CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

70
CUTGroup 15 – Chicago Public Schools, CPS.edu In-person test on April 1, 2015 Introduction For our fifteenth Civic User Testing session, we tested Chicago Public Schools website, which had recently went through a redesign to be more parent focused and mobile device friendly. Target Group: On March 25, we sent out an email to all of our 868 CUTGroup participants. We wanted to know if they would be available for an in-person test on April 1, 2015. When segmenting our testers we were interested in: Parents of Chicago Public Schools students with a diverse group of grade levels A mix of testers with different types of mobile devices Testers who have lived in Chicago for a long time and testers who are newer to Chicago or their neighborhood Test Type: In-person test with one-on-one proctors working with testers directly Testing happened on testers’ own mobile devices while proctors asked questions, and wrote down their responses and actions A few testers tested on a laptop that we provided so we could capture their movements and responses to the test questions Questions: The CPS website team were interested in testing these things: Find School Information: Can parents find a school easily? Do they use the School Locator? Do they use the search feature? Are parents comfortable using search? Website usability: We wanted to discover if there are areas of the website that are challenging to use. Mobile devices: We wanted to learn about how easy it is to visit the CPS website on a mobile device. We wanted to know if parents have visited the CPS website before and learn more about they get information about schools. 1

Transcript of CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Page 1: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Introduction For our fifteenth Civic User Testing session we tested Chicago Public Schools website which had

recently went through a redesign to be more parent focused and mobile device friendly

Target Group

On March 25 we sent out an email to all of our 868 CUTGroup participants We wanted to know if

they would be available for an in-person test on April 1 2015 When segmenting our testers we were interested in

Parents of Chicago Public Schools students with a diverse group of grade levels

A mix of testers with different types of mobile devices

Testers who have lived in Chicago for a long time and testers who are newer to Chicago or their neighborhood

Test Type

In-person test with one-on-one proctors working with testers directly

Testing happened on testersrsquo own mobile devices while proctors asked questions and wrote

down their responses and actions

A few testers tested on a laptop that we provided so we could capture their movements and responses to the test questions

Questions

The CPS website team were interested in testing these things

Find School Information Can parents find a school easily Do they use the School Locator

Do they use the search feature Are parents comfortable using search

Website usability We wanted to discover if there are areas of the website that are

challenging to use

Mobile devices We wanted to learn about how easy it is to visit the CPS website on a mobile

device We wanted to know if parents have visited the CPS website before and learn more

about they get information about schools

1

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Part I Responses Which school(s) do your children attend

Here is a list of schools testers mentioned

Courtenay

Dett School

Durkin Park Elementary

Funston

Hefferan

Holy Trinity

Lane Tech

Nettlehorst

Spencer

Urban Prep

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes or email Here

are the top responses we heard (the number indicates the number of times a response was mentioned)

6 ndash Communications with teachers

2 ndash Weekly email newsletter

2 ndash Facebook groups

2 ndash Other parents

1 ndash Communication with student

1 ndash ParticipatingVolunteer at schools

Do you search online for information about the schools your child(ren) attend

Yes 30 (3)

No 70 (7)

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Here are some responses from our testers

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) shared that her childrsquos school uses the

Remind app (httpswwwremindcom) which is a tool that she feels puts too much burden on

the teachers to communicate to parents In addition Local School Council Member amp Parent of

1 said that she used the website in the Fall to research high schools for her son but it was

difficult to use

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CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Husband and father of 1 (6) searched online when he first moved to the area but does not

do it anymore

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of that Usually what people are saying online is usually about the older gradesrdquo

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your

school (Either online or otherwise)

Here are what testers said was the biggest challenge in finding information about their childrsquos school

(number indicates number of times a challenge was mentioned

3 ndash Information is not updated or labeled correctly

2 ndash Lack of communication from teachers or schools

1 ndash Not sure where to find information

1 ndash Unable to find event information

Parent (7) told us ldquoIt isnrsquot a big challenge Just go up to teachers and talk to themrdquo

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) shared about past experiences ldquoYou just donrsquot know

where to find it If I go to the website I donrsquot think itrsquos very user friendly in order to find a

particular schoolrdquo

High School Parent (6) says ldquoFrequently information is not up to date links are broken I

imagine itrsquos hard to feed the content beast It mostly seems to be the same information but I

want to know what makes my school different than the othersrdquo

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

Do you use the CPS parent portal

Yes 20 (2)

No 80 (8)

If so how have you used it

Here are some responses from our testers

3

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of 2 (2) said ldquoYesrdquo she used it once to see if she could log in but no longer uses it

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) said ldquoNordquo because she could not get

information about logging in from the school She does not think itrsquos necessary to see a childrsquos

grade everyday and thinks it is a waste of the teacherrsquos time to post grades every day for ldquoevery

little assignmentrdquo

High School Parent (5) uses it to monitor her childrsquos attendance and grade progress

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) tried once to log in but got locked out

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

If so what do you use the website for

Here are the responses from testers about how they used the CPS website (number indicates the

number of times testers mentioned it)

3 ndash To choose a new school or High School

2 ndash To use the calendar of events

1 ndash To find more information about Local School Councils

1 ndash To learn more about after school programs

Part II Responses

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Here are what testers pointed out when reviewing the homepage (number indicates number of times a

topic of feature was mentioned)

4 ndash Various news stories

4 ndash Search bar

4 ndash ldquoSchoolsrdquo

2 ndash Upcoming news amp events

1 ndash ldquoStudentsrdquo

1 ndash ldquoStaffrdquo

1 ndash Applications for early childhood

1 ndash Social media outlets

1 ndash Calendar

1 ndash Warning banner for site maintenance

1 ndash Community bulletin board

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CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

3 ndash Click ldquoSchoolsrdquo

1 ndash Click ldquoStudentsrdquo

1 ndash Click ldquoCalendarrsquo

1 ndash Other Clicked banner

1 ndash Other Click read more on the PARCC article

1 ndash Other Clicked on Memorial Day event

1 ndash Other Looked up Board Meetings

1 ndash Other Typed in daughterrsquos school name

0 ndash Click ldquoTopicsrdquo

0 ndash Click ldquoStaffrdquo

0 ndash Click ldquoRecommended Resources by Graderdquo

0 ndash Used the Search

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Here are responses from testers about the first thing they did on the CPS website

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose to look at Board Meetings and pointed out

that the last time it was updated was August of 2014 but yet it has a date for two weeks from

now and she thought this was odd

High School Parent (5) clicked the school locator and mentions that it looks different than

it did before ldquoIt doesnrsquot look as welcomingrdquo High School Parent is not sure if she was looking

at ldquopipeline high schoolsrdquo

Parent of k (8) chose the calendar ldquoI wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring

break and what else was happening coming up It is very easy to userdquo

Meekmeek (10) chose the Memorial Day event but the screen never loaded

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in the headlines When clicking on it she

was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to open it but gets an error

message saying that she cannot open the file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you search for and what did you learn

5 testers had positive experiences when searching for information they were interested in learning more

about Here are some of the things we heard

Husband and father of 1 (6) searched for ldquoHigh Schoolrdquo and clicked on the first search

result which lead to an overview of the different types of high schools He shared that these

descriptions were easy to understand

Parent of k (8) used the School Locator to find Spencer Academy Parent of k says ldquoIt is very

easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offeredhellip

I like that they tell you a lot

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CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of Three Girls (9) searched for ldquoreadingrdquo because they wanted their daughter to be

prepared for first grade and was looking for tips Parent of Three Girls clicked on ldquoHome parent

reading tipsrdquo which was exactly what she was looking for She enjoyed the content especially

about using the library as a resource

Three testers had some difficulties during the search Here are some of their experiences

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) was searching for a school but after

adding zip code had a hard time finding the button to search

High School Parent (5) was using a Nexus 5 and had trouble searching for school either by

name or by address High School Parent had to reload the page before being successful

Parent (7) could not find her daughterrsquos school (Dett) but found it later because it was

organized by the full name of the school (Robert Dett)

Did you find what you are looking for

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

How did you search

By clicking on a topic 50 (5)

Using the search function 50 (5)

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information that you found

Three testers Active in the schools (1) Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4)

and Parent (7) all searched for their childrsquos school as the first thing they did after reviewing the

website

Here are some specifics about the information testers found from the School Profile Page

Parent of 2 (2) was most interested in the progress reports but wanted the profile rating to

be clickable and to dig deeper into the metrics

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) learned that her school is Level 1

At first the list of schools did not appear for Meekmeek (10) Meekmeek scrolled very quickly to

find the school but did not see the name After awhile she did find and clicked on the school name but

it did not show the school profile page Eventually she was able to get the next page but it loaded very

slowly

Did you use the School Locator

Yes 60 (6)

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In-person test on April 1 2015

No 40 (4)

Was this an easy experience

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Why or why not

All testers had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school Here are some responses from

testers

Parent (7) says ldquoI typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the schools -

shows what percentage of students are graduatingrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school but

said that it was very slow to load the profile page

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

What do you think is the most important information on the school profile page

Here are the pieces of information that testers found most important on the school profile page

(number indicates the number of times testers mentioned it)

4 ndash Addresscontact information of school

3 ndash Progress Report

2 ndash Number of students

2 ndash Test scores

1 ndash Admissions

1 ndash Graduation Rate

What do you think is the least important information on the school profile page

4 out of 10 testers said that everything on that page was important or were unable to say what was the

least important Here are the pieces of information that testers indicated were the least important on

the school profile page

4 ndash ldquoDonrsquot knowrdquordquoEverything is importantrdquo

2 ndash Progress Reports

1 ndash Attendance information

1 ndash Health school certifications

1 ndash ProgramsClubs

1 ndash Demographics

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CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results you found What did you learn

Half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using the School Locator to search for an address or

with the results they found Here are some of the responses we heard

4 out of 10 testers had trouble viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) had to turn her iPhone 5 horizontally

to see both the map and the results page but then once on the map this tester could not get

back to the results section It was difficult moving back and forth to see all of the information on

this page Also when clicking on a pin the box was too large to view the whole thing

Husband and father of 1 (6) was testing on his Nexus 5 and thought the results were good

but the browser did not let him scroll to the right By viewing on his phone vertically showed

only some of the map Husband and father of 1 wanted to see more of the map

Meekmeek (10) tested on her Android HTC Desire and could not see the map at all unless

she switched it to horizontal view Therefore when she clicked on a school result it was meant

to appear as a pinpoint on a map but nothing happened on Meekmeekrsquos screen and she became

stuck on this page

Parent of 2 (2) said ldquoIt is a lot better than the old locatorrdquo However the map was not in

view on the testerrsquos iPhone 6 and the browser froze on the school locator page

Here are some other responses from testers who had more positive experiences

Active in the schools (1) says ldquoI found good information what grades they serve the grade

level their standinghelliprdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquo28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnrsquot know there were

that many schools The info windowrsquos information is goodrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoIt gave me schools that were closer to me schools that I

qualify forrdquo

Was this an easy experience

Yes 90 (9)

No 10 (1)

Why or why not

Overwhelmingly testers thought their experience was easy Two testers said it was easy in the last

question but had difficulties using the School Locator Here are responses from some of our testers

about using the School Locator tool to search for their address

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In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of 2 (2) thought it was straight-forward to type into and liked that it gave the

neighborhood schools and other types of schools ldquoIt would be nice to highlight what you can

apply tordquo

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) said while it was fairly easy there was

some frustration but says ldquoIrsquom not a so-called digital native so I am used to thatrdquo

High School Parent (5) said it was easy but leaned more towards the middle of it they say

ldquoMeh because I didnrsquot realize there were filters in the drop downsrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoIt has potential but it was difficult to use on the Nexusrdquo

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child should attend What school did you choose Here is a list of schools that testers ended up choosing

Clemente

Disney II Magnet School

Marshall

Morgan Park

Smithe

Sullivan

Walter Payton

Parent (7) would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech due to

reputation

Parent of k (8) said they needed to spend more time looking at schools before choosing one

Why did you choose that school

When discussing reasons why testers would choose a school we heard a few things

3 ndash Reputation

3 ndash Distance from homein neighborhood

2 ndash Performance Rate

2 ndash Safety

Here are some responses from testers about using the school locator to find information about a High

School

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) says ldquoIt gives you an option to show the ratings but

only for all schoolsrdquo Active Mom and CPS Volunteer thought this was a frustrating experience

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CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Husband and father of 1 (6) mentioned that it showed Clemente as a neighborhood high

school but he wasnrsquot sure if that was the case He thought it seemed like that are suggesting

that Clemente is the one in district and he is more familiar with the term ldquoin districtrdquo vs

ldquoneighborhoodrdquo

Parent of k (8) liked the link for directions and the grade category selectors When using

the locator she opened up ldquoPrograms Offeredrdquo and said ldquoOh wow that is pretty coolrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) in this exercise this tester chose Sullivan because it is closer to

where they live and ldquoI actually know a couple of people who go there and say it is good I will

get my own information about the school from the principalrdquo

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a new school

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

Why or why not

Here are some responses of testers who said ldquoYesrdquo it was easy to use

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoYou can click on a name and it pulls up information on

the map and then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good incorporation of

Google mapsrdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquoIt flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the maprdquo

Here is a response from a tester who said ldquoNordquo it wasnrsquot easy to use

Parent of 2 (2) say ldquoNot for high school There are more categorizations than elementary

which makes it more difficultrdquo

One tester High School Parent (6) said it was an easy experience in the previous question but

when digging deeper as to why High School Parent said ldquoNo it gave you the information that you start

[with] to do further researchrdquo but she would still have to do further research and visit the school

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about What did you choose

Here are the features and topics that testers chose in learning more about

3 ndash District Calendar

1 ndash School classification

1 ndash Repurposing

1 ndash Local School Council Principal Evaluation

1 ndash View recommended resources by grade

1 ndash Staff

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CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

1 ndash Topics

1 ndash ldquoSingingrdquo

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

3 testers wanted to look at the district calendar when asked to choose something they were interested

in learning about Here is more about these testersrsquo experiences

Parent of 2 (2) clicked on the PDF because it was hard to read on their screen

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) chose the calendar because in the past

nothing was on the calendar and she had to call the school Spring break and teacher conference

information would be useful

Meekmeek (10) downloaded the PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up

on her screen but the PDF was difficult to read since she had to continue to zoom in and out

When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a white screen and took a very long time to load The

information she is most interested in seeing on the calendar are dates for open enrollment

report pickup day and picture day

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose ldquoRepurposingrdquo because ldquoI wondered what it is

there was an icon for it but I didnrsquot understand what it was for It was about the buildingsrdquo

Parent (7) chose ldquoStaffrdquo because she thought it would talk about staff at the schools and she

ldquowanted to know what type of people are handling your kidsrdquo She then realized that it was an

employee-only page After this experience Parent wanted to look at the calendar

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose ldquoSingingrdquo because ldquomy daughter loves to signrdquo When

presented with the ldquoout of daterdquo message she said ldquoif this isnrsquot accurate anymore they

shouldnrsquot have it Itrsquos like false advertising

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes 100 (100)

No 0

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future Yes 80 (8)

No 20 (2)

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Testers had a wide range of responses when asked how they would improve the Chicago Public Schools

website Here is a list of improvements that testers provided

ldquoIt is a little sterile make it come to life morerdquo ndashParent of 2 (2)

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CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

ldquoI dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level)

make it k-8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is herersquordquo ndash Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3)

ldquoOne thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS calendar on Google I used to be

able to do it but at some point it stoppedrdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is

a drastic improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and

locator function on mobilerdquo ndash Husband and father of 1 (6)

ldquoMake it easier to find parent portalrdquo ndash Parent of k (8)

ldquoRemove outdated contentrdquo ndash Parent of Three Girls (9)

ldquoLess downloadsrdquo ndashMeekmeek (10)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Anything else to add

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) says ldquoItrsquos so nice to blather on and onhelliprdquo and

hopes we are reaching a variety of people through CUTGroup

High School Parent (5) says ldquoNope I just think the website is better than it used to berdquo

12

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Results

Finding School Information Past experiences When we asked testers whether or not they ever searched online for information about the schools

that their children attend overwhelmingly (7 out of 10) testers said No

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of thatrdquo

When asked whether or not they have ever visited the CPS website 7 out of 10 testers said Yes

This is how these testers used the CPS website in the past

3 testers used it to choose a new school or High School

2 testers used it to check the calendar of events

1 tester wanted to learn more about Local School Councils and

1 tester wanted to find out about after-school programs

We asked testers how easy it is to find information about schools whether online or in person Half of

the testers answered right in the middle about how difficult or easy it was to find school information

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes email Testers

also learn about about what is happening in their school from other parents weekly email newsletters

and communications with teachers

During the test When searching for their childs school 6 out of 10 testers used the School Locator but all testers

thought it was an easy time searching Testers were then asked to tell us the most important and least

important information on the schools profile pages The most important information testers called out

included addresscontact information progress reports number of students test scores admission and

graduation rates When asked about the least important information 4 testers said that all of the

information was important to them

When all testers were asked to use the School Locator tool and search for an address we saw that

about half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using this feature 4 testers had trouble with

viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically 2 of these testers were testing with

their iPhones while the other 2 were on Android devices When holding their phone vertically testers

only saw the list of school names but when clicking on the name it would open more information on

13

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 2: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Part I Responses Which school(s) do your children attend

Here is a list of schools testers mentioned

Courtenay

Dett School

Durkin Park Elementary

Funston

Hefferan

Holy Trinity

Lane Tech

Nettlehorst

Spencer

Urban Prep

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes or email Here

are the top responses we heard (the number indicates the number of times a response was mentioned)

6 ndash Communications with teachers

2 ndash Weekly email newsletter

2 ndash Facebook groups

2 ndash Other parents

1 ndash Communication with student

1 ndash ParticipatingVolunteer at schools

Do you search online for information about the schools your child(ren) attend

Yes 30 (3)

No 70 (7)

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Here are some responses from our testers

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) shared that her childrsquos school uses the

Remind app (httpswwwremindcom) which is a tool that she feels puts too much burden on

the teachers to communicate to parents In addition Local School Council Member amp Parent of

1 said that she used the website in the Fall to research high schools for her son but it was

difficult to use

2

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Husband and father of 1 (6) searched online when he first moved to the area but does not

do it anymore

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of that Usually what people are saying online is usually about the older gradesrdquo

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your

school (Either online or otherwise)

Here are what testers said was the biggest challenge in finding information about their childrsquos school

(number indicates number of times a challenge was mentioned

3 ndash Information is not updated or labeled correctly

2 ndash Lack of communication from teachers or schools

1 ndash Not sure where to find information

1 ndash Unable to find event information

Parent (7) told us ldquoIt isnrsquot a big challenge Just go up to teachers and talk to themrdquo

