State of the Profession Survey

The State of the Profession Survey gives MASBO a systematic way to hear directly from eligible members about their work, career paths, office environments, job satisfaction, and leadership development needs. Together, those responses will provide a clearer picture of the profession in Massachusetts. This survey will provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of the state of the school business profession by surveying SBAs across six states: IA, MA, MN, MO, NM, and NY.

The survey is intended for MASBO members in the lead School Business Administrator role in your organization (district, collaborative, charter school, etc.). Eligible participants will receive the survey by email.

MASBO is conducting this survey of its members in collaboration with ASBO New York.

Every conversation with members helps MASBO understand what is happening across the profession. Our association appreciates the time our members take to share anecdotes about their experiences. These conversations are valuable, but they cannot show how widely experiences are shared or identify trends across the profession. The survey gives eligible members another way to share their experiences and helps MASBO identify patterns and trends that individual conversations cannot reveal.

Survey responses will help inform MASBO’s strategic direction and its approach to professional development, advocacy and member services. The data may also contribute to aggregate state-level reports and multistate analysis conducted by ASBO New York.

The survey was created through a collaborative effort between ASBO New York’s Director of Education and Research, Dr. Alissandra T. Stoyan, and Deputy Executive Director/ COO, Amanda Grace Wing. Through Ali’s background in research and survey design, she wrote the survey as a research tool that can be repeated over time to identify changes and trends in the profession. In 2026, Ali adapted the survey for participating state ASBO affiliates, accounting for differences in terminology and professional structures while maintaining consistency across the surveys.

The survey consists of five sections: professional background, school district or regional education service agency characteristics, job satisfaction, leadership skills development, and demographics.

Your responses are vital for conveying your unique perspectives and increasing the accuracy of insights we gain from this survey. The higher our response rate, the more confident we will be in the survey results.

No. Your participation in this survey is voluntary.

There is no monetary incentive or compensation, but completing this survey will help MASBO prepare innovative and effective professional development opportunities to support your personal career development. You will also help MASBO advocate for your professional interests with the support of data. You will contribute to overall insights about the profession collected across six states this year.

Yes. MASBO and ASBO New York staff will not know whether you have completed the survey because we will not collect identifiable information, such as name, contact info, or IP addresses.

Yes, the survey is anonymous. Results will be reported in aggregate, and individual responses will not be shared publicly.

Most questions require an answer. Please select the answer that best represents your opinions. However, the bank of demographic questions at the end of the survey contains an option, “Prefer not to answer,” which allows you to decline to answer a question.

Some questions may feel more detailed than a typical member survey. They help the research team understand how experiences may differ across roles, career stages, workplaces, and other factors. They often serve only as control variables, and not variables of interest, helping ensure accurate inferences about variables of interest. This context supports a more complete and accurate analysis of trends across the profession.

The survey is more comprehensive than a typical member survey. Plan to set aside approximately 40 minutes. Individuals testing it reported that it took them less time than expected. You may find it helpful to complete one or two sections at a time. You should expect to spend the most time on sections 3 (Job Satisfaction) and 4 (Leadership Skills Development).

Yes. You can take breaks between sections and return to the survey later. Work within an unfinished section will not be saved, so please finish the section before leaving the survey. Save your work by advancing to the next section and then exiting the survey. Please enable cookies and use the same browser each time you access the survey. Use the same link to return to the survey until it’s completed.

The survey closes Oct. 31, 2026. The deadline will not be extended because surveys in all participating states are being conducted during the same period. Keeping the same survey window helps ensure responses are collected under similar conditions.

Because responses are anonymous, MASBO cannot identify which eligible members have completed the survey. You will continue to receive reminders throughout the survey period, even after you have participated.

Please feel free to utilize the open textbox in the last question on the survey to leave your feedback or comments on the survey itself.

If you have general questions about the survey, please contact Margaret Driscoll at mdriscoll@masbo.org.

Please email Alissandra Stoyan, Director of Education and Research, at research@asbonewyork.org.