ASQ Goes to the Most Authoritative Source about Young People:
The Young People Themselves
The After-School Questionnarie (ASQ) measures young people's assessments of their sense of belonging, access to caring adults at the after-school program, persistence in solving problems, sense of safety, communication excellence (the use of language in listening, speaking, and reading in ways that enhance understanding, clarity, and rapport), whether and how well the adults in the after-school program guide their behavior, barriers to participation in the after-school program, degree to which the after-school program promotes the skills and habits that are essential in the workplace, and sense of community.

ASQ Has Wide Applicability to Diverse Populations
ASQ was developed in order to evaluate school districts' implementation of the federally funded Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative (SS/HS). One approach to evaluating after-school programs is to delineate desirable competencies as outcomes, and then see whether the young people are developing these competencies. For example, in developing ASQ, the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) report was used as a resource that delineated competencies. The SCANS report, a product of the U.S. Department of Labor (1991), describes (1) the Commission's notions about the demands of the workplace and (2) whether young people are receiving the education necessary to meet those demands.

ASQ Results Are Both Anonymous and Confidential
As with all of IASG's surveys, questionnaires, and inventories, the personal anonymity of all respondents is assured, as results are considered only in the aggregate. There is no place on the instrument in which to write one's name. Students place their completed survey in the class envelope, which is opened by IASG staff members off-site. Pertinent responses to open-ended questions are retyped by IASG staff members before being submitted to program administrators.