At The Learning Bar, we are committed to ensuring our surveys remain relevant, inclusive, and actionable for educators and policymakers. Based on valuable feedback from clients like you, we have undertaken a comprehensive review and modernisation of the socioeconomic status (SES) measures in the TTFM Primary and Secondary surveys and is now titled the Learning Assets.
Why Are We Making These Changes?
Our existing SES items no longer reflect the realities of today’s students, families, and learning environments. Key concerns include
- Outdated Content: Some questions (e.g., home possessions like newspapers or educational software) do not align with modern access to learning resources.
- Lack of Inclusivity: Certain items (e.g., “having your own room”) may not be culturally relevant or applicable to all family structures.
- Unreliable Responses: Some questions (e.g., parental education levels) are difficult for students to answer accurately.
- Limited Representation: Family structure options do not fully capture diverse living situations (e.g., multi-generational homes, varied caregiver arrangements).
To address these issues, we conducted an extensive review of current research, competitor surveys, and best practices in SES measurement. Our goal was to ensure our questions are culturally inclusive, educationally relevant, and reliably answered by students.
Key Improvements in the Updated Learning Assets Measures
The revamped SES content will now focus on:
✔ Home learning environments (e.g., access to books, reading habits, educational support).
✔ Family and caregiver structures (more inclusive options).
✔ Community resources (e.g., access to libraries, safe spaces, enrichment activities).
✔ Factors directly tied to academic success (rather than traditional SES markers).
✔ Simplified, student-friendly questions (to improve response accuracy).
This shift aligns with research showing that home literacy practices, supportive adults, and learning resources are stronger predictors of student success than broad economic indicators alone.
What Does This Mean for Your Data?
- Thematic Reports Impact:
- The Career Pathways and Student Engagement reports will be generated without the input of any of the SES content; therefore a few charts will be removed.
- Replica Line Removal: The SES-based Replica Line will be retired; we will explore dynamic options in the future to have similar functionality.
- SES Questions Composability: You will now have flexibility in selecting SES measures that best fit your needs, and you do not need to survey all or nothing going forward.
- Enhanced Reporting: after completion of content validation, reporting of the new content will be available in our One-Click, Interactive / Roll-up Interactive Charts and Trend reports, including the ability to use them as drill-downs.
Next Steps
The Learning Assets measures with the new content will be in place in the new school year and these measures will be available on your survey composing page. Our team is readily available, and we encourage you to reach out to us if you have any questions as we implement these improvements.
Thank you for your partnership as we work to ensure our surveys provide the most meaningful, equitable, and actionable insights for supporting all students.
Please feel free to contact us directly with any questions at support@thelearningbar.com for further details.