Chicago Public Schools Survey Information

Chicago Public Schools and UChicago Impact have partnered to administer the 5Essentials and Cultivate Surveys

UChicago Impact and Chicago Public Schools have partnered to administer the 5Essentials and Cultivate Surveys for the 2025-2026 school year.

Please take note of the following survey administration dates:

  • Fall 2025 Cultivate Survey: November 3-14, 2025
  • 2025-26 5Essentials Survey: TBD
  • Spring 2026 Cultivate Survey: TBD

Cultivate is a research-based framework and student survey that provides teachers with meaningful student feedback on the learning conditions that research shows can influence student performance. This insight is designed to help teachers create learning experiences that will have a positive impact on their students’ performance, identity development, and overall well-being. 

5Essentials is a research-based framework and diagnostic survey designed to identify a school's strengths and areas of opportunity on the five essential factors that drive school improvement. 5Essentials data provide district and school leadership with insights to assess organizational conditions and inform school improvement planning. 

Cultivate Survey Administration Resources

5Essentials Survey Administration/Data Resources

General Administration Resources

How Cultivate Works

The Cultivate Survey is administered to 5th-12th grade students twice a year—in the fall and spring. Students are prompted to reflect on their Mindsets & Strategies, as well as their classroom learning environments across nine Learning Conditions. The nine Learning Conditions are:

  • Affirming Identities
  • Classroom Community
  • Feedback for Growth
  • Learning Goals
  • Meaningful Work
  • Student Voice
  • Supportive Teaching
  • Teacher Caring
  • Well-Organized Classroom

After each survey administration, educators receive a comprehensive picture of students’ perceptions of their own Mindsets & Strategies and classroom learning environments, along with a set of “Prioritized Learning Conditions” they can use to guide efforts to create learning environments that support all students.

Learn more about Cultivate here.

How 5Essentials Works

The 5Essentials Survey is administered once annually to all teachers and eligible staff, and students in grades 4-12. The 150+ question survey is grouped into Measures; these Measures are grouped into five categories known as the 5Essentials.

  • Effective Leaders
  • Collaborative Teachers
  • Involved Families
  • Supportive Environment
  • Ambitious Instruction

The student survey includes questions about student's experiences, attitudes and activities in school, whereas the teacher survey includes questions about instruction, professional development, and the school as a workplace.

Schools that meet the required reporting thresholds receive access to individualized, interactive, web-based reports that summarize performance on the 5Essentials and allow educators to explore multiple cuts of data and track improvement over time. 

Learn more about 5Essentials here.

2025 CPS 5Essentials Reports

2025 Survey Update: Due to our programming error, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students did not receive the questions for six Measures on the 2025 survey. This error was identified after the survey closed. In consultation with CPS, we suppressed scoring and reporting for overall school ratings, two Essentials, and six Measures for SY25 school reports. This 2-page memo shares key details, and this guide provides additional information and data use guidance.