Core Alumni Survey Starter Pack: three item clusters balancing quantitative baseline metrics with qualitative depth¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 2 studies (2 design), q1 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The starter pack is a foundational set of survey questions refined and iterated by a dozen school systems across the multi-year pilots. Its questions balance quantitative baseline metrics useful for district reporting with qualitative depth useful for institutional change. Item Cluster A covers current postsecondary status and pathway persistence; Cluster B compares sense of belonging and support then and now; Cluster C gathers perceived helpfulness of high school preparation, a preparation competency matrix, and open-response items on biggest advantage and opportunity for improvement.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Design teams review and edit the items rather than starting from scratch, customizing them to district strategic goals

Constraints¶

• The guide recommends teams generate their own competency list for the preparation matrix, offering the printed list only as possibilities

Target Learners¶

• High school alumni surveyed one to five-plus years after graduation

Target Learning Goals¶

• Assessing postsecondary status, belonging, and perceived preparation for life after high school

Claims¶

• Co-designed alumni surveys move districts from hunches about alumni experiences to concrete empirical evidence validating programs or pinpointing preparation gaps [+W]
• Iterative co-design served as a culturally responsive methodology for designing alumni surveys in equity-focused high school communities, with each school designing its own survey with researcher support. [+W]
• Alumni survey responsiveness tends to peak at two milestones: the first year out and the fourth or fifth year out [+W]

Related Elements¶

Examples¶

• Select survey audiences around three postsecondary milestones: recent graduates, the 2-3 year sweet-spot cohort, and long-term alumni
• Sustain alumni feedback loops through strategic planning integration, cross-functional interpretation teams, transparent value-exchanges, and phased data collection

Key Sources¶

• Daal, S., Leones, T., & Iwatani, E. (2026, August). Equity-focused high school alumni connections: A design guide for alumni surveys. Digital Promise. https://doi.org/10.51388/20.500.12265/313