There is no one-size-fits-all approach to increase teacher effectiveness. That’s why Learning Forward’s Standards Assessment Inventory (SAI) is designed to get directly inside your organization, using information from staff and teachers.
The SAI is a 50-item survey that measures the alignment of a school’s professional learning to the Standards for Professional Learning. The SAI also measures teachers’ perceptions to provide important data on the quality of professional learning. This approach not only creates a solution built just for you, it begins conversations among staff and teachers that inspire collaboration.
To learn how the Standards Assessment Inventory works, continue reading for our recent FAQ with two senior consultants.
How does the SAI help guide a district’s professional learning planning?
“It gives us all a common language and information on where to start with our strategic plan. We always start there because it gives very simple best practices for how to go about doing the things that are in line with the standards.”
Eric Brooks
Senior Consultant, Learning Forward
How does the SAI assess the quality of professional learning?
“The SAI shows how aligned your practices and organization are to the Learning Forward Professional Learning Standards. The instrument helps you gather data to be very specific about that alignment and about that quality.”
Steve Preston
Senior Consultant, Learning Forward
How does the SAI empower teacher voice?
“It’s a school-based instrument with teacher data. As the teachers begin to immerse themselves in the data, and in the standards, they will begin to develop a common language. We all know how important teacher and leader collaboration are to learning communities and to a high impact professional learning program.”
Steve Preston
Senior Consultant, Learning Forward
How does the SAI help schools and systems embed the Standards into their everyday practice?
“The SAI really looks at high quality professional learning. For a lot of the schools and districts, they don’t even know how to define that. But the real practical statements that the SAI tests against are designed so everyone can say they know what that looks like.”
Eric Brooks
Senior Consultant, Learning Forward
How does the SAI help school systems ensure that their professional learning investments meet district needs?
“The district can look at all of their schools together and see the school averages for each of the standards. You immediately start seeing patterns. That lets you focus your time, resources, and money on groups of schools that have similar patterns so that you’re no longer having to shotgun your professional development.”
Steve Preston
Senior Consultant, Learning Forward
How does the SAI help educators better understand the Standards for Professional Learning?
“When you give very specific statements it allows people the opportunity to realize what things like implementation means or leadership looks like so that you have a common place to start talking.”
Eric Brooks
Senior Consultant, Learning Forward
