ABSTRACT
Focus groups of students are often used to understand what the larger group of students may be thinking. Common approaches to measuring perceptions in schools include the use of interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires. Interviewing is, however, a labor-intensive approach to gathering perceptions data; and it is sometimes difficult to combine responses when the interviewing is completed. Questionnaires are an excellent way to assess perceptions; they can be completed anonymously and re-administered to assess changes in perceptions over time. The primary goal for the entire process must be to move the analysis of perceptions data into reports that can be easily interpreted, and to get the results into the hands of the people that need them the most in time for them to use the results. Writing good questions is labor intensive, but having good questions is the best way to get to the true perceptions of respondents.