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) shared about past experiences ldquoYou just donrsquot know

where to find it If I go to the website I donrsquot think itrsquos very user friendly in order to find a

particular schoolrdquo

High School Parent (6) says ldquoFrequently information is not up to date links are broken I

imagine itrsquos hard to feed the content beast It mostly seems to be the same information but I

want to know what makes my school different than the othersrdquo

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

Do you use the CPS parent portal

Yes 20 (2)

No 80 (8)

If so how have you used it

Here are some responses from our testers

3

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of 2 (2) said ldquoYesrdquo she used it once to see if she could log in but no longer uses it

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) said ldquoNordquo because she could not get

information about logging in from the school She does not think itrsquos necessary to see a childrsquos

grade everyday and thinks it is a waste of the teacherrsquos time to post grades every day for ldquoevery

little assignmentrdquo

High School Parent (5) uses it to monitor her childrsquos attendance and grade progress

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) tried once to log in but got locked out

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

If so what do you use the website for

Here are the responses from testers about how they used the CPS website (number indicates the

number of times testers mentioned it)

3 ndash To choose a new school or High School

2 ndash To use the calendar of events

1 ndash To find more information about Local School Councils

1 ndash To learn more about after school programs

Part II Responses

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Here are what testers pointed out when reviewing the homepage (number indicates number of times a

topic of feature was mentioned)

4 ndash Various news stories

4 ndash Search bar

4 ndash ldquoSchoolsrdquo

2 ndash Upcoming news amp events

1 ndash ldquoStudentsrdquo

1 ndash ldquoStaffrdquo

1 ndash Applications for early childhood

1 ndash Social media outlets

1 ndash Calendar

1 ndash Warning banner for site maintenance

1 ndash Community bulletin board

4

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

3 ndash Click ldquoSchoolsrdquo

1 ndash Click ldquoStudentsrdquo

1 ndash Click ldquoCalendarrsquo

1 ndash Other Clicked banner

1 ndash Other Click read more on the PARCC article

1 ndash Other Clicked on Memorial Day event

1 ndash Other Looked up Board Meetings

1 ndash Other Typed in daughterrsquos school name

0 ndash Click ldquoTopicsrdquo

0 ndash Click ldquoStaffrdquo

0 ndash Click ldquoRecommended Resources by Graderdquo

0 ndash Used the Search

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Here are responses from testers about the first thing they did on the CPS website

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose to look at Board Meetings and pointed out

that the last time it was updated was August of 2014 but yet it has a date for two weeks from

now and she thought this was odd

High School Parent (5) clicked the school locator and mentions that it looks different than

it did before ldquoIt doesnrsquot look as welcomingrdquo High School Parent is not sure if she was looking

at ldquopipeline high schoolsrdquo

Parent of k (8) chose the calendar ldquoI wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring

break and what else was happening coming up It is very easy to userdquo

Meekmeek (10) chose the Memorial Day event but the screen never loaded

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in the headlines When clicking on it she

was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to open it but gets an error

message saying that she cannot open the file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you search for and what did you learn

5 testers had positive experiences when searching for information they were interested in learning more

about Here are some of the things we heard

Husband and father of 1 (6) searched for ldquoHigh Schoolrdquo and clicked on the first search

result which lead to an overview of the different types of high schools He shared that these

descriptions were easy to understand

Parent of k (8) used the School Locator to find Spencer Academy Parent of k says ldquoIt is very

easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offeredhellip

I like that they tell you a lot

5

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of Three Girls (9) searched for ldquoreadingrdquo because they wanted their daughter to be

prepared for first grade and was looking for tips Parent of Three Girls clicked on ldquoHome parent

reading tipsrdquo which was exactly what she was looking for She enjoyed the content especially

about using the library as a resource

Three testers had some difficulties during the search Here are some of their experiences

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) was searching for a school but after

adding zip code had a hard time finding the button to search

High School Parent (5) was using a Nexus 5 and had trouble searching for school either by

name or by address High School Parent had to reload the page before being successful

Parent (7) could not find her daughterrsquos school (Dett) but found it later because it was

organized by the full name of the school (Robert Dett)

Did you find what you are looking for

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

How did you search

By clicking on a topic 50 (5)

Using the search function 50 (5)

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information that you found

Three testers Active in the schools (1) Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4)

and Parent (7) all searched for their childrsquos school as the first thing they did after reviewing the

website

Here are some specifics about the information testers found from the School Profile Page

Parent of 2 (2) was most interested in the progress reports but wanted the profile rating to

be clickable and to dig deeper into the metrics

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) learned that her school is Level 1

At first the list of schools did not appear for Meekmeek (10) Meekmeek scrolled very quickly to

find the school but did not see the name After awhile she did find and clicked on the school name but

it did not show the school profile page Eventually she was able to get the next page but it loaded very

slowly

Did you use the School Locator

Yes 60 (6)

6

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

No 40 (4)

Was this an easy experience

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Why or why not

All testers had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school Here are some responses from

testers

Parent (7) says ldquoI typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the schools -

shows what percentage of students are graduatingrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school but

said that it was very slow to load the profile page

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

What do you think is the most important information on the school profile page

Here are the pieces of information that testers found most important on the school profile page

(number indicates the number of times testers mentioned it)

4 ndash Addresscontact information of school

3 ndash Progress Report

2 ndash Number of students

2 ndash Test scores

1 ndash Admissions

1 ndash Graduation Rate

What do you think is the least important information on the school profile page

4 out of 10 testers said that everything on that page was important or were unable to say what was the

least important Here are the pieces of information that testers indicated were the least important on

the school profile page

4 ndash ldquoDonrsquot knowrdquordquoEverything is importantrdquo

2 ndash Progress Reports

1 ndash Attendance information

1 ndash Health school certifications

1 ndash ProgramsClubs

1 ndash Demographics

7

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results you found What did you learn

Half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using the School Locator to search for an address or

with the results they found Here are some of the responses we heard

4 out of 10 testers had trouble viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) had to turn her iPhone 5 horizontally

to see both the map and the results page but then once on the map this tester could not get

back to the results section It was difficult moving back and forth to see all of the information on

this page Also when clicking on a pin the box was too large to view the whole thing

Husband and father of 1 (6) was testing on his Nexus 5 and thought the results were good

but the browser did not let him scroll to the right By viewing on his phone vertically showed

only some of the map Husband and father of 1 wanted to see more of the map

Meekmeek (10) tested on her Android HTC Desire and could not see the map at all unless

she switched it to horizontal view Therefore when she clicked on a school result it was meant

to appear as a pinpoint on a map but nothing happened on Meekmeekrsquos screen and she became

stuck on this page

Parent of 2 (2) said ldquoIt is a lot better than the old locatorrdquo However the map was not in

view on the testerrsquos iPhone 6 and the browser froze on the school locator page

Here are some other responses from testers who had more positive experiences

Active in the schools (1) says ldquoI found good information what grades they serve the grade

level their standinghelliprdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquo28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnrsquot know there were

that many schools The info windowrsquos information is goodrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoIt gave me schools that were closer to me schools that I

qualify forrdquo

Was this an easy experience

Yes 90 (9)

No 10 (1)

Why or why not

Overwhelmingly testers thought their experience was easy Two testers said it was easy in the last

question but had difficulties using the School Locator Here are responses from some of our testers

about using the School Locator tool to search for their address

8

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of 2 (2) thought it was straight-forward to type into and liked that it gave the

neighborhood schools and other types of schools ldquoIt would be nice to highlight what you can

apply tordquo

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) said while it was fairly easy there was

some frustration but says ldquoIrsquom not a so-called digital native so I am used to thatrdquo

High School Parent (5) said it was easy but leaned more towards the middle of it they say

ldquoMeh because I didnrsquot realize there were filters in the drop downsrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoIt has potential but it was difficult to use on the Nexusrdquo

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child should attend What school did you choose Here is a list of schools that testers ended up choosing

Clemente

Disney II Magnet School

Marshall

Morgan Park

Smithe

Sullivan

Walter Payton

Parent (7) would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech due to

reputation

Parent of k (8) said they needed to spend more time looking at schools before choosing one

Why did you choose that school

When discussing reasons why testers would choose a school we heard a few things

3 ndash Reputation

3 ndash Distance from homein neighborhood

2 ndash Performance Rate

2 ndash Safety

Here are some responses from testers about using the school locator to find information about a High

School

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) says ldquoIt gives you an option to show the ratings but

only for all schoolsrdquo Active Mom and CPS Volunteer thought this was a frustrating experience

9

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Husband and father of 1 (6) mentioned that it showed Clemente as a neighborhood high

school but he wasnrsquot sure if that was the case He thought it seemed like that are suggesting

that Clemente is the one in district and he is more familiar with the term ldquoin districtrdquo vs

ldquoneighborhoodrdquo

Parent of k (8) liked the link for directions and the grade category selectors When using

the locator she opened up ldquoPrograms Offeredrdquo and said ldquoOh wow that is pretty coolrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) in this exercise this tester chose Sullivan because it is closer to

where they live and ldquoI actually know a couple of people who go there and say it is good I will

get my own information about the school from the principalrdquo

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a new school

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

Why or why not

Here are some responses of testers who said ldquoYesrdquo it was easy to use

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoYou can click on a name and it pulls up information on

the map and then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good incorporation of

Google mapsrdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquoIt flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the maprdquo

Here is a response from a tester who said ldquoNordquo it wasnrsquot easy to use

Parent of 2 (2) say ldquoNot for high school There are more categorizations than elementary

which makes it more difficultrdquo

One tester High School Parent (6) said it was an easy experience in the previous question but

when digging deeper as to why High School Parent said ldquoNo it gave you the information that you start

[with] to do further researchrdquo but she would still have to do further research and visit the school

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about What did you choose

Here are the features and topics that testers chose in learning more about

3 ndash District Calendar

1 ndash School classification

1 ndash Repurposing

1 ndash Local School Council Principal Evaluation

1 ndash View recommended resources by grade

1 ndash Staff

10

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

1 ndash Topics

1 ndash ldquoSingingrdquo

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

3 testers wanted to look at the district calendar when asked to choose something they were interested

in learning about Here is more about these testersrsquo experiences

Parent of 2 (2) clicked on the PDF because it was hard to read on their screen

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) chose the calendar because in the past

nothing was on the calendar and she had to call the school Spring break and teacher conference

information would be useful

Meekmeek (10) downloaded the PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up

on her screen but the PDF was difficult to read since she had to continue to zoom in and out

When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a white screen and took a very long time to load The

information she is most interested in seeing on the calendar are dates for open enrollment

report pickup day and picture day

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose ldquoRepurposingrdquo because ldquoI wondered what it is

there was an icon for it but I didnrsquot understand what it was for It was about the buildingsrdquo

Parent (7) chose ldquoStaffrdquo because she thought it would talk about staff at the schools and she

ldquowanted to know what type of people are handling your kidsrdquo She then realized that it was an

employee-only page After this experience Parent wanted to look at the calendar

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose ldquoSingingrdquo because ldquomy daughter loves to signrdquo When

presented with the ldquoout of daterdquo message she said ldquoif this isnrsquot accurate anymore they

shouldnrsquot have it Itrsquos like false advertising

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes 100 (100)

No 0

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future Yes 80 (8)

No 20 (2)

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Testers had a wide range of responses when asked how they would improve the Chicago Public Schools

website Here is a list of improvements that testers provided

ldquoIt is a little sterile make it come to life morerdquo ndashParent of 2 (2)

11

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

ldquoI dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level)

make it k-8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is herersquordquo ndash Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3)

ldquoOne thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS calendar on Google I used to be

able to do it but at some point it stoppedrdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is

a drastic improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and

locator function on mobilerdquo ndash Husband and father of 1 (6)

ldquoMake it easier to find parent portalrdquo ndash Parent of k (8)

ldquoRemove outdated contentrdquo ndash Parent of Three Girls (9)

ldquoLess downloadsrdquo ndashMeekmeek (10)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Anything else to add

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) says ldquoItrsquos so nice to blather on and onhelliprdquo and

hopes we are reaching a variety of people through CUTGroup

High School Parent (5) says ldquoNope I just think the website is better than it used to berdquo

12

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Results

Finding School Information Past experiences When we asked testers whether or not they ever searched online for information about the schools

that their children attend overwhelmingly (7 out of 10) testers said No

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of thatrdquo

When asked whether or not they have ever visited the CPS website 7 out of 10 testers said Yes

This is how these testers used the CPS website in the past

3 testers used it to choose a new school or High School

2 testers used it to check the calendar of events

1 tester wanted to learn more about Local School Councils and

1 tester wanted to find out about after-school programs

We asked testers how easy it is to find information about schools whether online or in person Half of

the testers answered right in the middle about how difficult or easy it was to find school information

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes email Testers

also learn about about what is happening in their school from other parents weekly email newsletters

and communications with teachers

During the test When searching for their childs school 6 out of 10 testers used the School Locator but all testers

thought it was an easy time searching Testers were then asked to tell us the most important and least

important information on the schools profile pages The most important information testers called out

included addresscontact information progress reports number of students test scores admission and

graduation rates When asked about the least important information 4 testers said that all of the

information was important to them

When all testers were asked to use the School Locator tool and search for an address we saw that

about half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using this feature 4 testers had trouble with

viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically 2 of these testers were testing with

their iPhones while the other 2 were on Android devices When holding their phone vertically testers

only saw the list of school names but when clicking on the name it would open more information on

13

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 3: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Husband and father of 1 (6) searched online when he first moved to the area but does not

do it anymore

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of that Usually what people are saying online is usually about the older gradesrdquo

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your

school (Either online or otherwise)

Here are what testers said was the biggest challenge in finding information about their childrsquos school

(number indicates number of times a challenge was mentioned

3 ndash Information is not updated or labeled correctly

2 ndash Lack of communication from teachers or schools

1 ndash Not sure where to find information

1 ndash Unable to find event information

Parent (7) told us ldquoIt isnrsquot a big challenge Just go up to teachers and talk to themrdquo

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) shared about past experiences ldquoYou just donrsquot know

where to find it If I go to the website I donrsquot think itrsquos very user friendly in order to find a

particular schoolrdquo

High School Parent (6) says ldquoFrequently information is not up to date links are broken I

imagine itrsquos hard to feed the content beast It mostly seems to be the same information but I

want to know what makes my school different than the othersrdquo

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

Do you use the CPS parent portal

Yes 20 (2)

No 80 (8)

If so how have you used it

Here are some responses from our testers

3

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of 2 (2) said ldquoYesrdquo she used it once to see if she could log in but no longer uses it

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) said ldquoNordquo because she could not get

information about logging in from the school She does not think itrsquos necessary to see a childrsquos

grade everyday and thinks it is a waste of the teacherrsquos time to post grades every day for ldquoevery

little assignmentrdquo

High School Parent (5) uses it to monitor her childrsquos attendance and grade progress

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) tried once to log in but got locked out

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

If so what do you use the website for

Here are the responses from testers about how they used the CPS website (number indicates the

number of times testers mentioned it)

3 ndash To choose a new school or High School

2 ndash To use the calendar of events

1 ndash To find more information about Local School Councils

1 ndash To learn more about after school programs

Part II Responses

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Here are what testers pointed out when reviewing the homepage (number indicates number of times a

topic of feature was mentioned)

4 ndash Various news stories

4 ndash Search bar

4 ndash ldquoSchoolsrdquo

2 ndash Upcoming news amp events

1 ndash ldquoStudentsrdquo

1 ndash ldquoStaffrdquo

1 ndash Applications for early childhood

1 ndash Social media outlets

1 ndash Calendar

1 ndash Warning banner for site maintenance

1 ndash Community bulletin board

4

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

3 ndash Click ldquoSchoolsrdquo

1 ndash Click ldquoStudentsrdquo

1 ndash Click ldquoCalendarrsquo

1 ndash Other Clicked banner

1 ndash Other Click read more on the PARCC article

1 ndash Other Clicked on Memorial Day event

1 ndash Other Looked up Board Meetings

1 ndash Other Typed in daughterrsquos school name

0 ndash Click ldquoTopicsrdquo

0 ndash Click ldquoStaffrdquo

0 ndash Click ldquoRecommended Resources by Graderdquo

0 ndash Used the Search

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Here are responses from testers about the first thing they did on the CPS website

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose to look at Board Meetings and pointed out

that the last time it was updated was August of 2014 but yet it has a date for two weeks from

now and she thought this was odd

High School Parent (5) clicked the school locator and mentions that it looks different than

it did before ldquoIt doesnrsquot look as welcomingrdquo High School Parent is not sure if she was looking

at ldquopipeline high schoolsrdquo

Parent of k (8) chose the calendar ldquoI wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring

break and what else was happening coming up It is very easy to userdquo

Meekmeek (10) chose the Memorial Day event but the screen never loaded

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in the headlines When clicking on it she

was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to open it but gets an error

message saying that she cannot open the file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you search for and what did you learn

5 testers had positive experiences when searching for information they were interested in learning more

about Here are some of the things we heard

Husband and father of 1 (6) searched for ldquoHigh Schoolrdquo and clicked on the first search

result which lead to an overview of the different types of high schools He shared that these

descriptions were easy to understand

Parent of k (8) used the School Locator to find Spencer Academy Parent of k says ldquoIt is very

easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offeredhellip

I like that they tell you a lot

5

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of Three Girls (9) searched for ldquoreadingrdquo because they wanted their daughter to be

prepared for first grade and was looking for tips Parent of Three Girls clicked on ldquoHome parent

reading tipsrdquo which was exactly what she was looking for She enjoyed the content especially

about using the library as a resource

Three testers had some difficulties during the search Here are some of their experiences

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) was searching for a school but after

adding zip code had a hard time finding the button to search

High School Parent (5) was using a Nexus 5 and had trouble searching for school either by

name or by address High School Parent had to reload the page before being successful

Parent (7) could not find her daughterrsquos school (Dett) but found it later because it was

organized by the full name of the school (Robert Dett)

Did you find what you are looking for

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

How did you search

By clicking on a topic 50 (5)

Using the search function 50 (5)

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information that you found

Three testers Active in the schools (1) Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4)

and Parent (7) all searched for their childrsquos school as the first thing they did after reviewing the

website

Here are some specifics about the information testers found from the School Profile Page

Parent of 2 (2) was most interested in the progress reports but wanted the profile rating to

be clickable and to dig deeper into the metrics

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) learned that her school is Level 1

