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Evaluation Report:

Parental Use of ParentVue Application


within Synergy SIS
Prepared for:
Dale Inskeep
Principal
Sunset Middle School

Prepared by:
Andrew Roundy
Graduate Student
Boise State University
May 9, 2014

Summary
The ParentVue program is centered on the use of the ParentVue application that is part of Coos
Bay School Districts student information system (SIS). The primary goal of the program is to
get parents to use the ParentVue application to review their childs academic progress throughout
the school year. The ParentVue application is available to parents through an Internet portal that
parents access from their home computer or mobile device. The school provides parents with log
in information that is specific to their child and parents then use the log in to access teacher
gradebook information for their child. ParentVue is an ongoing program and is still in use by the
district at this time.
Contained in this report are the findings of the evaluation of the ParentVue program at Sunset
Middle School. The ParentVue evaluation focused on the programs achievement of its primary
goal of getting parents to utilize the ParentVue program to review academic progress, as well as
its achievement of program objectives provided by the building administrator. The evaluation
began with meetings with the building administrator to identify the goals and objectives of the
program. A parent survey served as the primary means of data collection for the program
evaluation. A sampling of parents took place during parent teacher conferences in April, where
parents were asked to complete the survey on the ParentVue program. The results of the survey
were then uploaded to an online survey service for data analysis.
After completion of the evaluation and analysis of the survey results, results show that the
primary goal of the program has yet to be achieved. Data analysis also shows that all but one of
the objectives outlined for the program have yet to be met. The majority of parents that have
used the ParentVue program have identified it as being both useful and helpful to them.
However, the majority of parents surveyed had never used the ParentVue program. The data
shows that this non-use may be the result of ineffective communication with parents about the
ParentVue programs existence.

Description of the Program Evaluated


ParentVue is an internet-based application that is part of the Student Information System (SIS)
used by Sunset Middle School and the rest of Coos Bay School District schools. The intent of the
program is to allow parents a means of accessing information about their childs academic
progress on demand. ParentVue provides parents with access to the teacher gradebook
information for their child. Parents are then able to view any scores that the teacher has entered
and made viewable. Viewable information can include: test scores, assignment scores,
homework completion, teacher assignment descriptions, and teacher comments. The ParentVue
application has been available for use by parents since January of 2013.
An influencing factor in the districts selection of its current SIS was the inclusion of the
ParentVue application in the SISs features. Previous to ParentVue, the district had no electronic
means for communicating student academic information to parents. The district has required that
teachers update scores in their SIS gradebook on a biweekly basis. As a part of the program,
information has been distributed to parents about ParentVue in the following ways: school
bulletins, by teachers during back to school night in September, on the district webpage, and in

letters sent home with students. The use of ParentVue is an ongoing program that the school is
currently using and will continue to use for the foreseeable future.
Program Objectives
The primary goal of the program is to get parents to utilize the ParentVue application to monitor
academic progress. To work toward achieving this goal, the following objectives have been
identified:
1. Establish effective methods for notifying parents about the existence of ParentVue
2. Effectively communicate log in information for accessing ParentVue
3. Provide information within ParentVue that parents find useful or helpful
4. Encourage continued use of the ParentVue application
Program Components
The ParentVue application itself comprises the main component of the program. ParentVue
provides access to student grades through an Internet portal that parents can access with a
username and password specific to their child. Teachers, on a mandatory biweekly basis, upload
grades into the gradebook, however, some teachers upload more frequently than this. The second
component of the program is parent notification. A variety of methods are employed to notify
parents of ParentVues existence. Information is placed in school bulletins at the beginning of
the school year, teachers inform parents about ParentVue on back to school night in September,
letters are sent home with students, and information is posted on the district webpage. The third
component is coupled with the second, which is providing access information. Parents receive
log in information at back to school night or in a letter sent home with students. This information
is not available on the district website or in school bulletins.

Evaluation Method
The evaluation method chosen for gathering data on the ParentVue program was a survey.
Survey questions were designed that would assess the achievement of the primary goal of the
program as well as each of the objectives that were outlined for the program by its primary
stakeholder, the building administrator. A copy of the survey is available for review in Appendix
A of this evaluation report. The survey employs the following types of questions: yes/no, Likert
scale, option selection, frequency, and select all that apply. Each question in the survey is
aligned with one or more of the program objectives, with the exception of item #1, which is to
collect information on the grade level the parents child is in. It should be noted that the final five
questions on the survey are not related to this evaluation, but were included in the survey at the
request of the school administrator to gather data for other school programs and operations.
Participants
The primary participants for the evaluation were parents with children that attend Sunset Middle
School. A sample of 141 parents from the schools parent population responded to the survey.
This parent sample represents a judgment sample, as the sample population was chose based
upon their availability. Surveys were administered to parents that attended parent-teacher
conferences during the week of April 14-17.

