School self-evaluation for school improvement: Examining the measuring properties of the LEAD surveys

Research evidence suggests school self-evaluation with the participation of school stakeholders could improve teaching and learning. Identification and use of appropriate self-evaluation frameworks, however, is not an easy task for schools. Such a framework, the $\small \textit{LEAD}$ School Effectiveness Surveys, has been developed by the Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) in Australia. The $\small \textit{LEAD}$ suite of school stakeholder surveys enables schools to evaluate their overall effectiveness in several domains and make informed decisions for school improvement. This article evaluates the reliability as well as the face, content and construct-validity of the $\small \textit{LEAD}$ surveys and discusses the ways in which school self-evaluation results could contribute to school improvement. Data were gathered from a total of 119,749 students, teaching staff and parents taking the $\small \textit{LEAD}$ Surveys in 112 independent (non-government) schools and followed a five-year longitudinal design from 2009 to 2013. The results support the reliability as well as the face, content and construct validity of the $\small \textit{LEAD}$ surveys. The importance of evaluating the measuring properties of instruments used for school self-evaluation is discussed and suggestions for school self-evaluation are provided.Independent Schools Victoria (Australia