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Cadet KPIs & Annual Survey
Watch Webinar: Annual Cadet Survey 2023
Key Downloads
The Annual Cadet Survey helps the cadet community make sense of how the Cadet Program is actually operating in hometown squadrons. It is one tool in our monitoring and evaluation effort, with the Key Performance Indicators (Cadet KPIs) and the compliance inspections being two other parts of the system. Some years (2023) we focus upon customer satisfaction and internal processes. Other years (2021) we use a peer reviewed instrument to inquire if we’re achieving the big picture outcomes CAP intends, comparing our performance against other youth-serving organizations. Ultimately, the survey and the other tools exist to help our community learn how to serve cadets better.
Why does CAP conduct an Annual Cadet Survey?
Why does CAP monitor "Key Performance Indicators"?Simple: So we can learn how to serve cadets better.
Purposes of the 2023 Annual Cadet Survey
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Analyze the need for financial assistance by collecting demographics that CAP does not already have. This data is important in making the Cadet Program more accessible and equitable.
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Assess whether key standards (e.g., CPP, Wingman) are implemented properly at the local level, and assess whether CAP is fulfilling parents’ expectations for the safety and positive leadership of their cadets.
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Obtain customer satisfaction feedback on three programs that are scheduled for renewal: Learn to Lead, Cadet Advisory Council, and Cadet Competition.
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Invite feedback on cadet life in general through open-ended qualitative methods that help gather evidence of the organizational culture and program impact.
Key Facts: Annual Cadet Survey
Invited Participants: All cadets age 13 and older*, parents, and adult leaders (all CC, CD, CP, AE, HC, & CDI positions), are invited to participate via an email.
Mandate: The survey is completely voluntary. Nobody is required to participate. Nobody will know who chose to participate and who chose to opt-out.
Confidentiality: The survey is strictly anonymous.
Period: The survey is open to through 13 February 2023.
Versions: All three audiences receive the same basic survey, but some of the questions are adjusted slightly to match the audience.
Sequencing: Parents and adult leaders receive the survey first, on 30 January 2023. This way, adults can familiarize themselves with the instrument and will notice that the questions are entirely innocent. Cadets receive their surveys via email on 3 February 2023.
Content: The survey, in all three versions, is available for download. This PDF is simply for viewing; the PDF is not a means for completing the survey. To respond to the survey, use the link provided by email.
Findings: We will share a summary of findings via a webinar on 15 March at 1200 CST.
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* Federal regulations restrict online services directed at children under age 13.
Annual Cadet Survey Archives
2020 Summary
2021 Summary
2022 Summary
Program evaluation is not an exercise in "Gotcha!" but an effort to learn what's working and how to serve cadets better.
CAP says it develops young people into aerospace leaders, but is that actually so?
Because we care about the cadets, we need to evaluate how well the Cadet Program is performing. While performance metrics will be useful as we try to attract donors, their main purpose is to help us learn what’s working and how to serve cadets better. Program evaluation is not an exercise in “Gotcha!” but an effort to improve cadet life.
Today, we are mostly a compliance-centered culture. Our IGs check adherence to regulations. That’s important work, but a unit could be in full compliance and wholly ineffective at making a difference for cadets or America.
The National Commander has endorsed the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) linked below. If CP leaders begin paying attention to them, we will naturally do better for the cadets. We will be measuring what’s truly important, and that’s the work most apt to get done.
Primary Resource
Supporting Resources
Cadet Metrics - White paper offering context for the Cadet KPIs (document was published prior to the KPIs being approved)
CAPVA 60-109 Cadet Program Logic Model
