Service Organization Score Card Frequently Asked Questions:

October 2008

1. What are the “overarching” elements of a good service standard?

Three parts:
a. Written from the point of view of the customer and clarifies who the
customer is
b. SMARTe criteria:
i. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely and with Equity
in mind
ii. Equity for service org is to be able to see the link between a
service standard and what supports increase student learning at
schools/district

2. Basic guidelines for service standards on score cards:

a. There should be 3-5 service standards that reflect the core
services that you and your customers feel are most important. If
you provide high quality service in these areas, your customers
should feel you are providing a highly reliable service and this
perception will be reflected in the RATER scores.
b. At least two of your service standards should be measured on a
frequent and ongoing basis. For example, weekly or monthly.
c. Most of your clients should be school-site based.
d. Do not rely solely on the Use Your Voice Survey to collect data
from your customers. Consider “point of service” feedback
questionnaires and other creative methods to collect timely
feedback from customers.

3. What makes a service standard HIGH QUALITY?

a. The more we can move from quantity measures (e.g. number of
participants who rate training as satisfactory or above) to quality
measures (results and/or impact measures) (e.g. the extent to
which the training changed the behavior of teachers in classrooms
toward improved teaching practices) the better:
b. Feedback from ST: might have to come up with phased/different
metrics for some standards. Examples include:
o Filling teacher positions (fill is first standard, then over time need
to make sure the positions are filled with quality teachers)
o Initially, you measure the extent to which your customer
understands what services you provide and finds it valuable
then you move toward measuring the extent to which your
service impacts improved learning in schools

4. What goes into the “Narrative” deliverable that is attached to the final
scorecard?
 Narratives should explain what happened (or what contributed) to your
scores. If it went up, reflect upon and explain why you think so.
Include any “aha’s” or learnings you’ve gained through this process.
The narrative should be no longer than one page for your entire
service area.
You can also include an addendum, separate from the narrative, that
includes information such as the data collection methodology you
used.

5. If you are measuring a service standard that is measured by the UYV

survey, you should list the actual survey question as one of your service
standards. Please indicate in the service standard if it is from the Use
Your Voice survey.