At first the list of schools did not appear for Meekmeek (10) Meekmeek scrolled very quickly to

find the school but did not see the name After awhile she did find and clicked on the school name but

it did not show the school profile page Eventually she was able to get the next page but it loaded very

slowly

Did you use the School Locator

Yes 60 (6)

6

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

No 40 (4)

Was this an easy experience

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Why or why not

All testers had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school Here are some responses from

testers

Parent (7) says ldquoI typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the schools -

shows what percentage of students are graduatingrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school but

said that it was very slow to load the profile page

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

What do you think is the most important information on the school profile page

Here are the pieces of information that testers found most important on the school profile page

(number indicates the number of times testers mentioned it)

4 ndash Addresscontact information of school

3 ndash Progress Report

2 ndash Number of students

2 ndash Test scores

1 ndash Admissions

1 ndash Graduation Rate

What do you think is the least important information on the school profile page

4 out of 10 testers said that everything on that page was important or were unable to say what was the

least important Here are the pieces of information that testers indicated were the least important on

the school profile page

4 ndash ldquoDonrsquot knowrdquordquoEverything is importantrdquo

2 ndash Progress Reports

1 ndash Attendance information

1 ndash Health school certifications

1 ndash ProgramsClubs

1 ndash Demographics

7

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results you found What did you learn

Half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using the School Locator to search for an address or

with the results they found Here are some of the responses we heard

4 out of 10 testers had trouble viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) had to turn her iPhone 5 horizontally

to see both the map and the results page but then once on the map this tester could not get

back to the results section It was difficult moving back and forth to see all of the information on

this page Also when clicking on a pin the box was too large to view the whole thing

Husband and father of 1 (6) was testing on his Nexus 5 and thought the results were good

but the browser did not let him scroll to the right By viewing on his phone vertically showed

only some of the map Husband and father of 1 wanted to see more of the map

Meekmeek (10) tested on her Android HTC Desire and could not see the map at all unless

she switched it to horizontal view Therefore when she clicked on a school result it was meant

to appear as a pinpoint on a map but nothing happened on Meekmeekrsquos screen and she became

stuck on this page

Parent of 2 (2) said ldquoIt is a lot better than the old locatorrdquo However the map was not in

view on the testerrsquos iPhone 6 and the browser froze on the school locator page

Here are some other responses from testers who had more positive experiences

Active in the schools (1) says ldquoI found good information what grades they serve the grade

level their standinghelliprdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquo28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnrsquot know there were

that many schools The info windowrsquos information is goodrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoIt gave me schools that were closer to me schools that I

qualify forrdquo

Was this an easy experience

Yes 90 (9)

No 10 (1)

Why or why not

Overwhelmingly testers thought their experience was easy Two testers said it was easy in the last

question but had difficulties using the School Locator Here are responses from some of our testers

about using the School Locator tool to search for their address

8

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of 2 (2) thought it was straight-forward to type into and liked that it gave the

neighborhood schools and other types of schools ldquoIt would be nice to highlight what you can

apply tordquo

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) said while it was fairly easy there was

some frustration but says ldquoIrsquom not a so-called digital native so I am used to thatrdquo

High School Parent (5) said it was easy but leaned more towards the middle of it they say

ldquoMeh because I didnrsquot realize there were filters in the drop downsrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoIt has potential but it was difficult to use on the Nexusrdquo

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child should attend What school did you choose Here is a list of schools that testers ended up choosing

Clemente

Disney II Magnet School

Marshall

Morgan Park

Smithe

Sullivan

Walter Payton

Parent (7) would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech due to

reputation

Parent of k (8) said they needed to spend more time looking at schools before choosing one

Why did you choose that school

When discussing reasons why testers would choose a school we heard a few things

3 ndash Reputation

3 ndash Distance from homein neighborhood

2 ndash Performance Rate

2 ndash Safety

Here are some responses from testers about using the school locator to find information about a High

School

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) says ldquoIt gives you an option to show the ratings but

only for all schoolsrdquo Active Mom and CPS Volunteer thought this was a frustrating experience

9

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Husband and father of 1 (6) mentioned that it showed Clemente as a neighborhood high

school but he wasnrsquot sure if that was the case He thought it seemed like that are suggesting

that Clemente is the one in district and he is more familiar with the term ldquoin districtrdquo vs

ldquoneighborhoodrdquo

Parent of k (8) liked the link for directions and the grade category selectors When using

the locator she opened up ldquoPrograms Offeredrdquo and said ldquoOh wow that is pretty coolrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) in this exercise this tester chose Sullivan because it is closer to

where they live and ldquoI actually know a couple of people who go there and say it is good I will

get my own information about the school from the principalrdquo

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a new school

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

Why or why not

Here are some responses of testers who said ldquoYesrdquo it was easy to use

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoYou can click on a name and it pulls up information on

the map and then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good incorporation of

Google mapsrdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquoIt flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the maprdquo

Here is a response from a tester who said ldquoNordquo it wasnrsquot easy to use

Parent of 2 (2) say ldquoNot for high school There are more categorizations than elementary

which makes it more difficultrdquo

One tester High School Parent (6) said it was an easy experience in the previous question but

when digging deeper as to why High School Parent said ldquoNo it gave you the information that you start

[with] to do further researchrdquo but she would still have to do further research and visit the school

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about What did you choose

Here are the features and topics that testers chose in learning more about

3 ndash District Calendar

1 ndash School classification

1 ndash Repurposing

1 ndash Local School Council Principal Evaluation

1 ndash View recommended resources by grade

1 ndash Staff

10

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

1 ndash Topics

1 ndash ldquoSingingrdquo

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

3 testers wanted to look at the district calendar when asked to choose something they were interested

in learning about Here is more about these testersrsquo experiences

Parent of 2 (2) clicked on the PDF because it was hard to read on their screen

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) chose the calendar because in the past

nothing was on the calendar and she had to call the school Spring break and teacher conference

information would be useful

Meekmeek (10) downloaded the PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up

on her screen but the PDF was difficult to read since she had to continue to zoom in and out

When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a white screen and took a very long time to load The

information she is most interested in seeing on the calendar are dates for open enrollment

report pickup day and picture day

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose ldquoRepurposingrdquo because ldquoI wondered what it is

there was an icon for it but I didnrsquot understand what it was for It was about the buildingsrdquo

Parent (7) chose ldquoStaffrdquo because she thought it would talk about staff at the schools and she

ldquowanted to know what type of people are handling your kidsrdquo She then realized that it was an

employee-only page After this experience Parent wanted to look at the calendar

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose ldquoSingingrdquo because ldquomy daughter loves to signrdquo When

presented with the ldquoout of daterdquo message she said ldquoif this isnrsquot accurate anymore they

shouldnrsquot have it Itrsquos like false advertising

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes 100 (100)

No 0

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future Yes 80 (8)

No 20 (2)

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Testers had a wide range of responses when asked how they would improve the Chicago Public Schools

website Here is a list of improvements that testers provided

ldquoIt is a little sterile make it come to life morerdquo ndashParent of 2 (2)

11

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

ldquoI dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level)

make it k-8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is herersquordquo ndash Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3)

ldquoOne thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS calendar on Google I used to be

able to do it but at some point it stoppedrdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is

a drastic improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and

locator function on mobilerdquo ndash Husband and father of 1 (6)

ldquoMake it easier to find parent portalrdquo ndash Parent of k (8)

ldquoRemove outdated contentrdquo ndash Parent of Three Girls (9)

ldquoLess downloadsrdquo ndashMeekmeek (10)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Anything else to add

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) says ldquoItrsquos so nice to blather on and onhelliprdquo and

hopes we are reaching a variety of people through CUTGroup

High School Parent (5) says ldquoNope I just think the website is better than it used to berdquo

12

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Results

Finding School Information Past experiences When we asked testers whether or not they ever searched online for information about the schools

that their children attend overwhelmingly (7 out of 10) testers said No

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of thatrdquo

When asked whether or not they have ever visited the CPS website 7 out of 10 testers said Yes

This is how these testers used the CPS website in the past

3 testers used it to choose a new school or High School

2 testers used it to check the calendar of events

1 tester wanted to learn more about Local School Councils and

1 tester wanted to find out about after-school programs

We asked testers how easy it is to find information about schools whether online or in person Half of

the testers answered right in the middle about how difficult or easy it was to find school information

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes email Testers

also learn about about what is happening in their school from other parents weekly email newsletters

and communications with teachers

During the test When searching for their childs school 6 out of 10 testers used the School Locator but all testers

thought it was an easy time searching Testers were then asked to tell us the most important and least

important information on the schools profile pages The most important information testers called out

included addresscontact information progress reports number of students test scores admission and

graduation rates When asked about the least important information 4 testers said that all of the

information was important to them

When all testers were asked to use the School Locator tool and search for an address we saw that

about half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using this feature 4 testers had trouble with

viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically 2 of these testers were testing with

their iPhones while the other 2 were on Android devices When holding their phone vertically testers

only saw the list of school names but when clicking on the name it would open more information on

13

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 4: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of 2 (2) said ldquoYesrdquo she used it once to see if she could log in but no longer uses it

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) said ldquoNordquo because she could not get

information about logging in from the school She does not think itrsquos necessary to see a childrsquos

grade everyday and thinks it is a waste of the teacherrsquos time to post grades every day for ldquoevery

little assignmentrdquo

High School Parent (5) uses it to monitor her childrsquos attendance and grade progress

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) tried once to log in but got locked out

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

If so what do you use the website for

Here are the responses from testers about how they used the CPS website (number indicates the

number of times testers mentioned it)

3 ndash To choose a new school or High School

2 ndash To use the calendar of events

1 ndash To find more information about Local School Councils

1 ndash To learn more about after school programs

Part II Responses

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Here are what testers pointed out when reviewing the homepage (number indicates number of times a

topic of feature was mentioned)

4 ndash Various news stories

4 ndash Search bar

4 ndash ldquoSchoolsrdquo

2 ndash Upcoming news amp events

1 ndash ldquoStudentsrdquo

1 ndash ldquoStaffrdquo

1 ndash Applications for early childhood

1 ndash Social media outlets

1 ndash Calendar

1 ndash Warning banner for site maintenance

1 ndash Community bulletin board

4

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

3 ndash Click ldquoSchoolsrdquo

1 ndash Click ldquoStudentsrdquo

1 ndash Click ldquoCalendarrsquo

1 ndash Other Clicked banner

1 ndash Other Click read more on the PARCC article

1 ndash Other Clicked on Memorial Day event

1 ndash Other Looked up Board Meetings

1 ndash Other Typed in daughterrsquos school name

0 ndash Click ldquoTopicsrdquo

0 ndash Click ldquoStaffrdquo

0 ndash Click ldquoRecommended Resources by Graderdquo

0 ndash Used the Search

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Here are responses from testers about the first thing they did on the CPS website

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose to look at Board Meetings and pointed out

that the last time it was updated was August of 2014 but yet it has a date for two weeks from

now and she thought this was odd

High School Parent (5) clicked the school locator and mentions that it looks different than

it did before ldquoIt doesnrsquot look as welcomingrdquo High School Parent is not sure if she was looking

at ldquopipeline high schoolsrdquo

Parent of k (8) chose the calendar ldquoI wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring

break and what else was happening coming up It is very easy to userdquo

Meekmeek (10) chose the Memorial Day event but the screen never loaded

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in the headlines When clicking on it she

was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to open it but gets an error

message saying that she cannot open the file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you search for and what did you learn

5 testers had positive experiences when searching for information they were interested in learning more

about Here are some of the things we heard

Husband and father of 1 (6) searched for ldquoHigh Schoolrdquo and clicked on the first search

result which lead to an overview of the different types of high schools He shared that these

descriptions were easy to understand

Parent of k (8) used the School Locator to find Spencer Academy Parent of k says ldquoIt is very

easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offeredhellip

I like that they tell you a lot

5

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of Three Girls (9) searched for ldquoreadingrdquo because they wanted their daughter to be

prepared for first grade and was looking for tips Parent of Three Girls clicked on ldquoHome parent

reading tipsrdquo which was exactly what she was looking for She enjoyed the content especially

about using the library as a resource

Three testers had some difficulties during the search Here are some of their experiences

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) was searching for a school but after

adding zip code had a hard time finding the button to search

High School Parent (5) was using a Nexus 5 and had trouble searching for school either by

name or by address High School Parent had to reload the page before being successful

Parent (7) could not find her daughterrsquos school (Dett) but found it later because it was

organized by the full name of the school (Robert Dett)

Did you find what you are looking for

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

How did you search

By clicking on a topic 50 (5)

Using the search function 50 (5)

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information that you found

Three testers Active in the schools (1) Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4)

and Parent (7) all searched for their childrsquos school as the first thing they did after reviewing the

website

Here are some specifics about the information testers found from the School Profile Page

Parent of 2 (2) was most interested in the progress reports but wanted the profile rating to

be clickable and to dig deeper into the metrics

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) learned that her school is Level 1

At first the list of schools did not appear for Meekmeek (10) Meekmeek scrolled very quickly to

find the school but did not see the name After awhile she did find and clicked on the school name but

it did not show the school profile page Eventually she was able to get the next page but it loaded very

slowly

Did you use the School Locator

Yes 60 (6)

6

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

No 40 (4)

Was this an easy experience

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Why or why not

All testers had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school Here are some responses from

testers

Parent (7) says ldquoI typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the schools -

shows what percentage of students are graduatingrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school but

said that it was very slow to load the profile page

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

What do you think is the most important information on the school profile page

Here are the pieces of information that testers found most important on the school profile page

(number indicates the number of times testers mentioned it)

4 ndash Addresscontact information of school

3 ndash Progress Report

2 ndash Number of students

2 ndash Test scores

1 ndash Admissions

1 ndash Graduation Rate

What do you think is the least important information on the school profile page

4 out of 10 testers said that everything on that page was important or were unable to say what was the

least important Here are the pieces of information that testers indicated were the least important on

the school profile page

4 ndash ldquoDonrsquot knowrdquordquoEverything is importantrdquo

2 ndash Progress Reports

1 ndash Attendance information

1 ndash Health school certifications

1 ndash ProgramsClubs

1 ndash Demographics

7

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results you found What did you learn

Half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using the School Locator to search for an address or

with the results they found Here are some of the responses we heard

4 out of 10 testers had trouble viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) had to turn her iPhone 5 horizontally

to see both the map and the results page but then once on the map this tester could not get

back to the results section It was difficult moving back and forth to see all of the information on

this page Also when clicking on a pin the box was too large to view the whole thing

Husband and father of 1 (6) was testing on his Nexus 5 and thought the results were good

but the browser did not let him scroll to the right By viewing on his phone vertically showed

only some of the map Husband and father of 1 wanted to see more of the map

Meekmeek (10) tested on her Android HTC Desire and could not see the map at all unless

she switched it to horizontal view Therefore when she clicked on a school result it was meant

to appear as a pinpoint on a map but nothing happened on Meekmeekrsquos screen and she became

stuck on this page

Parent of 2 (2) said ldquoIt is a lot better than the old locatorrdquo However the map was not in

view on the testerrsquos iPhone 6 and the browser froze on the school locator page

Here are some other responses from testers who had more positive experiences

Active in the schools (1) says ldquoI found good information what grades they serve the grade

level their standinghelliprdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquo28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnrsquot know there were

that many schools The info windowrsquos information is goodrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoIt gave me schools that were closer to me schools that I

qualify forrdquo

Was this an easy experience

Yes 90 (9)

No 10 (1)

Why or why not

Overwhelmingly testers thought their experience was easy Two testers said it was easy in the last

question but had difficulties using the School Locator Here are responses from some of our testers

about using the School Locator tool to search for their address

8

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of 2 (2) thought it was straight-forward to type into and liked that it gave the

neighborhood schools and other types of schools ldquoIt would be nice to highlight what you can

apply tordquo

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) said while it was fairly easy there was

some frustration but says ldquoIrsquom not a so-called digital native so I am used to thatrdquo

High School Parent (5) said it was easy but leaned more towards the middle of it they say

ldquoMeh because I didnrsquot realize there were filters in the drop downsrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoIt has potential but it was difficult to use on the Nexusrdquo

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child should attend What school did you choose Here is a list of schools that testers ended up choosing

Clemente

Disney II Magnet School

Marshall

Morgan Park

Smithe

Sullivan

Walter Payton

Parent (7) would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech due to

reputation

Parent of k (8) said they needed to spend more time looking at schools before choosing one

Why did you choose that school

When discussing reasons why testers would choose a school we heard a few things

3 ndash Reputation

3 ndash Distance from homein neighborhood

2 ndash Performance Rate

2 ndash Safety

Here are some responses from testers about using the school locator to find information about a High

School

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) says ldquoIt gives you an option to show the ratings but

only for all schoolsrdquo Active Mom and CPS Volunteer thought this was a frustrating experience

9

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Husband and father of 1 (6) mentioned that it showed Clemente as a neighborhood high

school but he wasnrsquot sure if that was the case He thought it seemed like that are suggesting

that Clemente is the one in district and he is more familiar with the term ldquoin districtrdquo vs

ldquoneighborhoodrdquo

Parent of k (8) liked the link for directions and the grade category selectors When using

the locator she opened up ldquoPrograms Offeredrdquo and said ldquoOh wow that is pretty coolrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) in this exercise this tester chose Sullivan because it is closer to

where they live and ldquoI actually know a couple of people who go there and say it is good I will

get my own information about the school from the principalrdquo

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a new school

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

Why or why not

Here are some responses of testers who said ldquoYesrdquo it was easy to use

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoYou can click on a name and it pulls up information on

the map and then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good incorporation of

Google mapsrdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquoIt flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the maprdquo

Here is a response from a tester who said ldquoNordquo it wasnrsquot easy to use

Parent of 2 (2) say ldquoNot for high school There are more categorizations than elementary

which makes it more difficultrdquo

One tester High School Parent (6) said it was an easy experience in the previous question but

when digging deeper as to why High School Parent said ldquoNo it gave you the information that you start

[with] to do further researchrdquo but she would still have to do further research and visit the school

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about What did you choose

Here are the features and topics that testers chose in learning more about

3 ndash District Calendar

1 ndash School classification

1 ndash Repurposing

1 ndash Local School Council Principal Evaluation

1 ndash View recommended resources by grade

1 ndash Staff

10

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

1 ndash Topics

1 ndash ldquoSingingrdquo

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

3 testers wanted to look at the district calendar when asked to choose something they were interested

in learning about Here is more about these testersrsquo experiences

Parent of 2 (2) clicked on the PDF because it was hard to read on their screen

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) chose the calendar because in the past

nothing was on the calendar and she had to call the school Spring break and teacher conference

information would be useful

Meekmeek (10) downloaded the PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up

on her screen but the PDF was difficult to read since she had to continue to zoom in and out