The secondary participants for the evaluation were the teaching staff and the building
administrator. The building administrator outlined the objectives for the ParentVue program.
The teaching staff is responsible for populating the gradebook of the SIS to provide information
on student academic progress for parents. They also took part in the program by notifying
parents about ParentVue during back to school night in September and sending home letters
about ParentVue with the students in their class. There are 17 classroom teachers that directly
participate in using and notifying about ParentVue.
Procedures
The evaluation process began by meeting with the primary stakeholder, the building
administrator, to identify the primary goal and objectives of the ParentVue program. After
meeting with the administrator, it was decided that the most efficient means for evaluating the
achievement of the program objectives would be to administer a survey to parents of students in
the school, the intended users of the ParentVue program. A draft of survey questions was written
and shared with the building administrator. Survey questions were developed based on the
objectives identified by the administrator. At the request of the administrator, some minor
revisions were made to the questions and some questions not related to the evaluation were
added to the survey. Upon completion of the revisions, the new draft was submitted to the
building administrator for final approval. After final approval was received, paper copies of the
survey were made and distributed to the buildings classroom teachers. During the week of April
14-17, teachers were asked to give the survey to parents during their parent-teacher conferences.
This was done both as a cost saving measure to save on mailing surveys to parents and to
increase response to the survey by capitalizing on the availability of parents during conferences.
At the conclusion of conference week, classroom teachers returned the completed surveys to the
office. Student volunteers then uploaded survey responses to an online survey service for data
analysis. All throughout the evaluation, ParentVue program continued without any interruption.
Data Sources
Data was collected on the following factors:
Parent usage of ParentVue application
Parent attitudes toward ParentVue application
Reasons for failure to participate in usage of ParentVue
How parents learned about ParentVue
Methods that may influence future usage by non users
Purposes of ParentVue use by parents that have used the application
A parent survey was used collect data on all of the above listed factors. The survey questions
addressed these factors as they relate to the program objectives. A copy of the survey can be
found in Appendix A.

Results
The results of the survey administered to parents from April 14-17 are summarized in the graphs
below. Results are organized by the program goal or objective to which they are aligned.
Primary Goal

Of the 141 parents surveyed 112 reported that they had never used the ParentVue application and
29 reported that they had.
Objectives 1 and 2
Chart1

Chart 2

Chart 3

The first chart displays responses given by parents that have used ParentVue and how they
learned about the ParentVue application. Charts 2 and 3 display responses given by parents who
have never used the ParentVue application. Chart 2 identifies reasons for non-use and Chart 3
shows parent selections of methods that would encourage future use of ParentVue. Of the 29
parents that have used ParentVue, 18 learned about it from a teacher. Of the parents that
responded that they had not used ParentVue, 45 responded that they were not aware that
ParentVue existed.

Objective 3
Chart 1

Chart 2

Charts 1 and 2 display parent responses to Likert scale questions related to the usefulness and
helpfulness of the ParentVue application. These survey items were only answered by parents
who had previously used ParentVue and totaled 29 respondents. Of the parents that had
previously used ParentVue 65% considered the ParentVue useful or very useful and 61%

considered it helpful or very helpful. Approximately 7% of respondents found it not useful or


helpful.
Objective 4

The above chart displays the frequency of usage by parents who had previously accessed
ParentVue. There were 29 respondents to this survey item. Of those who responded 21 reported
that they accessed ParentVue once a month or less.

Discussion
The primary purpose for the evaluation of the ParentVue program was to determine whether or
not and to what extent parents are using the ParentVue application. Along with this, the
evaluation had the secondary purpose of evaluating the achievement of the programs objectives.
The results show that there are parents using the ParentVue program, but the majority of parents
are not. The results also show that objectives 1, 2, and 4 have not yet been fully achieved, but
have experienced low levels of achievement. Objective 3 has been achieved, but only for parents
that have accessed the ParentVue application.
Based on the results of the survey, it can be said that the ParentVue program and the information
that it provides is being found useful and helpful to parents. However, the program seems to be
suffering from a lack of communication or effective methods of informing parents of its
existence and how to access it. The most effective means, to this point in the program, for
informing parents of its existence is direct communication from a classroom teacher. Other
means of communication have not solicited the same level of response that direct communication
with a teacher has had. The survey also reveals that those accessing ParentVue are not accessing
it often, once a month or less.

