School Effectiveness Index (SE-Index)
SE Index
The School Effectiveness Index (SE Index) is an 8-item Likert-type scale that provides a collective, subjective judgment of the overall effectiveness of a school along five dimensions: quantity and quality of product, efficiency, adaptability, and flexibility.
A perceived measure of organizational effectiveness using these dimensions was first developed by Mott (1972) and proved to be a valid and reliable measure of effectiveness in hospitals. The Mott scale was adapted and used in schools first by Miskel and his colleagues (1979) and then by Hoy and his colleagues (Hoy & Ferguson, 1985; Hoy & Miskel, 1991; Hoy, Tarter, & Kottkamp, 1991). The index has been refined over several iterations. The most recent school effectiveness index (SE Index) can be downloaded at this site.
Reliability and Validity of the SE Index
The eight items of the SE Index measures the degree to which a school is perceived to be effective by its faculty. Teachers are asked to describe the operation and performance of their school along a 6-point Likert scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree – the higher the score, the greater the effectiveness of the school.
The reliability of the scale is consistently high with alpha coefficients ranging from .87 to .89 (Hoy & Ferguson, 1985; Hoy, Tarter, & Kottkamp, 1991; Miskel, Fevurly, & Stewart, 1979).
Validity of the SE Index was supported in a comprehensive study of high schools using multiple criteria of school effectiveness, including student achievement, commitment of teachers, and assessments of experts (Hoy & Ferguson, 1985).
Scoring
The SE Index is a measure of school effectiveness, which is a collective (school-level) variable, not an individual one. Accordingly, the teachers’ scores in each school are aggregated to the school level.
Step 1: Score the responses for each teacher and sum the scores; make sure that each teacher has responded to all eight items.
Step 2: Average all the teachers’ scores in each school to get an effectiveness score for that school.
We have not developed norms for schools; hence, the index should be used for research purposes rather than to compare your school score with some normative group.
Click here to download a copy of the School Effectiveness Index
References:
Hoy, W. K. & Ferguson, J. (1985). A theoretical framework and exploration of organizational effectiveness in schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 21, 117-134.
Hoy, W. K. & Miskel, C. G. (1996). Educational administration: Theory, research, and practice, 5th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Hoy, W. K., Tarter, C. J., & Kottkamp, R. B. (1991). Open schools/healthy schools: Measuring organizational climate. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Mott, P. (1972). The characteristics of effective organizations. New York: Harper and Row.
Miskel, C., Fevurly, R., & Stewart, J. (1979). Organizational structures and processes, perceived school effectiveness, loyalty, and job satisfaction. Educational Administration Quarterly, 15, 97-118.