When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a white screen and took a very long time to load The

information she is most interested in seeing on the calendar are dates for open enrollment

report pickup day and picture day

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose ldquoRepurposingrdquo because ldquoI wondered what it is

there was an icon for it but I didnrsquot understand what it was for It was about the buildingsrdquo

Parent (7) chose ldquoStaffrdquo because she thought it would talk about staff at the schools and she

ldquowanted to know what type of people are handling your kidsrdquo She then realized that it was an

employee-only page After this experience Parent wanted to look at the calendar

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose ldquoSingingrdquo because ldquomy daughter loves to signrdquo When

presented with the ldquoout of daterdquo message she said ldquoif this isnrsquot accurate anymore they

shouldnrsquot have it Itrsquos like false advertising

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes 100 (100)

No 0

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future Yes 80 (8)

No 20 (2)

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Testers had a wide range of responses when asked how they would improve the Chicago Public Schools

website Here is a list of improvements that testers provided

ldquoIt is a little sterile make it come to life morerdquo ndashParent of 2 (2)

11

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

ldquoI dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level)

make it k-8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is herersquordquo ndash Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3)

ldquoOne thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS calendar on Google I used to be

able to do it but at some point it stoppedrdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is

a drastic improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and

locator function on mobilerdquo ndash Husband and father of 1 (6)

ldquoMake it easier to find parent portalrdquo ndash Parent of k (8)

ldquoRemove outdated contentrdquo ndash Parent of Three Girls (9)

ldquoLess downloadsrdquo ndashMeekmeek (10)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Anything else to add

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) says ldquoItrsquos so nice to blather on and onhelliprdquo and

hopes we are reaching a variety of people through CUTGroup

High School Parent (5) says ldquoNope I just think the website is better than it used to berdquo

12

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Results

Finding School Information Past experiences When we asked testers whether or not they ever searched online for information about the schools

that their children attend overwhelmingly (7 out of 10) testers said No

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of thatrdquo

When asked whether or not they have ever visited the CPS website 7 out of 10 testers said Yes

This is how these testers used the CPS website in the past

3 testers used it to choose a new school or High School

2 testers used it to check the calendar of events

1 tester wanted to learn more about Local School Councils and

1 tester wanted to find out about after-school programs

We asked testers how easy it is to find information about schools whether online or in person Half of

the testers answered right in the middle about how difficult or easy it was to find school information

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes email Testers

also learn about about what is happening in their school from other parents weekly email newsletters

and communications with teachers

During the test When searching for their childs school 6 out of 10 testers used the School Locator but all testers

thought it was an easy time searching Testers were then asked to tell us the most important and least

important information on the schools profile pages The most important information testers called out

included addresscontact information progress reports number of students test scores admission and

graduation rates When asked about the least important information 4 testers said that all of the

information was important to them

When all testers were asked to use the School Locator tool and search for an address we saw that

about half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using this feature 4 testers had trouble with

viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically 2 of these testers were testing with

their iPhones while the other 2 were on Android devices When holding their phone vertically testers

only saw the list of school names but when clicking on the name it would open more information on

13

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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62

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 5: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

3 ndash Click ldquoSchoolsrdquo

1 ndash Click ldquoStudentsrdquo

1 ndash Click ldquoCalendarrsquo

1 ndash Other Clicked banner

1 ndash Other Click read more on the PARCC article

1 ndash Other Clicked on Memorial Day event

1 ndash Other Looked up Board Meetings

1 ndash Other Typed in daughterrsquos school name

0 ndash Click ldquoTopicsrdquo

0 ndash Click ldquoStaffrdquo

0 ndash Click ldquoRecommended Resources by Graderdquo

0 ndash Used the Search

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Here are responses from testers about the first thing they did on the CPS website

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose to look at Board Meetings and pointed out

that the last time it was updated was August of 2014 but yet it has a date for two weeks from

now and she thought this was odd

High School Parent (5) clicked the school locator and mentions that it looks different than

it did before ldquoIt doesnrsquot look as welcomingrdquo High School Parent is not sure if she was looking

at ldquopipeline high schoolsrdquo

Parent of k (8) chose the calendar ldquoI wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring

break and what else was happening coming up It is very easy to userdquo

Meekmeek (10) chose the Memorial Day event but the screen never loaded

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in the headlines When clicking on it she

was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to open it but gets an error

message saying that she cannot open the file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you search for and what did you learn

5 testers had positive experiences when searching for information they were interested in learning more

about Here are some of the things we heard

Husband and father of 1 (6) searched for ldquoHigh Schoolrdquo and clicked on the first search

result which lead to an overview of the different types of high schools He shared that these

descriptions were easy to understand

Parent of k (8) used the School Locator to find Spencer Academy Parent of k says ldquoIt is very

easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offeredhellip

I like that they tell you a lot

5

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of Three Girls (9) searched for ldquoreadingrdquo because they wanted their daughter to be

prepared for first grade and was looking for tips Parent of Three Girls clicked on ldquoHome parent

reading tipsrdquo which was exactly what she was looking for She enjoyed the content especially

about using the library as a resource

Three testers had some difficulties during the search Here are some of their experiences

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) was searching for a school but after

adding zip code had a hard time finding the button to search

High School Parent (5) was using a Nexus 5 and had trouble searching for school either by

name or by address High School Parent had to reload the page before being successful

Parent (7) could not find her daughterrsquos school (Dett) but found it later because it was

organized by the full name of the school (Robert Dett)

Did you find what you are looking for

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

How did you search

By clicking on a topic 50 (5)

Using the search function 50 (5)

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information that you found

Three testers Active in the schools (1) Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4)

and Parent (7) all searched for their childrsquos school as the first thing they did after reviewing the

website

Here are some specifics about the information testers found from the School Profile Page

Parent of 2 (2) was most interested in the progress reports but wanted the profile rating to

be clickable and to dig deeper into the metrics

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) learned that her school is Level 1

At first the list of schools did not appear for Meekmeek (10) Meekmeek scrolled very quickly to

find the school but did not see the name After awhile she did find and clicked on the school name but

it did not show the school profile page Eventually she was able to get the next page but it loaded very

slowly

Did you use the School Locator

Yes 60 (6)

6

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

No 40 (4)

Was this an easy experience

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Why or why not

All testers had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school Here are some responses from

testers

Parent (7) says ldquoI typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the schools -

shows what percentage of students are graduatingrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school but

said that it was very slow to load the profile page

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

What do you think is the most important information on the school profile page

Here are the pieces of information that testers found most important on the school profile page

(number indicates the number of times testers mentioned it)

4 ndash Addresscontact information of school

3 ndash Progress Report

2 ndash Number of students

2 ndash Test scores

1 ndash Admissions

1 ndash Graduation Rate

What do you think is the least important information on the school profile page

4 out of 10 testers said that everything on that page was important or were unable to say what was the

least important Here are the pieces of information that testers indicated were the least important on

the school profile page

4 ndash ldquoDonrsquot knowrdquordquoEverything is importantrdquo

2 ndash Progress Reports

1 ndash Attendance information

1 ndash Health school certifications

1 ndash ProgramsClubs

1 ndash Demographics

7

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results you found What did you learn

Half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using the School Locator to search for an address or

with the results they found Here are some of the responses we heard

4 out of 10 testers had trouble viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) had to turn her iPhone 5 horizontally

to see both the map and the results page but then once on the map this tester could not get

back to the results section It was difficult moving back and forth to see all of the information on

this page Also when clicking on a pin the box was too large to view the whole thing

Husband and father of 1 (6) was testing on his Nexus 5 and thought the results were good

but the browser did not let him scroll to the right By viewing on his phone vertically showed

only some of the map Husband and father of 1 wanted to see more of the map

Meekmeek (10) tested on her Android HTC Desire and could not see the map at all unless

she switched it to horizontal view Therefore when she clicked on a school result it was meant

to appear as a pinpoint on a map but nothing happened on Meekmeekrsquos screen and she became

stuck on this page

Parent of 2 (2) said ldquoIt is a lot better than the old locatorrdquo However the map was not in

view on the testerrsquos iPhone 6 and the browser froze on the school locator page

Here are some other responses from testers who had more positive experiences

Active in the schools (1) says ldquoI found good information what grades they serve the grade

level their standinghelliprdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquo28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnrsquot know there were

that many schools The info windowrsquos information is goodrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoIt gave me schools that were closer to me schools that I

qualify forrdquo

Was this an easy experience

Yes 90 (9)

No 10 (1)

Why or why not

Overwhelmingly testers thought their experience was easy Two testers said it was easy in the last

question but had difficulties using the School Locator Here are responses from some of our testers

about using the School Locator tool to search for their address

8

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of 2 (2) thought it was straight-forward to type into and liked that it gave the

neighborhood schools and other types of schools ldquoIt would be nice to highlight what you can

apply tordquo

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) said while it was fairly easy there was

some frustration but says ldquoIrsquom not a so-called digital native so I am used to thatrdquo

High School Parent (5) said it was easy but leaned more towards the middle of it they say

ldquoMeh because I didnrsquot realize there were filters in the drop downsrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoIt has potential but it was difficult to use on the Nexusrdquo

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child should attend What school did you choose Here is a list of schools that testers ended up choosing

Clemente

Disney II Magnet School

Marshall

Morgan Park

Smithe

Sullivan

Walter Payton

Parent (7) would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech due to

reputation

Parent of k (8) said they needed to spend more time looking at schools before choosing one

Why did you choose that school

When discussing reasons why testers would choose a school we heard a few things

3 ndash Reputation

3 ndash Distance from homein neighborhood

2 ndash Performance Rate

2 ndash Safety

Here are some responses from testers about using the school locator to find information about a High

School

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) says ldquoIt gives you an option to show the ratings but

only for all schoolsrdquo Active Mom and CPS Volunteer thought this was a frustrating experience

9

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Husband and father of 1 (6) mentioned that it showed Clemente as a neighborhood high

school but he wasnrsquot sure if that was the case He thought it seemed like that are suggesting

that Clemente is the one in district and he is more familiar with the term ldquoin districtrdquo vs

ldquoneighborhoodrdquo

Parent of k (8) liked the link for directions and the grade category selectors When using

the locator she opened up ldquoPrograms Offeredrdquo and said ldquoOh wow that is pretty coolrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) in this exercise this tester chose Sullivan because it is closer to

where they live and ldquoI actually know a couple of people who go there and say it is good I will

get my own information about the school from the principalrdquo

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a new school

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

Why or why not

Here are some responses of testers who said ldquoYesrdquo it was easy to use

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoYou can click on a name and it pulls up information on

the map and then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good incorporation of

Google mapsrdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquoIt flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the maprdquo

Here is a response from a tester who said ldquoNordquo it wasnrsquot easy to use

Parent of 2 (2) say ldquoNot for high school There are more categorizations than elementary

which makes it more difficultrdquo

One tester High School Parent (6) said it was an easy experience in the previous question but

when digging deeper as to why High School Parent said ldquoNo it gave you the information that you start

[with] to do further researchrdquo but she would still have to do further research and visit the school

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about What did you choose

Here are the features and topics that testers chose in learning more about

3 ndash District Calendar

1 ndash School classification

1 ndash Repurposing

1 ndash Local School Council Principal Evaluation

1 ndash View recommended resources by grade

1 ndash Staff

10

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

1 ndash Topics

1 ndash ldquoSingingrdquo

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

3 testers wanted to look at the district calendar when asked to choose something they were interested

in learning about Here is more about these testersrsquo experiences

Parent of 2 (2) clicked on the PDF because it was hard to read on their screen

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) chose the calendar because in the past

nothing was on the calendar and she had to call the school Spring break and teacher conference

information would be useful

Meekmeek (10) downloaded the PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up

on her screen but the PDF was difficult to read since she had to continue to zoom in and out

When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a white screen and took a very long time to load The

information she is most interested in seeing on the calendar are dates for open enrollment

report pickup day and picture day

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose ldquoRepurposingrdquo because ldquoI wondered what it is

there was an icon for it but I didnrsquot understand what it was for It was about the buildingsrdquo

Parent (7) chose ldquoStaffrdquo because she thought it would talk about staff at the schools and she

ldquowanted to know what type of people are handling your kidsrdquo She then realized that it was an

employee-only page After this experience Parent wanted to look at the calendar

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose ldquoSingingrdquo because ldquomy daughter loves to signrdquo When

presented with the ldquoout of daterdquo message she said ldquoif this isnrsquot accurate anymore they

shouldnrsquot have it Itrsquos like false advertising

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes 100 (100)

No 0

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future Yes 80 (8)

No 20 (2)

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Testers had a wide range of responses when asked how they would improve the Chicago Public Schools

website Here is a list of improvements that testers provided

ldquoIt is a little sterile make it come to life morerdquo ndashParent of 2 (2)

11

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

ldquoI dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level)

make it k-8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is herersquordquo ndash Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3)

ldquoOne thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS calendar on Google I used to be

able to do it but at some point it stoppedrdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is

a drastic improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and

locator function on mobilerdquo ndash Husband and father of 1 (6)

ldquoMake it easier to find parent portalrdquo ndash Parent of k (8)

ldquoRemove outdated contentrdquo ndash Parent of Three Girls (9)

ldquoLess downloadsrdquo ndashMeekmeek (10)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Anything else to add

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) says ldquoItrsquos so nice to blather on and onhelliprdquo and

hopes we are reaching a variety of people through CUTGroup

High School Parent (5) says ldquoNope I just think the website is better than it used to berdquo

12

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Results

Finding School Information Past experiences When we asked testers whether or not they ever searched online for information about the schools

that their children attend overwhelmingly (7 out of 10) testers said No

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of thatrdquo

When asked whether or not they have ever visited the CPS website 7 out of 10 testers said Yes

This is how these testers used the CPS website in the past

3 testers used it to choose a new school or High School

2 testers used it to check the calendar of events

1 tester wanted to learn more about Local School Councils and

1 tester wanted to find out about after-school programs

We asked testers how easy it is to find information about schools whether online or in person Half of

the testers answered right in the middle about how difficult or easy it was to find school information

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes email Testers

also learn about about what is happening in their school from other parents weekly email newsletters

and communications with teachers

During the test When searching for their childs school 6 out of 10 testers used the School Locator but all testers

thought it was an easy time searching Testers were then asked to tell us the most important and least

important information on the schools profile pages The most important information testers called out

included addresscontact information progress reports number of students test scores admission and

graduation rates When asked about the least important information 4 testers said that all of the

information was important to them

When all testers were asked to use the School Locator tool and search for an address we saw that

about half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using this feature 4 testers had trouble with

viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically 2 of these testers were testing with

their iPhones while the other 2 were on Android devices When holding their phone vertically testers

only saw the list of school names but when clicking on the name it would open more information on

13

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 6: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of Three Girls (9) searched for ldquoreadingrdquo because they wanted their daughter to be

prepared for first grade and was looking for tips Parent of Three Girls clicked on ldquoHome parent

reading tipsrdquo which was exactly what she was looking for She enjoyed the content especially

about using the library as a resource

Three testers had some difficulties during the search Here are some of their experiences

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) was searching for a school but after

adding zip code had a hard time finding the button to search

High School Parent (5) was using a Nexus 5 and had trouble searching for school either by

name or by address High School Parent had to reload the page before being successful

Parent (7) could not find her daughterrsquos school (Dett) but found it later because it was

organized by the full name of the school (Robert Dett)

Did you find what you are looking for

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

How did you search

By clicking on a topic 50 (5)

Using the search function 50 (5)

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information that you found

Three testers Active in the schools (1) Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4)

and Parent (7) all searched for their childrsquos school as the first thing they did after reviewing the

website

Here are some specifics about the information testers found from the School Profile Page

Parent of 2 (2) was most interested in the progress reports but wanted the profile rating to

be clickable and to dig deeper into the metrics

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) learned that her school is Level 1

At first the list of schools did not appear for Meekmeek (10) Meekmeek scrolled very quickly to

find the school but did not see the name After awhile she did find and clicked on the school name but

it did not show the school profile page Eventually she was able to get the next page but it loaded very

slowly

Did you use the School Locator

Yes 60 (6)

6

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

No 40 (4)

Was this an easy experience

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Why or why not

All testers had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school Here are some responses from

testers

Parent (7) says ldquoI typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the schools -

shows what percentage of students are graduatingrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school but

said that it was very slow to load the profile page

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

What do you think is the most important information on the school profile page

Here are the pieces of information that testers found most important on the school profile page

(number indicates the number of times testers mentioned it)

4 ndash Addresscontact information of school

3 ndash Progress Report

2 ndash Number of students

2 ndash Test scores

1 ndash Admissions

1 ndash Graduation Rate

What do you think is the least important information on the school profile page

4 out of 10 testers said that everything on that page was important or were unable to say what was the

least important Here are the pieces of information that testers indicated were the least important on

the school profile page

4 ndash ldquoDonrsquot knowrdquordquoEverything is importantrdquo

2 ndash Progress Reports

1 ndash Attendance information

1 ndash Health school certifications

1 ndash ProgramsClubs

1 ndash Demographics

7

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results you found What did you learn

Half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using the School Locator to search for an address or

with the results they found Here are some of the responses we heard

4 out of 10 testers had trouble viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) had to turn her iPhone 5 horizontally

to see both the map and the results page but then once on the map this tester could not get

back to the results section It was difficult moving back and forth to see all of the information on

this page Also when clicking on a pin the box was too large to view the whole thing

Husband and father of 1 (6) was testing on his Nexus 5 and thought the results were good

but the browser did not let him scroll to the right By viewing on his phone vertically showed

only some of the map Husband and father of 1 wanted to see more of the map

Meekmeek (10) tested on her Android HTC Desire and could not see the map at all unless

she switched it to horizontal view Therefore when she clicked on a school result it was meant

to appear as a pinpoint on a map but nothing happened on Meekmeekrsquos screen and she became

stuck on this page

Parent of 2 (2) said ldquoIt is a lot better than the old locatorrdquo However the map was not in

view on the testerrsquos iPhone 6 and the browser froze on the school locator page

Here are some other responses from testers who had more positive experiences

Active in the schools (1) says ldquoI found good information what grades they serve the grade

level their standinghelliprdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquo28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnrsquot know there were

that many schools The info windowrsquos information is goodrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoIt gave me schools that were closer to me schools that I

qualify forrdquo

Was this an easy experience

Yes 90 (9)

No 10 (1)