Upon evaluation, the area of the program that stands out most is the communication with parents
about ParentVue and how they can access it. The majority of the parents that participated in the
evaluation are not accessing ParentVue. The survey also showed that the most frequently
selected reason for not accessing was that the parent had no knowledge of ParentVues existence.
The majority of parents who had accessed the program had learned about it directly from a
teacher. If the school wants to increase parent participation in the use of the ParentVue
application, it must find more effective methods of communicating with parents. Survey results
show that parents indicated that letters/emails about ParentVue would be helpful, as well as
periodic reminder letters/emails about ParentVue. This coupled with continued direct contact
efforts by teachers could increase parent usage of the ParentVue application.
This evaluation of the ParentVue program constitutes a formative evaluation, as the program is
still being utilized by all schools in the district and will be for the foreseeable future. The primary
goal of the program is currently not being met due to the fact that a majority of parents are not
currently making use of ParentVue. This failure to meet the primary goal seems to be the result
of failing to achieve objectives 1 and 2, which focus on disseminating information about
ParentVue to parents and providing them with log in or access information. The one area of the
program that appears to be finding some success and higher level of achievement is objective 3.
Parents that are using the application are reporting the information provided as useful and helpful
to them. This shows that the program does have a level of value to parents. However, even
parents that are accessing the ParentVue program are not accessing it frequently, which shows
that objective 4 is not being met.
There are some recommendations that can be offered to help improve the programs achievement
of its objectives. First, the program should consider rewriting and establishing firmer more
measureable objectives. In their current state it is difficult to measure the program objectives as
they are currently stated. Set measureable criteria that help to illustrate achievement such as the
percentage of parents that the program wants to have using the application. Second, the school
should send reminders to parents periodically throughout the school year. Most efforts for
contact were made at the beginning of the year based on conversation with the building
administrator. Last, the school needs to look at the methods they are employing for providing
information about ParentVue and for distributing access information. Stakeholders should meet
and develop methods for routinely and systematically contacting and informing parents.
Letter/emails were selected more than other methods based on survey results.

Project Cost
The budget for the evaluation is outlined below. It includes costs for personnel associated with
the evaluation and office costs directly related to the evaluation. The bulk of the costs for this
evaluation are for personnel, particularly the program evaluator. The evaluator performed the
majority of the tasks for this evaluation including the evaluations design, planning, data
collection, analysis, and the evaluation report. A Data Entry Assistant worked to input survey
data results into an online survey tool. Office supplies consisted of costs for survey copies and
other assorted office items.

Personnel Costs
Evaluator
Data Entry Assistant
Office Costs
Office Supplies
Internet Service

Overall Total

Days
12
5

1 month

Rate
$500/day
$150/day

$45/month

Total
$6000.00
$750.00

$15.00
$45.00

$6810.00

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Appendices
Appendix A

Sunset Parent Survey


1. What grade is your child in? (Check all that apply)
a. 4th
b. 5th
c. 6th
d. 7th
2. Have you ever checked you childs grades online using ParentVue?
a. Yes
b. No
If you answered YES to question #2, please answer questions 3-7. If you answered
NO, skip to question #8.
3. If you answered yes, how often have you checked your childs grades?
a. Once a month or less
b. 2-3 times a month
c. Once a week
d. 2 or more times a week
4. How useful do you find the information in ParentVue?
5- very useful

4- useful

3-neutral

2-not useful

1- not at all useful

5. How helpful has ParentVue been in helping you monitor your childs academic
progress?
5-very helpful

4-helpful

3- neutral

2-not helpful

1- not at all helpful

6. For what purpose do you use ParentVue? (Mark all that apply)
a. Check grades
b. Check that homework is turned in
c. Check test scores
7. How did you learn about ParentVue?
a. Teacher
b. Letter from school
c. Another parent
d. District Website

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If you answered YES to question #2, skip to question #10.


8. If you answered no to question #2, have any of the following kept you from using
ParentVue: (Mark all that apply)
a. Not aware that ParentVue existed
b. No internet access at home
c. Did not understand how to use the website
d. No interest in using ParentVue
9. Which of the following would you find useful in helping you to start using
ParentVue? (Mark all that apply)
a. Information letter/email about how to access ParentVue
b. Online video that demonstrates how to login to ParentVue
c. Resources that explain what ParentVue is and how to use it
d. Periodic reminder letters/emails about ParentVue
10. Do you use our school website to stay updated on things happening at school?
a. Yes
b. No
11. Do you read our weekly parent bulletin regularly?
a. Yes
b. No
12. How familiar are you with our new intervention model that started this year?
a. Very familiar
b. Familiar
c. Heard of it
d. Not at all familiar
13. How familiar are you with our proficiency grading system that we use for our report
cards?
a. Very familiar
b. Familiar
c. Somewhat familiar
d. Not at all familiar
14. Have you ever volunteered at Sunset School events or activities before?
a. Yes
b. No

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15. If you havent volunteered in the past, but would like to volunteer, please indicate
below and write down your contact information and Mr. Inskeep will contact you
personally to talk about volunteering opportunities at our school.
Yes, I would like to volunteer

No, I am unable to volunteer at this time

Name _________________________________________________________________
Contact # _____________________________________________________________

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