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Beaverton board to use OSBA self‑assessment tool, schedules facilitated review
Summary
At a June 9 work session, the Beaverton SD 48J board heard from Kirsten Miles of the Oregon School Boards Association about an 80‑question, research‑based board self‑assessment and agreed to schedule a facilitated discussion (likely at an upcoming retreat or August work session).
Kirsten Miles of the Oregon School Boards Association told the Beaverton School Board on June 9 that the board should complete an OSBA‑administered self‑assessment before a facilitated discussion to set one or two concrete goals.
Miles said the assessment is "a little over 80 questions" but typically "takes about 20 minutes," and that the questions are written to evaluate the board collectively rather than individual members. She said the tool is based on Dr. Thomas Alsbury’s balanced governance standards — including vision, community engagement, leadership, accountability, ethics, the superintendent relationship, and budgeting — and is supported by decades of research linking board practice to student outcomes.
The board asked for details about what the report will show and how results are shared. Miles said each member will receive the full report with scores on every indicator and that she will present major areas of agreement and disagreement, but she will not distribute the raw congruence math table. "I will bring you here are the major areas, here are the standards, and here are the big areas that you agreed and that you disagreed, and we'll talk through those as well," Miles said.
On logistics, Miles described a typical timeline: she usually sends materials three to four weeks before the facilitated review, allows about 10 days for members to complete the SurveyMonkey assessment, and needs roughly a week to compile and analyze results. For the facilitated session itself, she recommended reserving up to 90 minutes depending on the level of conversation and the depth of goal setting.
Board members asked whether new members should participate immediately; discussion noted value in having a year of experience before completing the tool but also framed the assessment as a step in continuous improvement that can be timed to the board’s schedule. The chair and members said they will likely hold the facilitated session at a scheduled retreat in the fall or at an August board work session; the exact date remains to be set.
The work session adjourned at 6:44 p.m. The next step is for staff or the chair to confirm dates and for Miles to send the assessment link and the full report to board members in advance of the chosen session.