Why or why not

Overwhelmingly testers thought their experience was easy Two testers said it was easy in the last

question but had difficulties using the School Locator Here are responses from some of our testers

about using the School Locator tool to search for their address

8

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of 2 (2) thought it was straight-forward to type into and liked that it gave the

neighborhood schools and other types of schools ldquoIt would be nice to highlight what you can

apply tordquo

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) said while it was fairly easy there was

some frustration but says ldquoIrsquom not a so-called digital native so I am used to thatrdquo

High School Parent (5) said it was easy but leaned more towards the middle of it they say

ldquoMeh because I didnrsquot realize there were filters in the drop downsrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoIt has potential but it was difficult to use on the Nexusrdquo

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child should attend What school did you choose Here is a list of schools that testers ended up choosing

Clemente

Disney II Magnet School

Marshall

Morgan Park

Smithe

Sullivan

Walter Payton

Parent (7) would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech due to

reputation

Parent of k (8) said they needed to spend more time looking at schools before choosing one

Why did you choose that school

When discussing reasons why testers would choose a school we heard a few things

3 ndash Reputation

3 ndash Distance from homein neighborhood

2 ndash Performance Rate

2 ndash Safety

Here are some responses from testers about using the school locator to find information about a High

School

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) says ldquoIt gives you an option to show the ratings but

only for all schoolsrdquo Active Mom and CPS Volunteer thought this was a frustrating experience

9

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Husband and father of 1 (6) mentioned that it showed Clemente as a neighborhood high

school but he wasnrsquot sure if that was the case He thought it seemed like that are suggesting

that Clemente is the one in district and he is more familiar with the term ldquoin districtrdquo vs

ldquoneighborhoodrdquo

Parent of k (8) liked the link for directions and the grade category selectors When using

the locator she opened up ldquoPrograms Offeredrdquo and said ldquoOh wow that is pretty coolrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) in this exercise this tester chose Sullivan because it is closer to

where they live and ldquoI actually know a couple of people who go there and say it is good I will

get my own information about the school from the principalrdquo

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a new school

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

Why or why not

Here are some responses of testers who said ldquoYesrdquo it was easy to use

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoYou can click on a name and it pulls up information on

the map and then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good incorporation of

Google mapsrdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquoIt flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the maprdquo

Here is a response from a tester who said ldquoNordquo it wasnrsquot easy to use

Parent of 2 (2) say ldquoNot for high school There are more categorizations than elementary

which makes it more difficultrdquo

One tester High School Parent (6) said it was an easy experience in the previous question but

when digging deeper as to why High School Parent said ldquoNo it gave you the information that you start

[with] to do further researchrdquo but she would still have to do further research and visit the school

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about What did you choose

Here are the features and topics that testers chose in learning more about

3 ndash District Calendar

1 ndash School classification

1 ndash Repurposing

1 ndash Local School Council Principal Evaluation

1 ndash View recommended resources by grade

1 ndash Staff

10

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

1 ndash Topics

1 ndash ldquoSingingrdquo

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

3 testers wanted to look at the district calendar when asked to choose something they were interested

in learning about Here is more about these testersrsquo experiences

Parent of 2 (2) clicked on the PDF because it was hard to read on their screen

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) chose the calendar because in the past

nothing was on the calendar and she had to call the school Spring break and teacher conference

information would be useful

Meekmeek (10) downloaded the PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up

on her screen but the PDF was difficult to read since she had to continue to zoom in and out

When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a white screen and took a very long time to load The

information she is most interested in seeing on the calendar are dates for open enrollment

report pickup day and picture day

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose ldquoRepurposingrdquo because ldquoI wondered what it is

there was an icon for it but I didnrsquot understand what it was for It was about the buildingsrdquo

Parent (7) chose ldquoStaffrdquo because she thought it would talk about staff at the schools and she

ldquowanted to know what type of people are handling your kidsrdquo She then realized that it was an

employee-only page After this experience Parent wanted to look at the calendar

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose ldquoSingingrdquo because ldquomy daughter loves to signrdquo When

presented with the ldquoout of daterdquo message she said ldquoif this isnrsquot accurate anymore they

shouldnrsquot have it Itrsquos like false advertising

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes 100 (100)

No 0

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future Yes 80 (8)

No 20 (2)

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Testers had a wide range of responses when asked how they would improve the Chicago Public Schools

website Here is a list of improvements that testers provided

ldquoIt is a little sterile make it come to life morerdquo ndashParent of 2 (2)

11

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

ldquoI dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level)

make it k-8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is herersquordquo ndash Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3)

ldquoOne thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS calendar on Google I used to be

able to do it but at some point it stoppedrdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is

a drastic improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and

locator function on mobilerdquo ndash Husband and father of 1 (6)

ldquoMake it easier to find parent portalrdquo ndash Parent of k (8)

ldquoRemove outdated contentrdquo ndash Parent of Three Girls (9)

ldquoLess downloadsrdquo ndashMeekmeek (10)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Anything else to add

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) says ldquoItrsquos so nice to blather on and onhelliprdquo and

hopes we are reaching a variety of people through CUTGroup

High School Parent (5) says ldquoNope I just think the website is better than it used to berdquo

12

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Results

Finding School Information Past experiences When we asked testers whether or not they ever searched online for information about the schools

that their children attend overwhelmingly (7 out of 10) testers said No

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of thatrdquo

When asked whether or not they have ever visited the CPS website 7 out of 10 testers said Yes

This is how these testers used the CPS website in the past

3 testers used it to choose a new school or High School

2 testers used it to check the calendar of events

1 tester wanted to learn more about Local School Councils and

1 tester wanted to find out about after-school programs

We asked testers how easy it is to find information about schools whether online or in person Half of

the testers answered right in the middle about how difficult or easy it was to find school information

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes email Testers

also learn about about what is happening in their school from other parents weekly email newsletters

and communications with teachers

During the test When searching for their childs school 6 out of 10 testers used the School Locator but all testers

thought it was an easy time searching Testers were then asked to tell us the most important and least

important information on the schools profile pages The most important information testers called out

included addresscontact information progress reports number of students test scores admission and

graduation rates When asked about the least important information 4 testers said that all of the

information was important to them

When all testers were asked to use the School Locator tool and search for an address we saw that

about half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using this feature 4 testers had trouble with

viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically 2 of these testers were testing with

their iPhones while the other 2 were on Android devices When holding their phone vertically testers

only saw the list of school names but when clicking on the name it would open more information on

13

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

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Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 7: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

No 40 (4)

Was this an easy experience

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Why or why not

All testers had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school Here are some responses from

testers

Parent (7) says ldquoI typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the schools -

shows what percentage of students are graduatingrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) had an easy experience searching for their childrsquos school but

said that it was very slow to load the profile page

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

What do you think is the most important information on the school profile page

Here are the pieces of information that testers found most important on the school profile page

(number indicates the number of times testers mentioned it)

4 ndash Addresscontact information of school

3 ndash Progress Report

2 ndash Number of students

2 ndash Test scores

1 ndash Admissions

1 ndash Graduation Rate

What do you think is the least important information on the school profile page

4 out of 10 testers said that everything on that page was important or were unable to say what was the

least important Here are the pieces of information that testers indicated were the least important on

the school profile page

4 ndash ldquoDonrsquot knowrdquordquoEverything is importantrdquo

2 ndash Progress Reports

1 ndash Attendance information

1 ndash Health school certifications

1 ndash ProgramsClubs

1 ndash Demographics

7

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results you found What did you learn

Half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using the School Locator to search for an address or

with the results they found Here are some of the responses we heard

4 out of 10 testers had trouble viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) had to turn her iPhone 5 horizontally

to see both the map and the results page but then once on the map this tester could not get

back to the results section It was difficult moving back and forth to see all of the information on

this page Also when clicking on a pin the box was too large to view the whole thing

Husband and father of 1 (6) was testing on his Nexus 5 and thought the results were good

but the browser did not let him scroll to the right By viewing on his phone vertically showed

only some of the map Husband and father of 1 wanted to see more of the map

Meekmeek (10) tested on her Android HTC Desire and could not see the map at all unless

she switched it to horizontal view Therefore when she clicked on a school result it was meant

to appear as a pinpoint on a map but nothing happened on Meekmeekrsquos screen and she became

stuck on this page

Parent of 2 (2) said ldquoIt is a lot better than the old locatorrdquo However the map was not in

view on the testerrsquos iPhone 6 and the browser froze on the school locator page

Here are some other responses from testers who had more positive experiences

Active in the schools (1) says ldquoI found good information what grades they serve the grade

level their standinghelliprdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquo28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnrsquot know there were

that many schools The info windowrsquos information is goodrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoIt gave me schools that were closer to me schools that I

qualify forrdquo

Was this an easy experience

Yes 90 (9)

No 10 (1)

Why or why not

Overwhelmingly testers thought their experience was easy Two testers said it was easy in the last

question but had difficulties using the School Locator Here are responses from some of our testers

about using the School Locator tool to search for their address

8

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of 2 (2) thought it was straight-forward to type into and liked that it gave the

neighborhood schools and other types of schools ldquoIt would be nice to highlight what you can

apply tordquo

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) said while it was fairly easy there was

some frustration but says ldquoIrsquom not a so-called digital native so I am used to thatrdquo

High School Parent (5) said it was easy but leaned more towards the middle of it they say

ldquoMeh because I didnrsquot realize there were filters in the drop downsrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoIt has potential but it was difficult to use on the Nexusrdquo

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child should attend What school did you choose Here is a list of schools that testers ended up choosing

Clemente

Disney II Magnet School

Marshall

Morgan Park

Smithe

Sullivan

Walter Payton

Parent (7) would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech due to

reputation

Parent of k (8) said they needed to spend more time looking at schools before choosing one

Why did you choose that school

When discussing reasons why testers would choose a school we heard a few things

3 ndash Reputation

3 ndash Distance from homein neighborhood

2 ndash Performance Rate

2 ndash Safety

Here are some responses from testers about using the school locator to find information about a High

School

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) says ldquoIt gives you an option to show the ratings but

only for all schoolsrdquo Active Mom and CPS Volunteer thought this was a frustrating experience

9

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Husband and father of 1 (6) mentioned that it showed Clemente as a neighborhood high

school but he wasnrsquot sure if that was the case He thought it seemed like that are suggesting

that Clemente is the one in district and he is more familiar with the term ldquoin districtrdquo vs

ldquoneighborhoodrdquo

Parent of k (8) liked the link for directions and the grade category selectors When using

the locator she opened up ldquoPrograms Offeredrdquo and said ldquoOh wow that is pretty coolrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) in this exercise this tester chose Sullivan because it is closer to

where they live and ldquoI actually know a couple of people who go there and say it is good I will

get my own information about the school from the principalrdquo

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a new school

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

Why or why not

Here are some responses of testers who said ldquoYesrdquo it was easy to use

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoYou can click on a name and it pulls up information on

the map and then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good incorporation of

Google mapsrdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquoIt flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the maprdquo

Here is a response from a tester who said ldquoNordquo it wasnrsquot easy to use

Parent of 2 (2) say ldquoNot for high school There are more categorizations than elementary

which makes it more difficultrdquo

One tester High School Parent (6) said it was an easy experience in the previous question but

when digging deeper as to why High School Parent said ldquoNo it gave you the information that you start

[with] to do further researchrdquo but she would still have to do further research and visit the school

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about What did you choose

Here are the features and topics that testers chose in learning more about

3 ndash District Calendar

1 ndash School classification

1 ndash Repurposing

1 ndash Local School Council Principal Evaluation

1 ndash View recommended resources by grade

1 ndash Staff

10

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

1 ndash Topics

1 ndash ldquoSingingrdquo

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

3 testers wanted to look at the district calendar when asked to choose something they were interested

in learning about Here is more about these testersrsquo experiences

Parent of 2 (2) clicked on the PDF because it was hard to read on their screen

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) chose the calendar because in the past

nothing was on the calendar and she had to call the school Spring break and teacher conference

information would be useful

Meekmeek (10) downloaded the PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up

on her screen but the PDF was difficult to read since she had to continue to zoom in and out

When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a white screen and took a very long time to load The

information she is most interested in seeing on the calendar are dates for open enrollment

report pickup day and picture day

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose ldquoRepurposingrdquo because ldquoI wondered what it is

there was an icon for it but I didnrsquot understand what it was for It was about the buildingsrdquo

Parent (7) chose ldquoStaffrdquo because she thought it would talk about staff at the schools and she

ldquowanted to know what type of people are handling your kidsrdquo She then realized that it was an

employee-only page After this experience Parent wanted to look at the calendar

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose ldquoSingingrdquo because ldquomy daughter loves to signrdquo When

presented with the ldquoout of daterdquo message she said ldquoif this isnrsquot accurate anymore they

shouldnrsquot have it Itrsquos like false advertising

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes 100 (100)

No 0

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future Yes 80 (8)

No 20 (2)

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Testers had a wide range of responses when asked how they would improve the Chicago Public Schools

website Here is a list of improvements that testers provided

ldquoIt is a little sterile make it come to life morerdquo ndashParent of 2 (2)

11

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

ldquoI dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level)

make it k-8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is herersquordquo ndash Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3)

ldquoOne thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS calendar on Google I used to be

able to do it but at some point it stoppedrdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is

a drastic improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and

locator function on mobilerdquo ndash Husband and father of 1 (6)

ldquoMake it easier to find parent portalrdquo ndash Parent of k (8)

ldquoRemove outdated contentrdquo ndash Parent of Three Girls (9)

ldquoLess downloadsrdquo ndashMeekmeek (10)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Anything else to add

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) says ldquoItrsquos so nice to blather on and onhelliprdquo and

hopes we are reaching a variety of people through CUTGroup

High School Parent (5) says ldquoNope I just think the website is better than it used to berdquo

12

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Results

Finding School Information Past experiences When we asked testers whether or not they ever searched online for information about the schools

that their children attend overwhelmingly (7 out of 10) testers said No

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of thatrdquo

When asked whether or not they have ever visited the CPS website 7 out of 10 testers said Yes

This is how these testers used the CPS website in the past

3 testers used it to choose a new school or High School

2 testers used it to check the calendar of events

1 tester wanted to learn more about Local School Councils and

1 tester wanted to find out about after-school programs

We asked testers how easy it is to find information about schools whether online or in person Half of

the testers answered right in the middle about how difficult or easy it was to find school information

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes email Testers

also learn about about what is happening in their school from other parents weekly email newsletters

and communications with teachers

During the test When searching for their childs school 6 out of 10 testers used the School Locator but all testers

thought it was an easy time searching Testers were then asked to tell us the most important and least

important information on the schools profile pages The most important information testers called out

included addresscontact information progress reports number of students test scores admission and

graduation rates When asked about the least important information 4 testers said that all of the

information was important to them

When all testers were asked to use the School Locator tool and search for an address we saw that

about half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using this feature 4 testers had trouble with

viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically 2 of these testers were testing with

their iPhones while the other 2 were on Android devices When holding their phone vertically testers

only saw the list of school names but when clicking on the name it would open more information on

13

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 8: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results you found What did you learn

Half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using the School Locator to search for an address or

with the results they found Here are some of the responses we heard

4 out of 10 testers had trouble viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) had to turn her iPhone 5 horizontally

to see both the map and the results page but then once on the map this tester could not get

back to the results section It was difficult moving back and forth to see all of the information on

this page Also when clicking on a pin the box was too large to view the whole thing

Husband and father of 1 (6) was testing on his Nexus 5 and thought the results were good

but the browser did not let him scroll to the right By viewing on his phone vertically showed

only some of the map Husband and father of 1 wanted to see more of the map

Meekmeek (10) tested on her Android HTC Desire and could not see the map at all unless

she switched it to horizontal view Therefore when she clicked on a school result it was meant

to appear as a pinpoint on a map but nothing happened on Meekmeekrsquos screen and she became

stuck on this page

Parent of 2 (2) said ldquoIt is a lot better than the old locatorrdquo However the map was not in

view on the testerrsquos iPhone 6 and the browser froze on the school locator page

Here are some other responses from testers who had more positive experiences

Active in the schools (1) says ldquoI found good information what grades they serve the grade

level their standinghelliprdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquo28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnrsquot know there were

that many schools The info windowrsquos information is goodrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoIt gave me schools that were closer to me schools that I

qualify forrdquo

Was this an easy experience

Yes 90 (9)

No 10 (1)

Why or why not

Overwhelmingly testers thought their experience was easy Two testers said it was easy in the last

question but had difficulties using the School Locator Here are responses from some of our testers

about using the School Locator tool to search for their address

8

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of 2 (2) thought it was straight-forward to type into and liked that it gave the

neighborhood schools and other types of schools ldquoIt would be nice to highlight what you can

apply tordquo

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) said while it was fairly easy there was

some frustration but says ldquoIrsquom not a so-called digital native so I am used to thatrdquo

High School Parent (5) said it was easy but leaned more towards the middle of it they say

ldquoMeh because I didnrsquot realize there were filters in the drop downsrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoIt has potential but it was difficult to use on the Nexusrdquo

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child should attend What school did you choose Here is a list of schools that testers ended up choosing

Clemente

Disney II Magnet School

Marshall

Morgan Park

Smithe

Sullivan

Walter Payton

Parent (7) would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech due to

reputation

Parent of k (8) said they needed to spend more time looking at schools before choosing one

Why did you choose that school

When discussing reasons why testers would choose a school we heard a few things

3 ndash Reputation

3 ndash Distance from homein neighborhood

2 ndash Performance Rate

2 ndash Safety

Here are some responses from testers about using the school locator to find information about a High

School

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) says ldquoIt gives you an option to show the ratings but

only for all schoolsrdquo Active Mom and CPS Volunteer thought this was a frustrating experience

9

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Husband and father of 1 (6) mentioned that it showed Clemente as a neighborhood high

school but he wasnrsquot sure if that was the case He thought it seemed like that are suggesting

that Clemente is the one in district and he is more familiar with the term ldquoin districtrdquo vs

ldquoneighborhoodrdquo

Parent of k (8) liked the link for directions and the grade category selectors When using

the locator she opened up ldquoPrograms Offeredrdquo and said ldquoOh wow that is pretty coolrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) in this exercise this tester chose Sullivan because it is closer to

where they live and ldquoI actually know a couple of people who go there and say it is good I will

get my own information about the school from the principalrdquo

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a new school

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

Why or why not

Here are some responses of testers who said ldquoYesrdquo it was easy to use

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoYou can click on a name and it pulls up information on

the map and then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good incorporation of

Google mapsrdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquoIt flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the maprdquo

Here is a response from a tester who said ldquoNordquo it wasnrsquot easy to use

Parent of 2 (2) say ldquoNot for high school There are more categorizations than elementary

which makes it more difficultrdquo

One tester High School Parent (6) said it was an easy experience in the previous question but

when digging deeper as to why High School Parent said ldquoNo it gave you the information that you start

