Sample Rural Alternative High School (demo) · Data review and needs assessment
Data review and needs assessment
Needs assessment 2026 (sample)
This is a sample needs assessment for a composite demo school. The numbers are made up. You can look through every step, but nothing can be changed or saved.
Help for this step · video and guide
6. Summary
Proposal-ready text for “How the needs assessment led to the selected domain(s).” Copy each block into your application and fill in anything in [brackets]. Then take each priority into a root cause analysis.
Our needs assessment
Our team ([roles]) completed this needs assessment as part of our MICIP work ([dates]). 5 team members rated 21 possible needs across 5 areas, compared our ratings, and settled the items where we disagreed by checking the evidence. We reviewed MI School Index results (sample), MI School Data, college enrollment (sample), MI School Data, student attendance (sample), MI School Data, graduation and dropout (sample), Student information system, transcripts, Attendance log, and Counselor referral log.
Priority needs
1. Chronic absenteeism. Our chronic absenteeism rate was 88.4% in 2024-25; the state rate was 27.9%. Only 12% of absences this fall received a same-week contact. Need area: MTSS: chronic absenteeism. Team ratings: absence rate (significant need) and barriers to attending (significant need).
2. Students fall behind on credits and do not graduate on time. Our four-year graduation rate was 52.3% in 2024-25, below the 67% CSI criterion, and 38% of students are on track to graduate under their plan this fall. Need area: MTSS: dropout and graduation. Team ratings: credits by grade 9 (significant need) and graduation rate (significant need).
Domains these needs point to
These needs point to the MTSS domain.
Needs we did not prioritize
We rated building leadership and team routines lower (team average 2.4 of 4), so we did not make it a priority. [Add the data behind this.]
We rated MTSS: social and mental health lower (team average 2.7 of 4), so we did not make it a priority. [Add the data behind this.]
We rated removing barriers: achievement and access lower (team average 3.0 of 4), so we did not make it a priority. [Add the data behind this.]