Christian School Comprehensive Survey - Prescriptive (CSCS - Rx)

Typically six weeks from engagement to reports. Slightly longer for large (1000+) schools with many custom questions. The more customized the survey, the more difficult setup and scoring becomes. We will alert you if there is a delay for any reason.

This is the most important question you can ask before conducting a survey. Bad data leads to bad decisions. That’s why we have nationally normed the survey 3 times. For ’25/’26 we made the decision to add Bayesian Credible Interval (BCI) testing for all grades, groups, and divisions – down to individual classrooms (10+ respondents required). 

Programming-wise, this is very difficult. However, the usual confidence interval approach is widely misunderstood and misused.  (See this article.) BCI statistical significance testing is the only way to know is strengths and weaknesses noted are truly valid.

The very best statistics cannot overcome low response rates. Period.

Every GraceWorks survey in ’24/’25 obtained a 40 – 60% response rate (or 300+ for large schools).  Every single one.

We use a daily coupon program and insist on proper incentives. Typically, the best ones are free.

With less than 40% response (or <300 for large schools) you really can’t trust the data.

The survey will work well with all constituent groups of a Christian school – teachers, board members, alumni, leaders, volunteers, donors, congregational members, and yes, even students.

For alumni, we have developed a set of questions asking them how they are doing in life. This can be a source of pride, but more practically – a source of more stories, testimonies, donations, and volunteer help.

Since the survey is electronic, questions are turned on or off depending on how the respondent relates to the school. For example, we do not ask past parents how engaging the teachers are – they don’t know. 

No! (We have tried…) The biggest problem with a paper survey is that respondents don’t take the time to deal with conditions. They answer questions they shouldn’t. More problematically, they don’t answer questions they should. The last school that tried a paper survey ended up throwing over 50 paper surveys into the trash.

Yes – the survey can be done in other languages, although often we do not recommend it. When it comes to surveys, “lost in translation” is a significant problem to overcome. Keep in mind that our survey hosting company, Lime, has translated their question instructions to multiple languages.

However, we will still need a translator for your questions. With difficultly we can find one, (an additional fee applies) but typically it’s better if one of your own translates the questions.

Generally from late October to early April. An earlier administration gives you time to fix problems during the school year, and can help you head off retention problems. A later administration gives a better read on what happened in the school year as a whole, allowing you the summer to fix problems.

Every year we do summer surveys. Incentives need to be carefully thought through to get the proper response rate.

Note that timing matters a little for overall response, and we adjust all surveys accordingly. The most important thing to know is that internal and external demographics give you at least four times more bias than timing. 

Broadly speaking, the issues are: (1) Do I trust the data, (2) What is the data telling me, (3) Do I trust that implementing my parents or students suggestions for improvement will get me a satisfying, high quality Christian school?

Technically, the three biggest problems with home grown surveys are (1) False positives – assuming the answers are acceptable or positive when in fact they are problematic, (2) Mechanics of how to write good, non-redundant survey questions, and (3) How to score results in a meaningful and actionable way.

GraceWorks has over 3,200 hours of programming in our survey scoring software- and we are still programming. Neither Survey Monkey nor anything else comes remotely close to our scoring and analytical capabilities.  

GraceWorks recommends a thorough annual survey with high response rates. Here are three overall considerations on survey frequency:

1. Response Rates and Survey Validity
GraceWorks has conducted some form of parent satisfaction survey over 950 times, with nearly 180,000 respondents. From this, we know that who responds matters as much as how many respond.

• The hardest group to reach is the “Apathetic” or “Passive” middle—families who are most price-sensitive and influenceable for retention, but also the quickest to burn out on repeated surveys. These families require meaningful incentives to participate.

• To trust the results, response rates must be solid. Two widely cited meta-analyses in education and social science report average response rates of 44% (2007-2014) and 68% (2020) respectively for scholarly articles accepted for publication—and these rates are increasing over time.

2. Capacity of Teachers and Leaders to Act
Survey data only has value if schools can act on it. A major limitation is how much teachers and leaders can realistically take on at one time. Sean Covey (The Four Disciplines of Execution) reminds us: the more priorities you have, the less you actually accomplish.

• The CSCS-Rx process is designed to narrow the issues down to no more than three priorities—ideally one or two.

• This requires both a deep understanding of the data and wisdom to choose strategies most likely to succeed long-term.

• Without that focus, schools risk chasing “flavor-of-the-month” fixes—initiatives that fade quickly, increase cynicism, and fail to build lasting improvement. 

3. The Slow Pace of Change in Satisfaction and Quality Perceptions
Overall satisfaction and perceptions of program quality do change, but typically at a much slower pace than leaders expect or desire.  The impact of leadership transitions, for example, often takes a full year to show up in survey results.

• That’s why schools must build a reservoir of good will and consistent quality to withstand inevitable challenges. Families leave both public and private schools for surprisingly similar reasons, and one “storm” alone is rarely enough to undo a healthy institution.

• Most importantly, the key to real progress is knowing—accurately and precisely—where you stand on satisfaction, and why. Only by identifying the true drivers of satisfaction can leaders focus on the strategies that will matter most in the long run.

👉 Taken together, these three considerations shape a balanced survey strategy: ensure trustworthy participation, focus leadership energy on a few high-leverage priorities, and track satisfaction with precision so progress is both realistic and sustainable.

Two items on the CSCS-Rx are proprietary – the survey itself, and how we score it. Call or email us (719-278-9600, ext. 100, or dan@gwmin.com), and we will send you a detailed description of both. Or we will be happy to show you the survey via an interactive webinar for 30 minutes.

Once you purchase the survey, we are happy to send you a PDF, along with test tokens (numbers) which allow you to take the survey. We send you multiple tokens because the survey asks different questions depending on how you relate to the school.

Best is to contact GraceWorks President Dan Krause at (719)278-9600, ext. 100.  (dan@gwmin.com) 

We want you to fully understand the power of the CSCS – Rx, and what you get at the end. We can invoice you for the investment in the survey after the scholarship is applied.