[with] to do further researchrdquo but she would still have to do further research and visit the school

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about What did you choose

Here are the features and topics that testers chose in learning more about

3 ndash District Calendar

1 ndash School classification

1 ndash Repurposing

1 ndash Local School Council Principal Evaluation

1 ndash View recommended resources by grade

1 ndash Staff

10

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

1 ndash Topics

1 ndash ldquoSingingrdquo

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

3 testers wanted to look at the district calendar when asked to choose something they were interested

in learning about Here is more about these testersrsquo experiences

Parent of 2 (2) clicked on the PDF because it was hard to read on their screen

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) chose the calendar because in the past

nothing was on the calendar and she had to call the school Spring break and teacher conference

information would be useful

Meekmeek (10) downloaded the PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up

on her screen but the PDF was difficult to read since she had to continue to zoom in and out

When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a white screen and took a very long time to load The

information she is most interested in seeing on the calendar are dates for open enrollment

report pickup day and picture day

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose ldquoRepurposingrdquo because ldquoI wondered what it is

there was an icon for it but I didnrsquot understand what it was for It was about the buildingsrdquo

Parent (7) chose ldquoStaffrdquo because she thought it would talk about staff at the schools and she

ldquowanted to know what type of people are handling your kidsrdquo She then realized that it was an

employee-only page After this experience Parent wanted to look at the calendar

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose ldquoSingingrdquo because ldquomy daughter loves to signrdquo When

presented with the ldquoout of daterdquo message she said ldquoif this isnrsquot accurate anymore they

shouldnrsquot have it Itrsquos like false advertising

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes 100 (100)

No 0

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future Yes 80 (8)

No 20 (2)

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Testers had a wide range of responses when asked how they would improve the Chicago Public Schools

website Here is a list of improvements that testers provided

ldquoIt is a little sterile make it come to life morerdquo ndashParent of 2 (2)

11

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

ldquoI dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level)

make it k-8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is herersquordquo ndash Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3)

ldquoOne thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS calendar on Google I used to be

able to do it but at some point it stoppedrdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is

a drastic improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and

locator function on mobilerdquo ndash Husband and father of 1 (6)

ldquoMake it easier to find parent portalrdquo ndash Parent of k (8)

ldquoRemove outdated contentrdquo ndash Parent of Three Girls (9)

ldquoLess downloadsrdquo ndashMeekmeek (10)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Anything else to add

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) says ldquoItrsquos so nice to blather on and onhelliprdquo and

hopes we are reaching a variety of people through CUTGroup

High School Parent (5) says ldquoNope I just think the website is better than it used to berdquo

12

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Results

Finding School Information Past experiences When we asked testers whether or not they ever searched online for information about the schools

that their children attend overwhelmingly (7 out of 10) testers said No

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of thatrdquo

When asked whether or not they have ever visited the CPS website 7 out of 10 testers said Yes

This is how these testers used the CPS website in the past

3 testers used it to choose a new school or High School

2 testers used it to check the calendar of events

1 tester wanted to learn more about Local School Councils and

1 tester wanted to find out about after-school programs

We asked testers how easy it is to find information about schools whether online or in person Half of

the testers answered right in the middle about how difficult or easy it was to find school information

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes email Testers

also learn about about what is happening in their school from other parents weekly email newsletters

and communications with teachers

During the test When searching for their childs school 6 out of 10 testers used the School Locator but all testers

thought it was an easy time searching Testers were then asked to tell us the most important and least

important information on the schools profile pages The most important information testers called out

included addresscontact information progress reports number of students test scores admission and

graduation rates When asked about the least important information 4 testers said that all of the

information was important to them

When all testers were asked to use the School Locator tool and search for an address we saw that

about half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using this feature 4 testers had trouble with

viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically 2 of these testers were testing with

their iPhones while the other 2 were on Android devices When holding their phone vertically testers

only saw the list of school names but when clicking on the name it would open more information on

13

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 9: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Parent of 2 (2) thought it was straight-forward to type into and liked that it gave the

neighborhood schools and other types of schools ldquoIt would be nice to highlight what you can

apply tordquo

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) said while it was fairly easy there was

some frustration but says ldquoIrsquom not a so-called digital native so I am used to thatrdquo

High School Parent (5) said it was easy but leaned more towards the middle of it they say

ldquoMeh because I didnrsquot realize there were filters in the drop downsrdquo

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoIt has potential but it was difficult to use on the Nexusrdquo

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child should attend What school did you choose Here is a list of schools that testers ended up choosing

Clemente

Disney II Magnet School

Marshall

Morgan Park

Smithe

Sullivan

Walter Payton

Parent (7) would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech due to

reputation

Parent of k (8) said they needed to spend more time looking at schools before choosing one

Why did you choose that school

When discussing reasons why testers would choose a school we heard a few things

3 ndash Reputation

3 ndash Distance from homein neighborhood

2 ndash Performance Rate

2 ndash Safety

Here are some responses from testers about using the school locator to find information about a High

School

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) says ldquoIt gives you an option to show the ratings but

only for all schoolsrdquo Active Mom and CPS Volunteer thought this was a frustrating experience

9

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Husband and father of 1 (6) mentioned that it showed Clemente as a neighborhood high

school but he wasnrsquot sure if that was the case He thought it seemed like that are suggesting

that Clemente is the one in district and he is more familiar with the term ldquoin districtrdquo vs

ldquoneighborhoodrdquo

Parent of k (8) liked the link for directions and the grade category selectors When using

the locator she opened up ldquoPrograms Offeredrdquo and said ldquoOh wow that is pretty coolrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) in this exercise this tester chose Sullivan because it is closer to

where they live and ldquoI actually know a couple of people who go there and say it is good I will

get my own information about the school from the principalrdquo

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a new school

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

Why or why not

Here are some responses of testers who said ldquoYesrdquo it was easy to use

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoYou can click on a name and it pulls up information on

the map and then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good incorporation of

Google mapsrdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquoIt flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the maprdquo

Here is a response from a tester who said ldquoNordquo it wasnrsquot easy to use

Parent of 2 (2) say ldquoNot for high school There are more categorizations than elementary

which makes it more difficultrdquo

One tester High School Parent (6) said it was an easy experience in the previous question but

when digging deeper as to why High School Parent said ldquoNo it gave you the information that you start

[with] to do further researchrdquo but she would still have to do further research and visit the school

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about What did you choose

Here are the features and topics that testers chose in learning more about

3 ndash District Calendar

1 ndash School classification

1 ndash Repurposing

1 ndash Local School Council Principal Evaluation

1 ndash View recommended resources by grade

1 ndash Staff

10

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

1 ndash Topics

1 ndash ldquoSingingrdquo

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

3 testers wanted to look at the district calendar when asked to choose something they were interested

in learning about Here is more about these testersrsquo experiences

Parent of 2 (2) clicked on the PDF because it was hard to read on their screen

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) chose the calendar because in the past

nothing was on the calendar and she had to call the school Spring break and teacher conference

information would be useful

Meekmeek (10) downloaded the PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up

on her screen but the PDF was difficult to read since she had to continue to zoom in and out

When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a white screen and took a very long time to load The

information she is most interested in seeing on the calendar are dates for open enrollment

report pickup day and picture day

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose ldquoRepurposingrdquo because ldquoI wondered what it is

there was an icon for it but I didnrsquot understand what it was for It was about the buildingsrdquo

Parent (7) chose ldquoStaffrdquo because she thought it would talk about staff at the schools and she

ldquowanted to know what type of people are handling your kidsrdquo She then realized that it was an

employee-only page After this experience Parent wanted to look at the calendar

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose ldquoSingingrdquo because ldquomy daughter loves to signrdquo When

presented with the ldquoout of daterdquo message she said ldquoif this isnrsquot accurate anymore they

shouldnrsquot have it Itrsquos like false advertising

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes 100 (100)

No 0

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future Yes 80 (8)

No 20 (2)

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Testers had a wide range of responses when asked how they would improve the Chicago Public Schools

website Here is a list of improvements that testers provided

ldquoIt is a little sterile make it come to life morerdquo ndashParent of 2 (2)

11

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

ldquoI dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level)

make it k-8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is herersquordquo ndash Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3)

ldquoOne thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS calendar on Google I used to be

able to do it but at some point it stoppedrdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is

a drastic improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and

locator function on mobilerdquo ndash Husband and father of 1 (6)

ldquoMake it easier to find parent portalrdquo ndash Parent of k (8)

ldquoRemove outdated contentrdquo ndash Parent of Three Girls (9)

ldquoLess downloadsrdquo ndashMeekmeek (10)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Anything else to add

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) says ldquoItrsquos so nice to blather on and onhelliprdquo and

hopes we are reaching a variety of people through CUTGroup

High School Parent (5) says ldquoNope I just think the website is better than it used to berdquo

12

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Results

Finding School Information Past experiences When we asked testers whether or not they ever searched online for information about the schools

that their children attend overwhelmingly (7 out of 10) testers said No

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of thatrdquo

When asked whether or not they have ever visited the CPS website 7 out of 10 testers said Yes

This is how these testers used the CPS website in the past

3 testers used it to choose a new school or High School

2 testers used it to check the calendar of events

1 tester wanted to learn more about Local School Councils and

1 tester wanted to find out about after-school programs

We asked testers how easy it is to find information about schools whether online or in person Half of

the testers answered right in the middle about how difficult or easy it was to find school information

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes email Testers

also learn about about what is happening in their school from other parents weekly email newsletters

and communications with teachers

During the test When searching for their childs school 6 out of 10 testers used the School Locator but all testers

thought it was an easy time searching Testers were then asked to tell us the most important and least

important information on the schools profile pages The most important information testers called out

included addresscontact information progress reports number of students test scores admission and

graduation rates When asked about the least important information 4 testers said that all of the

information was important to them

When all testers were asked to use the School Locator tool and search for an address we saw that

about half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using this feature 4 testers had trouble with

viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically 2 of these testers were testing with

their iPhones while the other 2 were on Android devices When holding their phone vertically testers

only saw the list of school names but when clicking on the name it would open more information on

13

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 10: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Husband and father of 1 (6) mentioned that it showed Clemente as a neighborhood high

school but he wasnrsquot sure if that was the case He thought it seemed like that are suggesting

that Clemente is the one in district and he is more familiar with the term ldquoin districtrdquo vs

ldquoneighborhoodrdquo

Parent of k (8) liked the link for directions and the grade category selectors When using

the locator she opened up ldquoPrograms Offeredrdquo and said ldquoOh wow that is pretty coolrdquo

Parent of Three Girls (9) in this exercise this tester chose Sullivan because it is closer to

where they live and ldquoI actually know a couple of people who go there and say it is good I will

get my own information about the school from the principalrdquo

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a new school

Yes 70 (7)

No 30 (3)

Why or why not

Here are some responses of testers who said ldquoYesrdquo it was easy to use

Husband and father of 1 (6) says ldquoYou can click on a name and it pulls up information on

the map and then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good incorporation of

Google mapsrdquo

Parent of k (8) says ldquoIt flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the maprdquo

Here is a response from a tester who said ldquoNordquo it wasnrsquot easy to use

Parent of 2 (2) say ldquoNot for high school There are more categorizations than elementary

which makes it more difficultrdquo

One tester High School Parent (6) said it was an easy experience in the previous question but

when digging deeper as to why High School Parent said ldquoNo it gave you the information that you start

[with] to do further researchrdquo but she would still have to do further research and visit the school

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about What did you choose

Here are the features and topics that testers chose in learning more about

3 ndash District Calendar

1 ndash School classification

1 ndash Repurposing

1 ndash Local School Council Principal Evaluation

1 ndash View recommended resources by grade

1 ndash Staff

10

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

1 ndash Topics

1 ndash ldquoSingingrdquo

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

3 testers wanted to look at the district calendar when asked to choose something they were interested

in learning about Here is more about these testersrsquo experiences

Parent of 2 (2) clicked on the PDF because it was hard to read on their screen

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) chose the calendar because in the past

nothing was on the calendar and she had to call the school Spring break and teacher conference

information would be useful

Meekmeek (10) downloaded the PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up

on her screen but the PDF was difficult to read since she had to continue to zoom in and out

When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a white screen and took a very long time to load The

information she is most interested in seeing on the calendar are dates for open enrollment

report pickup day and picture day

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose ldquoRepurposingrdquo because ldquoI wondered what it is

there was an icon for it but I didnrsquot understand what it was for It was about the buildingsrdquo

Parent (7) chose ldquoStaffrdquo because she thought it would talk about staff at the schools and she

ldquowanted to know what type of people are handling your kidsrdquo She then realized that it was an

employee-only page After this experience Parent wanted to look at the calendar

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose ldquoSingingrdquo because ldquomy daughter loves to signrdquo When

presented with the ldquoout of daterdquo message she said ldquoif this isnrsquot accurate anymore they

shouldnrsquot have it Itrsquos like false advertising

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes 100 (100)

No 0

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future Yes 80 (8)

No 20 (2)

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Testers had a wide range of responses when asked how they would improve the Chicago Public Schools

website Here is a list of improvements that testers provided

ldquoIt is a little sterile make it come to life morerdquo ndashParent of 2 (2)

11

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

ldquoI dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level)

make it k-8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is herersquordquo ndash Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3)

ldquoOne thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS calendar on Google I used to be

able to do it but at some point it stoppedrdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is

a drastic improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and

locator function on mobilerdquo ndash Husband and father of 1 (6)

ldquoMake it easier to find parent portalrdquo ndash Parent of k (8)

ldquoRemove outdated contentrdquo ndash Parent of Three Girls (9)

ldquoLess downloadsrdquo ndashMeekmeek (10)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Anything else to add

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) says ldquoItrsquos so nice to blather on and onhelliprdquo and

hopes we are reaching a variety of people through CUTGroup

High School Parent (5) says ldquoNope I just think the website is better than it used to berdquo

12

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Results

Finding School Information Past experiences When we asked testers whether or not they ever searched online for information about the schools

that their children attend overwhelmingly (7 out of 10) testers said No

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of thatrdquo

When asked whether or not they have ever visited the CPS website 7 out of 10 testers said Yes

This is how these testers used the CPS website in the past

3 testers used it to choose a new school or High School

2 testers used it to check the calendar of events

1 tester wanted to learn more about Local School Councils and

1 tester wanted to find out about after-school programs

We asked testers how easy it is to find information about schools whether online or in person Half of

the testers answered right in the middle about how difficult or easy it was to find school information

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes email Testers

also learn about about what is happening in their school from other parents weekly email newsletters

and communications with teachers

During the test When searching for their childs school 6 out of 10 testers used the School Locator but all testers

thought it was an easy time searching Testers were then asked to tell us the most important and least

important information on the schools profile pages The most important information testers called out

included addresscontact information progress reports number of students test scores admission and

graduation rates When asked about the least important information 4 testers said that all of the

information was important to them

When all testers were asked to use the School Locator tool and search for an address we saw that

about half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using this feature 4 testers had trouble with

viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically 2 of these testers were testing with

their iPhones while the other 2 were on Android devices When holding their phone vertically testers

only saw the list of school names but when clicking on the name it would open more information on

13

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 11: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

1 ndash Topics

1 ndash ldquoSingingrdquo

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

3 testers wanted to look at the district calendar when asked to choose something they were interested

in learning about Here is more about these testersrsquo experiences

Parent of 2 (2) clicked on the PDF because it was hard to read on their screen

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) chose the calendar because in the past

nothing was on the calendar and she had to call the school Spring break and teacher conference

information would be useful

Meekmeek (10) downloaded the PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up

on her screen but the PDF was difficult to read since she had to continue to zoom in and out

When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a white screen and took a very long time to load The

information she is most interested in seeing on the calendar are dates for open enrollment

report pickup day and picture day

Here are some other responses from testers

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3) chose ldquoRepurposingrdquo because ldquoI wondered what it is

there was an icon for it but I didnrsquot understand what it was for It was about the buildingsrdquo

Parent (7) chose ldquoStaffrdquo because she thought it would talk about staff at the schools and she

ldquowanted to know what type of people are handling your kidsrdquo She then realized that it was an

employee-only page After this experience Parent wanted to look at the calendar

Parent of Three Girls (9) chose ldquoSingingrdquo because ldquomy daughter loves to signrdquo When

presented with the ldquoout of daterdquo message she said ldquoif this isnrsquot accurate anymore they

shouldnrsquot have it Itrsquos like false advertising

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes 100 (100)

No 0

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future Yes 80 (8)

No 20 (2)

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Testers had a wide range of responses when asked how they would improve the Chicago Public Schools

website Here is a list of improvements that testers provided

ldquoIt is a little sterile make it come to life morerdquo ndashParent of 2 (2)

11

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

ldquoI dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level)

make it k-8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is herersquordquo ndash Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3)

ldquoOne thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS calendar on Google I used to be

able to do it but at some point it stoppedrdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is

a drastic improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and

locator function on mobilerdquo ndash Husband and father of 1 (6)

ldquoMake it easier to find parent portalrdquo ndash Parent of k (8)

ldquoRemove outdated contentrdquo ndash Parent of Three Girls (9)

ldquoLess downloadsrdquo ndashMeekmeek (10)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Anything else to add

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) says ldquoItrsquos so nice to blather on and onhelliprdquo and

hopes we are reaching a variety of people through CUTGroup

High School Parent (5) says ldquoNope I just think the website is better than it used to berdquo

12

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Results

Finding School Information Past experiences When we asked testers whether or not they ever searched online for information about the schools

that their children attend overwhelmingly (7 out of 10) testers said No

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of thatrdquo

When asked whether or not they have ever visited the CPS website 7 out of 10 testers said Yes

This is how these testers used the CPS website in the past

3 testers used it to choose a new school or High School

2 testers used it to check the calendar of events

1 tester wanted to learn more about Local School Councils and

1 tester wanted to find out about after-school programs

We asked testers how easy it is to find information about schools whether online or in person Half of

the testers answered right in the middle about how difficult or easy it was to find school information

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes email Testers

also learn about about what is happening in their school from other parents weekly email newsletters

and communications with teachers

During the test When searching for their childs school 6 out of 10 testers used the School Locator but all testers

thought it was an easy time searching Testers were then asked to tell us the most important and least

important information on the schools profile pages The most important information testers called out

included addresscontact information progress reports number of students test scores admission and

graduation rates When asked about the least important information 4 testers said that all of the

information was important to them

When all testers were asked to use the School Locator tool and search for an address we saw that

about half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using this feature 4 testers had trouble with

viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically 2 of these testers were testing with

their iPhones while the other 2 were on Android devices When holding their phone vertically testers

only saw the list of school names but when clicking on the name it would open more information on

