Panorama Student Survey Available in Eight Languages

Panorama is delighted to announce that the Panorama Student Survey is now available in eight languages. This student survey instrument can be used on Panorama’s survey platform and can be downloaded as a free resource in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Arabic, and Portuguese.

In September 2015, Panorama offered the Family-School Relationship Survey in eight languages. Since then, we have received enthusiastic responses from our partners and educators around the world who are excited to use these translations in their schools and districts. This feedback is an acknowledgement of how important it is for schools, networks, and districts to be able to communicate with members of their community in the language that is most comfortable for and accessible to them.  

Over the last three years, we have worked with hundreds of districts who have offered student surveys in multiple languages. Our partners in Springfield, Massachusetts conducted student surveys in nine languages, doing four of those translations in-house in order to accommodate their diverse student population. Because Springfield is a large, urban district, making resources available in many languages is an essential part of their work. Paul Foster, Chief Information Officer of Springfield Public Schools, emphasizes the importance of doing student surveys in translation.

“Doing translations of our student survey helped us connect with all of our students, and make sure that we are able to support everyone, regardless of their language level. For us, surveys in translation are an important way to work with our community and ensure we are receiving real and accurate feedback from all the students we serve.”

—Paul Foster, Chief Information Officer, Springfield Public Schools

Releasing the Panorama Student Survey in eight languages is a critical aspect of our mission: giving students an opportunity to share their opinions and feelings with teachers and administrators in a way that lets them feel comfortable and engaged. Offering surveys in translation to students is especially integral in making sure that all students, from all backgrounds, have the ability to give voice to what they experience in their schools and classrooms.

Our partners in New York City's District 79 find value in offering survey translations of the Panorama Student Survey to their community.

"In a school district in which more than half the students come from homes in which English is not the primary language and some schools are composed solely of non-native English speakers, providing the survey in multiple languages is the only way we can ensure that all students and schools are able to participate. We’ve also found that non-native English speakers who are classified as English proficient often elect to take the survey in their native language."

—Ben Meade, Executive Director of Strategy and Accountability, New York City District 79

The translations of the Panorama Student Survey were produced using current survey translation best practices: making a forward translation from the original English into the target language (eg., Spanish), and then a reverse translation from the target language back into English. Once the forward and back translations were completed by different translators, they were reconciled and reviewed by both translators as well as a proofreader to confirm accuracy and fidelity to the original survey instrument. The translations are intended to be as “standard” as possible, and therefore do not reflect regional styles or patterns.

We are excited to be able to offer the Panorama Student Survey in eight languages, and will continue to release translations as we complete them.

Are there other languages that you’d like the survey instruments translated into, or would you like to talk to our translation team? Please get in touch with us at translations@panoramaed.com with questions and feedback.