Every year, students during iPass have to sit at their desks, open their Chromebooks and begin taking the Panorama Surveys. The surveys help the administrators determine what they should improve based on the results of those submitted.
For example, they help staff know what they need to change in their practices and what students need from the school.
“We are going to use Panorama essentially to determine how effective our new practices are, so we can continue to refine and improve them moving forward,” Vice Principal Matt Weimer said. “But the ultimate goal is to help students.”
The Panorama surveys students take three times a year are necessary to help the students and staff here at SHS.
One of the ways the administration uses the information given to them is determining what students need and meeting with staff members based on their results if deemed necessary.
For example, if a student says on the survey that they are not doing well in their classes, the administration will help them to ensure they get the support they need.
However, if the data that the students put in are false, then that would affect the outcome of the results, causing students to get help that they don’t need or not get help when they may need it.
Due to this, students should fill the surveys out honestly, so it can help the administration provide the services they may need.
“We got a new tool this year, which is kind of the next-level Panorama interface, that lets us drill down and see where the individual students are from a multitude of standpoints, not just the survey data,” Weimer said, “ … so we can really get a snapshot of that student by looking at one webpage.”
In previous years, the surveys were anonymous, so the administration couldn’t see how specific students answered each question.
However, this is the very first year with this new program, which allows staff members who have access to this program to view who the responses belong to.
Not all staff members have access to the results of the surveys. Only administrators and staff members who can help improve their performance based on the results can view them.
However, although several students may disagree, the Panorama surveys do benefit SHS as long as students fill out the surveys honestly. So take the time to answer these questions truthfully, since it’ll help the administration at SHS better understand how to help the students.