13

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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62

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 12: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

ldquoI dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level)

make it k-8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is herersquordquo ndash Active Mom and CPS Volunteer (3)

ldquoOne thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS calendar on Google I used to be

able to do it but at some point it stoppedrdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is

a drastic improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and

locator function on mobilerdquo ndash Husband and father of 1 (6)

ldquoMake it easier to find parent portalrdquo ndash Parent of k (8)

ldquoRemove outdated contentrdquo ndash Parent of Three Girls (9)

ldquoLess downloadsrdquo ndashMeekmeek (10)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes 100 (10)

No 0

Anything else to add

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1 (4) says ldquoItrsquos so nice to blather on and onhelliprdquo and

hopes we are reaching a variety of people through CUTGroup

High School Parent (5) says ldquoNope I just think the website is better than it used to berdquo

12

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Results

Finding School Information Past experiences When we asked testers whether or not they ever searched online for information about the schools

that their children attend overwhelmingly (7 out of 10) testers said No

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of thatrdquo

When asked whether or not they have ever visited the CPS website 7 out of 10 testers said Yes

This is how these testers used the CPS website in the past

3 testers used it to choose a new school or High School

2 testers used it to check the calendar of events

1 tester wanted to learn more about Local School Councils and

1 tester wanted to find out about after-school programs

We asked testers how easy it is to find information about schools whether online or in person Half of

the testers answered right in the middle about how difficult or easy it was to find school information

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes email Testers

also learn about about what is happening in their school from other parents weekly email newsletters

and communications with teachers

During the test When searching for their childs school 6 out of 10 testers used the School Locator but all testers

thought it was an easy time searching Testers were then asked to tell us the most important and least

important information on the schools profile pages The most important information testers called out

included addresscontact information progress reports number of students test scores admission and

graduation rates When asked about the least important information 4 testers said that all of the

information was important to them

When all testers were asked to use the School Locator tool and search for an address we saw that

about half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using this feature 4 testers had trouble with

viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically 2 of these testers were testing with

their iPhones while the other 2 were on Android devices When holding their phone vertically testers

only saw the list of school names but when clicking on the name it would open more information on

13

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

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Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 13: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Results

Finding School Information Past experiences When we asked testers whether or not they ever searched online for information about the schools

that their children attend overwhelmingly (7 out of 10) testers said No

Parent of Three Girls (9) says ldquoI have looked before when she was first starting for

information about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school but I like her teachers

and I go off of thatrdquo

When asked whether or not they have ever visited the CPS website 7 out of 10 testers said Yes

This is how these testers used the CPS website in the past

3 testers used it to choose a new school or High School

2 testers used it to check the calendar of events

1 tester wanted to learn more about Local School Councils and

1 tester wanted to find out about after-school programs

We asked testers how easy it is to find information about schools whether online or in person Half of

the testers answered right in the middle about how difficult or easy it was to find school information

5 Very Easy 20 (2)

4 Easy 10 (1)

3 Neutral 50 (5)

2 Difficult 20 (2)

1 Very Difficult 0

We learned that a lot of our testers find out what is happening in their childrenrsquos schools from

communication with the teachers either via phone parentteacher conferences notes email Testers

also learn about about what is happening in their school from other parents weekly email newsletters

and communications with teachers

During the test When searching for their childs school 6 out of 10 testers used the School Locator but all testers

thought it was an easy time searching Testers were then asked to tell us the most important and least

important information on the schools profile pages The most important information testers called out

included addresscontact information progress reports number of students test scores admission and

graduation rates When asked about the least important information 4 testers said that all of the

information was important to them

When all testers were asked to use the School Locator tool and search for an address we saw that

about half of the testers had some degree of difficulty using this feature 4 testers had trouble with

viewing the map and filters when holding their phones vertically 2 of these testers were testing with

their iPhones while the other 2 were on Android devices When holding their phone vertically testers

only saw the list of school names but when clicking on the name it would open more information on

13

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 14: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

the map which was not on view for the tester The tester would have to their phone horizontally in

order to see both the map and the list

Usability of CPSedu We were very interested in learning more about how parents searched when finding information from

their school or about other topics The CPS website team wanted to see if parents were comfortable

using the search features Therefore we asked testers to search for information that they were

interested in learning more about Half of the testers clicked on the appropriate topics to find out more

information while the other half of the testers used the search box Only three testers had trouble

finding the information they were looking for

When testers were asked to search for their childrsquos school (in any way that they wanted) 6 out of 10 of

the testers used the School Locator All testers thought it was an easy experience to find their childrsquos

school

Active in the schools (1) said ldquoIt didnrsquot take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped

right uprdquo

A few testers experienced slow load times for the next pages For example Meekmeek

(10) downloaded a PDF of the calendar because the calendar did not show up on her screen but the

PDF was difficult to read since she had to zoom in and out When clicking on ldquoCalendarrdquo it showed a

white screen and took a very long time to load

A few testers reached PDFs during their tests and either they were not as easy to use such as

Meekmeekrsquos case (10) or they did not load Parent of Three Girls (9) chose a PARCC article in

the headlines When clicking on it she was asked to download a PDF After downloading she clicks to

open it but gets an error message saying that she cannot open the file

As mentioned above during this test we learned the biggest improvement that could be made was the

School Locator and changing the view from a horizontal layout to a vertical layout In general all testers

said they liked the CPS website and most of them had an easy time using the website

ldquoI just think the website is better than it used to berdquo ndash High School Parent (5)

ldquoIt is very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs

offeredhellip I like that they tell you a lotrdquo ndashParent of k (8)

Mobile devices Normally for CUTGroup tests we encourage testers to bring their own phones and devices for testing

It is important that we not only test mobile-friendly websites but that we test them on their own

devices We not only learn about usability issues on different types of phones but we also better

understand how testers navigate tasks on their own device 5 testers tested on laptops that we

provided and here is a look at the devices the other 5 testers used

iPhone 5

iPhone 6

Nexus 5

Boost ZTE Max

14

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

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Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 15: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup 15 ndash Chicago Public Schools CPSedu

In-person test on April 1 2015

Android HTC Desire 10 Boost Mobile

Besides some of the issues we outlined above most testers using a mobile device had an easy time

navigating the new CPS website We were excited to test a website that not only reaches so many

parents in the city of Chicago but are also excited as the CPS website team continues to redesign with

mobile devices in mind This CUTGroup opportunity was a great example of getting feedback directly

from residents (and parents) on their own devices while better understanding their own experiences

when finding school information

15

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

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Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 16: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Tester

1

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active in the schools

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Lane Tech Urban Prep

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Teachers will call or Ill call them

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

At my sons school (urban prep) they give us a sheet I dont worry

about the girl

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You dont get any communications from the teachers unless you specifically ask for it

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

16

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

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Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 17: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Students school and staff they have profile pages for the school (on the locator) they give you

information about a lot of stuff - I hadnt seen before Pretty easy to navigate everything is right there

up top at the bottom holidays

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Type in his daughters school (Lane Tech)

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I just picked this because I always knew Lane Tech had been a real good school And its telling me about

the college enrollment ACT average - he knows the other schools are much worse than Lane Tech

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

(Tester already did this step)

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(Tester did this first)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It didnt take but a hot second I typed in Lane and it popped right up

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

(Took a second) Id say the demographics nobody

17

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

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Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

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Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 18: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Graduation rate - 937 for Lane compared to

all the other high schools

cares

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

(they closed most of the schools around his house) I pretty much know where all the schools are My

cousin goes to William Penn my other cousin goes to (school near Pulaski took tester a moment to

find it) I found good information what grades they serve the level the grade level tells you about

their standing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I had no problems

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

(Tester choose Austin area) (went to the dropdown list) Picked Morgan Park

Why did you choose that school

Its further south its away from Englewood - heard a lot of good things about this school It has a good

performance rate

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No problems you can download the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

School classification

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Just wanted to see what they were talking about (Tester is clicking around the map) Tester

expected to see what programs offered compared to other schools Met expectations (tester looking

around site) (just looking the around)

18

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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62

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 19: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Testers kids are about to graduate so not much use for much longer) Working pretty good to me

Let me know the programs the performance ect

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its good for people that have kids - good to know info about schools

2015-04-01 161939

19

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

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Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

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(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 20: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Tester

2

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of 2

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 6

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Safari

Which school(s) do your children attend

Nettlehorst

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Weekly email newsletter Facebook group

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

before kids were enrolled sense of quality now a one stop shop for everything whats for lunch

homework etc

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

On it once Just logged on to see if she could

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

calendar frequently menu

20

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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62

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 21: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

upcoming news and events applications for early childhood profiles of the schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

banner

Tell us more about the first thing you did

banner did not work more interested in news and events since not actively searching for schools

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Searched for school (Nettlehorst) Able to access the school profile page most interested in progress

reports Would like the profile ratings to be clickable Would like to be able to dig deeper on the

metrics

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

programs and clubs

21

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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62

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 22: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

progress report

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

assigned neighborhood and nearby schools It is a lot better than the old locator If you dont know what

neighborhood schools mean you might understand that part (On phone the map is not in view )

iPhone browser froze on school locator page

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

straight forward to type into and it good that it gives the

neighborhood and other It would be nice to highlight what you can

apply to

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Why did you choose that school

look at the ones that have higher ratings It is still confusing to know what you can apply for Ratings

sliding

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

Not for high school There are more categorizations that elementary

which makes it more difficult

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

clicked on PDF web calendar was hard to see and read on phone It is a little bit of a weird interface It

seems like an interface you would type appointments into instead of something for people to look at

OVERALL REVIEW

22

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

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Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

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Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
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  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 23: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It is a little sterile make it come to life more Usability is fairly good If you are applying to schools a lot

of information may be missing

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 170610

23

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 24: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Tester

3

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Active Mom and CPS Volunteer

Proctored by

Christopher

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Courtney Holy Trinity

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Through Facebook

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Yes (finding out theres a lot of stuff online)

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

You just dont know where to find it - If I go to the website I dont think its very user freindly in order

to find a particular school Last time it showed the school it was originally from VS the address on

Beacon

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

I have once I got locked out and it frustrated me - the person that

was helping me disappeared

24

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 25: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I was looking for a high school for my daughter and to transfer my

son

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The search bar () - The thing that said Edison Park on there - and that it shows up at the top corner

that you can get on twitter and facebook for them (She follows them on Twitter)

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

To look at the board meetings

Tell us more about the first thing you did

(The last time this was updated was August of 2014) - but yet it has a date for two weeks from now

(First thing she noticed - thought it was od)

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

She did - was looking for board meeting - shows where the time and date of the next board meeting

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Now shes looking at her daughters school - looking at enrollment - found out its Level One

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was easy because all I did was type School name or zip code

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

25

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

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Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

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Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

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Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
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  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
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Page 26: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

I guess how many students it has - that its a

level one school - ( I didnt know that - which

is sad because I go to the LSC meetings)

I dont know - it all looks important (something that I

didnt know either thats concering to me is that the

NWE math scores didnt grow at all)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

How is that possible They have like 685 schools - I think I shouldnt have hit all schools (Changes

things) (Clicks schools near your home - search by address) Ok thats a lot better - shows schools

within 15 miles 2 neighborhood schools - one is Ridge and one is Stimage - shows schools of slightly

further (Found new school but didnt like it since it was double the class size)

Was this an easy

experience

No

Why or why not

once I figured out I hit the wrong button it was easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Didnt pick - couldnt find one

Why did you choose that school

Theres only two schools that pop up its not very easy you have to figure out where the other

schools are It should give you the option to pick high school or grade schools It gives you an option

to show the ratings but only for all schools (Testers is frustrated with it)

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

(See above)

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Repurposing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

I wondered what it is There was an icon for it - I didnt understand what it was for - it was about the

buildings and stuff - (re-use of closed schools) It met expectations - wouldnt have thought to look

26

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 27: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

there - nobody knows whats going on

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I dont know maybe making it so that if youre looking for a specific high school (grade level) make it k-

8 and 9-12 is here and pre-school is here

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No but theres my daughters building - thats pretty neat

2015-04-01 170627

27

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

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Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

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(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 28: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Tester

4

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Local School Council Member amp Parent of 1

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

iPhone 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

Son attends Durkin Park Elementary 8th grader

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Send home notes paper Remind program (detests this program) adds burden to the teachers and puts

pressure on parents to harass (sometimes convenient)

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Main mode is Rewind app Son is in a small neighborhood school

Used the website in the Fall to research schools CPS website was

difficult to use last Fall and high school enrollment

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Information is not labeled appropriately An example application process for high school not Office of

Access and Engagement and something like that

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

First reason could not get information about logging in from the

school Does not think it is necessary to see childs grade every day

Thinks it is a waste of teachers time to post grades every day for

every little assignment Needs to accessible

28

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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62

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 29: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

Enrollment for son in High School only used on computer

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

First notice the first story Menu Jumped right in and clicked in Schools

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Students First -- marketing Scrolling down Scroll all the way through -- text was large and did not

need to zoom in

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School Profile Pages Added a zip code but had to find button Thinks that it would load quickly even on

a slower phone Useful information right off the top Durkins information is correct but could not

find the button to move forward Did not want to compare Clicked on the name to open the page

CTA bus information that goes to school Notices number of students is more than description

indicates No nurse in the school not enough custodians Creative Arts certification did not know

about that Bilingual services Unknown This is inaccurate Nice just enough information to read

through Now looking through program and admissions

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(First thing tester did)

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

Logical sequence to find information Easily accessible manner

29

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

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Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

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Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

Correct address and information -- easy to

find information Also progress report

information is really really nice but

questions how to use the information which

leads to firing the 4th grade teacher because

those scores are lower

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

Attendance information Understands that is

important Dont care about behavior and discipline

because doesnt know what to do with that

information What does that mean Thinks this

information would be different if moving from out of

town

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Search for an address -- button was a little small to click on took a few tries Did not put in the zip code

Nice the first two were the correct results Map is nice and accurate representations Moved onto

the map but could not get back to results page Wanted to look at Overlays 3 New High School

Boundaries Had difficulties moving back and forth from filters to map and then overlays was difficult to

find as well Wanted to see a legend and was not sure what this overlay really showed Tried to turn

phone horizontally to see if they could see both filters and map Likes both the map and list function

Clicked on the pin and thought it might give the name of the school It also provided a link to more

information for school profile page which was a separate tab The pin box was too large to view the

whole thing

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Fairly easy some frustration not a so-called digital native so I am

used to that

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Disney II Magnet Roosevelt HS

Why did you choose that school

If moving to new neighborhood would know it by community area Tried Albany Park happy that the

result gave the proper schools Would look at the map browser crashed Took out Elementary and

Middle from filter Refreshed list automatically Clicked on the list and showed it on the map with the

pin info box open Did not lead to school profile page Bizarre that it was 7th to 10th grade What

happens after 10th grade Familiar with school Progress report Likes the quick summary of school on

Map Loves the CTA information Focused on a lot of ACT and SAT scores college prep is important

Classroom languages languages spoken by students or the support services or does it mean the classes

offered My kid have a choice for languages and thinks this is very important for non-English speaking

classes Top things to look at Course offerings (broad range of courses leads to better prep for

30

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 31: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

college) average ACT scores not sure if location is as important Will be going to Lane Tech and its a

long commute thats why bus information is so important CPS schools can be very limiting in courses 4

hours of research and knew a lot going in and was familiar with some of the top high school

Ecuadorian club was a major decision

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Did this before the School Locator tasks School has its own website and nothing was on the calendar

Had to call the school Spring break and Teacher conferences could be useful

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Amazed how much she likes it now Especially on the phone and found good and the right amount of

information Legibly School needs to make sure that all of the information is correct and no errors

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Its so nice to blather on and on hopes we are reaching a variety of people

2015-04-01 173806

31

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 32: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Tester

5

Tester Profile (given by tester)

High School Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Walter Payton High School

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Email Newsletters from the school parent scuttlebutt

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

Searches more for information about schools her child is thinking

about attending

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Frequently information is not up to date links are broken I imagine its hard to feed the content beast -

It mostly seems to be the same information - but I want to know what makes my school different that

the others ()

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

Yes

If so how have you used it

I have used it to put in attendence and grade triggers but Ive given

access to my monitor her progress She doesnt use the student

portal (She started before the student portal was out)

32

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

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Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

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Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

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Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

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Page 33: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

I tried to use the website for finding out information about LSC

about the calender sometimes people ask me for information

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I noticed the carousel the search bar and that theres a warning banner about the site being down for

planned maintenance

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I see some options (school locator progress reports LSC elections) Clicks the school locator - and

now it looks kinda different than it did before doesnt look as welcoming - - Not sure how were

looking at looking at pipeline high schools (when looking at elementary schools) - I would look for

Belding - plug it in by address to figure out what the high school would be Its a little challenge

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

See above (Found some of the information - not all of it When you hover over a PIN - you can click

through for more information it takes you to a different website A lot more clear than the Illinois PTA

I wish there would be something to show whats different than this school From being in the

neighborhood I know what the differences are - but cant find that online) Searching for

schoolsearch by namesearch by address arnt working (had to reload page) Sometimes I wish that

we could compare

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Use the school locator - found all the info

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy Why or why not

33

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

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Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 34: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

experience

Yes

Going through the home page yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

How to contact how to get in touch with

people at the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

The phone number for the school is NOT on the page

(she found it - she was looking just below the map of

the school) - The Progress Report doesnt tell me

anything useful For programs and clubs theres no

way thats ever going to be up to date

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The school locator is hard because its co-mingles the Alpha - there used to be a way to search for

certain types of schools in certain types of neighborhoods I could whittle it down based on criteria and

now its not in the locator (She then discovered she can but that its not obvious) I like this ward

thing (political overlay)

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Meh - Because I didnt realize there were filters in the dropdowns

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Smithe

Why did you choose that school

Thats the school in this area clicked and looked at low-income students is because that gives me a

judgement call on if they have autonomy (she thinks that its a coalition) Would then go to NPN or CPS

Obsessed and get Parent to Parent info - theres lots of schools that have great stuff going on - but that

they dont get the information out there Isby used to have performance by co-hort- I thought it was

really important to see what ISAT scores were coming into the 3rd grade then what they were going

out Theres no place to find that information anymore

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

No it gave you the information that you would start to do further

research - but she would still have to do further research visit the

school peer to peer

34

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 35: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

LSC Principal Evaluation

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Used the search to find out about LSC training for principal evaluations The 2nd Link is Local School

