff meeting for all staff members to complete the survey. On average, we observe an 85% response rate when the survey is conducted during a staff meeting, compared to a 38% response rate when it is distributed solely via email.
2. We recommend conducting the survey during weeks 4, 5 or 6 of the term. If a more suitable time suits your school (e.g., week 7), consistently repeat the survey at that time. By repeating the survey during consistent weeks of each term, you address how the seasonal nature of teaching can impact survey responses.
3. Remind staff members that their individual responses are never viewed by the school executive, and reports do not contain any identifying data.
4. Reinforce that the survey is not a performance-based review. It is conducted to gather data on the internal environment of the school in order to support positive change.
5. Ensure that your principal and your leadership team also complete the survey.
6. Share the results with all staff. It’s powerful for staff members to see the results and engage in conversations with school leadership regarding their work environment.