Council training (which is better than what it used to be) - and I see the 9 modules - but not training

materials Found the link to the training portal but needs a user name password She just wanted to

see the training Tester tried to sign up (looks like you can sign up but doesnt know WHY she has

to sign up) Would be nice just to see The website does look to be available in English and Spanish but

theres a registration wall She then looked for the policy manual You can read last years guide to

school actions - but NOT the manual I put a little + in front of manual but it didnt work Put it in

quotes - didnt work Only finding things that reference the policy manual but not the manual itself

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has improved vastly than what it used to be One thing I would like to do is subscribe to the CPS

calendar on Google I used to be able to do it but at some point it stopped

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Nope I just think the website is better than it used to be I like the fact that it shows that its an old

page () In that case I am confused as to where to go I also used to be able to get info about principal

selection Even when youre ON the LSC

2015-04-01 175252

35

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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62

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 36: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Tester

6

Tester Profile (given by tester)

husband and father of 1

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Nexus 5

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Funston

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Paper that she brings home

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

When they moved to the area they did but not as much now

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It has a website but it is not really maintaned and does not have much on it The main way to find

information out is on the paper sent home which doesnt always make it home

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

finding information when first transferring into the school

36

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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62

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 37: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Yes

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

it is mobile friendly 1 community bulletin board giving you information on what is going on 2 search

bar so you can get information that you need

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Students

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Clicked on students to see what that menu entry was for It just gives you general information about

school enrollment safe passages school locator and you can log into the parent portal Seeing the

different options for athletics

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searched for High school Clicked on first response High School Types page Overview of the

different types of high school The types are easy to understand Clicked on Small

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Started typing in search bar and used autocomplete

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was very slow to load the profile page

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

37

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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62

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 38: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

phone number direct information to things

happening inside the school information about

school ratings

Everything there is pretty pertinent

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

The results were good but the browser was not letting him scroll to the right Turning the phone

vertical showed some of the map Showing Safe Passage is good It would be good if there was a slider

or way to hide the menu to see more of the map

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It has potential but was difficult to use on the Nexus

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Clemente

Why did you choose that school

It showed Clemente as neighborhood high school but he wasnt sure that was the case It seems like

they are suggesting that Clemente is the one in district More familar with the term in district vs

neighborhood

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

You can click on a name and it pulls up information on the map and

then you can click to get to school profile page It is a good

incorporation of google maps

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

View recommended resources by grade

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Clicked on Grade 6-8 Clicked on Advancing grade 6-8 Tried clicking on English PDF for School Parent

Guide It was slow to start downloading Looking at high school requirements The pages list good

information about what happens in those grades The breakdown between grade groups is nice

38

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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62

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 39: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

It has a lot of information that is easy to get to and the user interface is pretty easy The site is a drastic

improvement from before A step in the right direction Improving the map and locator function on

mobile (making menu frame collapsible possibly)

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

Emails were going to spam for a while Learned

2015-04-01 181650

39

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 40: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Tester

7

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent

Proctored by

Christopher Whitaker

What type of device are you using for this test

Laptop

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Mobile Phone

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Dett School (used to be Hershey)

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

Bullitan thats put up notes that are sent home - sometimes they try to contact via email

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

I guess the biggest challenge is the food theyre getting served - even if youre trying to report that there

may be something that they ate that got a child sick

How easy is it to find information about schools

4 - Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

To report some food poisoning that had happened before - look up

40

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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62

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 41: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Yes

after school program

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

The kids and graduation gowns search CPS and I guess the menue

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Schools

Tell us more about the first thing you did

It popped up to a new page thats giving me an option to search for schools - and shows me the

performance rate

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Im looking for my daughters school - and it looks like its not popping up (its not popping up) (Oh

yes it is - it was by first name (Robert Dett) It popped up and it basically showed me the ISAT score

is and what the address should be demographics it basically shows a schedule for the kids - what

services that they can provide dress code (ect)

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

(searched for school before) - Hoping to find more info about the healthy school program doesnt

really say its not certified - (doesnt really explain it)

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

I typed in what I wanted and a lot of things popped up about the

schools - shows what percentage of students are graduating

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

41

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

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Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

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Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 42: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

profile page

ISAT scores

Health School Certifications

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It pulled up other addresses - it only pulled up Monroe it didnt show up anything for our address

(Tester clicked the wrong thing for school locatorhas not been the only one) OK - now it shows

two neighborhood schools - but they should be showing 9 schools

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

It was just really easy to click on the things that I needed

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

She would want to send her child to either Walter Payton or Lane Tech

Why did you choose that school

Great academic programs they dont have as much negativity in the schools wants child to feel safe so

they could learn properly Didnt need to use the locator

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

No

Why or why not

DNA

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Staff

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Want to know what type of people are handling your kids - clicked staff and got to what looks like an

employee only page I really want to look at the calendar I want to know more about CPS - but I need

to know more

42

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 43: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

No

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

(Dont see a purpose) I think that they should have a thing about the staff (hiring practices) a little

more information on it This is stuff that we get when they send notes home anyway We need a

community parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

No

2015-04-01 183918

43

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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56

Facebook Twitter Website

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

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59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

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61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 44: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Tester

8

Tester Profile (given by tester)

parent of k

Proctored by

Josh Kalov

What type of device are you using for this test

Dell e6440

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

No

If not what is your primary device

Cell Phone Android

What browser are you using right now

Chrome

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

When she comes home he asks her about school and helps her with work

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

It isnt a big challenge Just going up to teachers and talking to them

How easy is it to find information about schools

5 - Very Easy

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

44

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 45: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

I like the page because you can locate your school directly I like that there is a calendar

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click Calendar

Tell us more about the first thing you did

I wanted to see if it was accurate about the dates spring break and what else was happening coming up

It is very easy to use It tells you how long Spring Break is parent teacher conferences School

Improvement Day The page is useful and easy to use

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Went to the school locator Asked about having to type or select the school Found Spencer acad It is

very easy to use I like that they give you the address phone type classification programs offered I like

that they tell you a lot

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

Go to Schools-gt School Locator -gt Search By Name -gt Look up childs school -gt Spencer Tech

Academy

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

45

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

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57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 46: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

profile page

Likes of kids Test s the bus information

glad that they show information on programs

at the school Most Important Overview page

Reports (I dont know what that is)

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

28 schools in 15 miles That is a good thing I didnt know there were that many schools The

infowindow information is good Neighborhood These are the closest schools near me

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Using the mouse and the radius Ability to select your school or use

your address

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Need to spend more time to look at schools

Why did you choose that school

Grades safety Locator feedback Likes the link for directions Grade Category selections is cool

I was wondering what the colors meant Performance ratings are good to know Opens Programs

Offered --gt Oh wow That is pretty cool Overlays lets see what overlays are - It breaks it down

into the most simplest of details

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

It flows easy and right to the point You can find more specific

information if you want to You can reset the map

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Topics

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Topics Useful for finding information It breaks things down into topics About About-gt

Departments If I had a question about the school or didnt feel something was going right at the school I

46

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 47: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

can go to a CPS office

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Have a profile for homework (parent portal) Make it easier to find parent portal

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191255

47

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 48: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Tester

9

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Parent of Three Girls

Proctored by

Daniel X ONei

What type of device are you using for this test

Boost ZTE Max

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Built-in (Browser)

Which school(s) do your children attend

Spencer Academy

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

I participate in a lot of the functions and volunteer Thats how I find out whats going on Field trips

homework lunch room Usually word of mouth first and then by flyers or additional

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

Yes

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

I have looked before when she was first starting for information

about the school Ive heard a lot of stuff about the school But I like

her teachers and I go off of that Usually what people are saying

online is usually about the older grades

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Everybody was so secretive Only the teacher talked about it The principal other parentsmdash they were

secretive

How easy is it to find information about schools

2 - Difficult

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

48

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 49: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

Yes

If so what do you use the website for

At the beginning of the year went there based on something the

teacher said

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

People smiling I can see what it says (nice and bold) and everything is right there for you

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Click read more on the PARCC article

Tell us more about the first thing you did

ltScrolls through headlinesgt So I can go to any one of these Clicks It is a PDF Do I want to

download this She does (Letter from the Illinois State Board of Education to Chicago Public Schools)

It wont let me open it The file downloads When she clicks to open it she gets Cannot open

file

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

Searches for reading because my daughter can read pretty good and I want her to be prepared for

first grade Looking for tips They show me actually a lot of listings Clicks on Home parent

reading tips which is exactly what shes looking for Enjoyed the contentmdash especially about using the

library as a resource

Did you find what you are

looking for

Yes

How did you search

Using the search function

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

I like that it shows up because on my tablet sometimes I have trouble It gives me everything

Everything I really need to see is right here

Did you use the School Locator

No

Was this an easy

experience

Why or why not

All I had to do was go to it and everything was right there for me

49

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 50: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Yes

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

profile page

All the facts the map Overallmdash the phone

number for the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

I dont know

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

It gave me two schools 28 schools within 15 miles It gave me schools that were closer to me

schools I qualify for

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy actually

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Sullivan

Why did you choose that school

Because it will be closer to where I live and I actually know a couple of people who go there and they

say it is good I will get my own information about the school from the principal

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Everything is right there for you

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

Singing

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

My daughter loves to sing When presented with the out of date message she said if this isnt

50

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 51: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

accurate anymore they shouldnt have it Its like false advertising

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Remove outdated content

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

2015-04-01 191413

51

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 52: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Tester

10

Tester Profile (given by tester)

Meekmeek

Proctored by

Sonja Marziano

What type of device are you using for this test

Android HTC Desire Fire 10 Boost Mobile phone

Is this your normal device

that you use everyday

Yes

If not what is your primary device

What browser are you using right now

Internet

Which school(s) do your children attend

Hefferan Elementary

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrens school

TeacherParent Conferences report card pick up open houses

Do you search online for

information about the

schools your child(ren)

attend

No

What type of information do you search for online about

the school(s) your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding information about your school

(Either online or otherwise)

Finding event information

How easy is it to find information about schools

3 - Neutral

Do you use the CPS parent

portal

No

If so how have you used it

na

Have you visited the

Chicago Public Schools

(CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

Not really

52

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 53: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

No

WEBSITE REVIEW

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Pull the grades up from home Broadcast what is coming up next events School Locator to find the

school

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Memorial Day event

Tell us more about the first thing you did

White screen no extra details about Went back and looked at grade categories Transportation

options

Next search for information that you are interested in learning about What did you

search for and what did you learn

School profile page Wanted to see about the kids how they are doing what they are doing Looking for

grades and assignments Progress reports and see how they are doing

Did you find what you are

looking for

No

How did you search

By clicking on a topic

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searched and the information

that you found

The first time the list did not appear Scrolls very quickly to find the school Did not see the name of

the school Clicked on the name but its not showing the next page for the school profile page Loaded

and came to the same page tried to refresh

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

What do you think is the most

important information on the school

What do you think is the least important

information on the school profile page

53

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 54: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

profile page

Progress reports admissions everything

Everything is important

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell us about the results

you found What did you learn

Did not see the search for address option Just searched by and street name It tells you about all of

the schools in the area When moving to transfer to another school Did not see a map no map appears

It got address milesdistance Show all Schools Filters are not relevant without map Map only

appears in horizontal mode

Was this an easy

experience

Yes

Why or why not

Very easy

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your child is starting the 9th

grade (High School) Use the School Locator tool and figure out what school your child

should attend What school did you choose

Marshall

Why did you choose that school

Seems to prefer to search by name vs address No map Choose first school by distance to find a

school close to home

Was using the School

Locator an easy experience

in choosing a new school

Yes

Why or why not

Searches by distance

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested in learning about

What did you choose

District Calendar

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

Download the calendar calendar does not show up Goes ahead and downloads the calendar pdf Has

to zoom in and out of the pdf Expected it to show on the calendar screen instead of downloading

Blank white area Calendar does not appear in horizontal mode It took a very long time to load

Would have moved on Dates for open enrollment interested in report card pickup picture day Staff

54

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 55: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

resources -- information about the staff Students -- school enrollment thinks that she can apply online

and learn steps on the enrollment process Lets you do your research on a page

OVERALL REVIEW Do you like Chicago Public

Schools website

Yes

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

Yes

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

I definitely will to pick what high school I want It has all of the information that you need Less

downloads -- seems annoyed to have to download for a lot of information Usually have popups with

information (new tabs) Leads to the Scholarships page (first thing is a download) Likes the

transportation options More graphics

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Yes

Anything else to add

I liked a lot

2015-04-01 191854

55

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 56: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Make $20 for a test of a public schools website

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Weve got a new opportunity for you to make money in the Civic User Testing Group(CUTGroup) by testing a schools website This website allows parents to search andfind information about public schools throughout Chicago

Are you a parent of a Chicago Public School student Are you available for a 30shy45 minute inshyperson test on Wednesday April 1 between 400 shy 730 PM If soplease complete this form

We are in the process of gathering responses so we will be in touch to checkavailability and confirm that you are right for this test We are looking for about15 testers

For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card Youll also help makebetter software for Chicago

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questions

Remember if you want to be a part of this test please complete this form

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

56

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 57: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

57

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 58: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Let us know when you could join us on Wednesday for this test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

Thanks for your interest in our CUTGroup test of a school website We were lookingspecifically for testers like you who have children that go to Chicago Public SchoolsYour feedback will be invaluable and we hope you can still make it

Now that we have our location nailed down wed like to know if you can still make itnext Wednesday and if so what time you want Here are the details

Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

There are limited slots available for this night and its coming up fast so pleaselet us know as soon as you can We will get back to you with a confirmation ofyour time if you are chosen to do this test

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

58

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 59: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

59

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 60: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

We still have spots open in our next CUTGroup test of a school website and we hopeyou can join us We are looking specifically for testers like you who have children thatgo to Chicago Public Schools

Here are the details Wednesday April 1 2015Between 400 shy 730 PMChicago Public Library Roosevelt Branch1101 W Taylor Street

If you can still make it on this night please let us know what time slot you wantby completing this form For your participation you will receive a $20 VISA gift card

We will get right back to you with a confirmation of your time

If this location doesnt work for you or if you just cant make it on this night after all nobig deal If you have any questions or comments just hit reply and let me know whatyou think

Remember use this form to tell us about your availability

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup

shyshy

Daniel X ONeil

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

60

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 61: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

61

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 62: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Thanks for being willing to help out

Hi ltltFirst Namegtgt

I wanted to follow up with you about testing a school website We really appreciate yourresponse to our callshyout Weve received lots of responses and were lookingspecifically for parents who have children who go to Chicago Public Schools Sinceyou indicated you do not have children who go to CPS you were not selected for thistest

We do want to keep you informed The site were testing is the CPS website The CPSwebsite provides a wide range of information for parents about schools Recentlythe CPS website was redesigned to be more parent focused and mobile devicefriendly

Even though you were not selected for this test we have a lot more tests coming upWe will send you info on our next test (in a few weeks or so) and well definitely try tospread the tests around so that everyone gets what they want out of the CUTGroupexperience

Thanks for being a member of the CUTGroup As usual call or write with questionsshyshy

Daniel X ONeil(773) 960shy6045doneilcctorg

Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate

62

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 63: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Facebook Twitter Website

Creative Commons Attribution 30 Unported License 2015 Smart Chicago Collaborative unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

63

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 64: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup Test Schools WebsiteIf you would like to participate in the next CUTGroup test please complete this form We will follow-up tocheck your availability and let you know if you qualify for this test

Smart Chicago values your online privacy and is committed to safe guarding the data you share with us andyour online privacy Our On-Line Privacy Policy applies to data collected at wwwsmartchicago2012wufoocomdomain

Email

Yes

No

Are you available for an in-person test on Wednesday April 1 for 30minutes between 400 and 730 PM

Yes

No

Are you 18 years old or older

Yes

No

Do you have any children who go Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 NA

What grades are your children in Check all that apply

What type of school(s) do your children go to

How long have you lived in Chicago

64

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 65: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

CUTGroup Test CPSeduThanks for participating in our test of the Chicago Public Schools website

About youFirst some preliminaries Keep in mind that we are going to publish the results of this test but will not associate yourname or email address with the results

About SchoolsNext we want to hear about your experience getting information about your child(ren)s schools

First Last

Name

Email

Give yourself a tester profile

Proctored by

What type of device are you using for this test

Yes

No

Is this your normal device that you use everyday

If not what is your primary device

Safari

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Other

What browser are you using right now

Which school(s) do your children attend

65

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 66: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

How do you typically learn about what is happening in your childrensschool

Yes

No

Do you search online for information about the schools yourchild(ren) attend

What type of information do you search for online about the school(s)your child(ren) attend

What do you think is the biggest challenge in finding informationabout your school (Either online or otherwise)

5 - Very Easy

4 - Easy

3 - Neutral

2 - Difficult

1 - Very Difficult

How easy is it to find information about schools

Yes

No

Do you use the CPS parent portal

If so how have you used it

Yes

No

Have you visited the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) website before

If so what do you use the website for

66

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 67: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Website reviewLets review the website

Review the homepage What are three things that you notice first

Click Calendar

Used the Search

Clicked on Recommended Resources by Grade

Click Topics

Click About

Click Students

Click Staff

Click Schools

Other

Explore the site Whats the first thing you do

Tell us more about the first thing you did

Next search for information that you are interested in learningabout

What did you search for and what did you learn

67

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 68: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Yes

No

Did you find what you are looking for

By clicking on a topic

Using the search function

How did you search

Next search for your childs school Tell us about how you searchedand the information that you found

Yes

No

Did you use the School Locator

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

What do you think is the most important information on the schoolprofile page

What do you think is the least important information on the schoolprofile page

68

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 69: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Next use the School Locator tool and search for your address Tell usabout the results you found What did you learn

Yes

No

Was this an easy experience

Why or why not

Next pretend you just moved to a new neighborhood and your childis starting the 9th grade (High School) Use the School Locator tooland figure out what school your child should attend What school didyou choose

Why did you choose that school

Yes

No

Was using the School Locator an easy experience in choosing a newschool

Why or why not

Next explore the site and choose something that youre interested inlearning about What did you choose

Tell us why you chose what you did and about your experience

69

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS
Page 70: CUTGroup 15 - CPS.edu

Overall Review

Overall review of the CUTGroup experience

Yes

No

Do you like Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Would you use Chicago Public Schools website in the future

In what ways would you improve Chicago Public Schools website

Yes

No

Do you like CUTGroup

Yes

No

Did you like this CUTGroup test

Anything else to add

70

  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Results
  • CUTGroup-15-CPS-Responsesdocx
  • New CUTGroup Opportunity_ Test a Website about Schools
  • Details for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Spots Still Open for next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Not-selected-Update on the Next CUTGroup Test of a School Website
  • Screening-Questions-CUTGroup Test_ Schools Website
  • CUTGroup Test_ CPS