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Alliance for the Study of School Climate California State University, Los Angeles www.calstatela.

edu/schoolclimate

Elementary School Climate Assessment Instrument Student Version SCAI-E-S


The ASSC SCAI-E-S (elementary student) version can be used in conjunction with the SCAI-E-G (elementary teacher/staff/parent) version or as a stand-alone assessment instrument. The 8 school climate dimensions are the same, yet there are fewer items in this version (30 vs. 80+) than in the SCAI-E-G and the wording is written younger students (8 and above). Those in 7th grade and older would be better suited to using the SCAI-S-S (secondary student) version. The scores on the SCAI-E-S should correlate somewhat with the SCAI-E-G, but may not necessarily. The SCAI-E-S is intended to be used as a measure of student perceptions. The SCAI-E-G administered to Adults will likely be a more accurate assessment of the state of function and climate at the school. Students will tend to be more positive and less objective in their assessment. The SCAI-E-S includes a compilation sheet. This sheet is only necessary for those processing the student responses. The students just need one survey form each and a pencil or pen. The directions for the SCAI-E-S are rather straight forward. Students should be instructed to circle the letter of the answer with which they most agree. There are 3 answers for each item. An adult should be present to answer questions related to word meaning and vocabulary. Students need not be concerned with compiling their scores. They simply need to answer the 30 items as honestly and accurately as possible. Once students have completed the 30 items, the surveys should be marked to identify the group (but individual identifiers such as names are strongly discouraged, the students should feel free and anonymous). Once all the surveys have been collected and marked, they should be processed. Becoming familiar with the ASSC assessment protocol will be helpful. For each group of 40 or fewer students, one compilation form will be necessary. More than 40 students will overload the form. If there are a high number of students to process, multiple forms may be required to do the initial tabulation. These forms can then be aggregated into one master form. For each item, multiply the total number of 3 level responses (Answer A) by 5. Multiply the total number of 2 level responses (Answer B) by 3. Multiply the total number of 1 level responses (Answer C) by 1. Add the sums and then divide by the total number of
ASSC School Climate Instrument SCAI-E-S v3.1 www.calstatela.edu/schoolclimate

surveys. This process should be done for each dimension. The result will be a student assessment mean each of the 8 dimensions ranging from 1.0 to 5.0.

ASSC School Climate Instrument SCAI-E-S v3.1

www.calstatela.edu/schoolclimate

Student Directions: First, for each item circle the letter of the option (a, b, or c) that best describes your school experience.
1. From what I can tell, this school is a. A great place for people to visit. b. An okay place for people to visit. c. Not a place people want to visit. 2. In a. b. c. my experience, at this school Everything works, or gets fixed quickly. A few things are broken, but mostly things here work. A lot of things are broken.

3. When I look around at this school I see a. Lots of color and kids work is up everywhere. b. Some color and kids work is up in some places. c. Mostly blank walls. 4. Most of the students at this school a. Help the teachers and other kids make the school clean and nice to look at. b. Keep the school clean because we would get in trouble if we did not. c. Dont keep the school pretty and clean even with teachers tell us to. 5. My teacher spends time with other teachers a. Planning, talking and teaching together often. b. Talking mostly at recess or school events. c. Only at lunch or not at all. 6. When I am at school, I feel like a. The teachers, classmates, and I are like a family. b. I am part of a good school, but not really a family. c. No one cares about me at this school. 7. At this school a. Students all get along no matter what they look like or where they are from. b. Students who are alike or friends get along. c. A lot of students dont get along. 8. The popular students at this school a. Are nice to the other students. b. Are nice to the other popular students. c. Think they are better and are often mean to others. 9. In a. b. c. my class We make a lot of the decisions along with the teacher. The teacher lets us choose sometimes. The teacher makes all the decisions.

10. In my class a. There are lots of classroom jobs and we all take turns doing them. b. There are a few jobs for students in the class. c. Students only do classroom jobs because they have to, or have gotten in trouble.

ASSC School Climate Instrument SCAI-E-S v3.1

www.calstatela.edu/schoolclimate

11. School events such as games, plays, performances, meetings, or conferences are attended by a. Lots of people. b. Some people who care about that event. c. Not many people. 12. At this school, I feel safe a. Everywhere in the school. b. Only in my classroom. c. Some days and not other days. 13. At this school a. Many students are in leadership roles in and out of class. b. A few students are picked by the teachers to be leaders. c. There are few or no students in leadership roles. 14. This schools Principal a. Can be seen around the school talking to teachers and students. b. Is friendly, but stays in his/her office most of the time. c. Is not friendly to students. 15. At this school a. The students and teacher from different classrooms work together on many projects. b. The students work together on projects in their class. c. Students do not work together on projects. 16. In my class, the rules a. Are clear and help the kids get along. b. Are clear and keep the kids from misbehaving. c. Are not clear and the kids are afraid of doing something to make the teacher angry. 17. When students break rules a. The teacher gives them a fair consequence and helps them understand why. b. The teacher gives consequences sometimes. c. The teacher gets upset at the students publically. 18. In a. I b. I c. I 19. I a. b. c. my judgment, I would say that am learning to be more responsible every day because of my teacher. am learning to do what the teacher wants. feel like, if I did what I wanted to do, I would get in trouble.

would say that I can see clear evidence that my teacher respects and cares about me. When I show my teacher respect , he/she shows me respect. I try to respect my teacher, but sometimes I feel like I am not respected.

20. In my class a. Things run smoothly because the teacher makes things very clear. b. Things run pretty well because the teacher has a lot of control. c. A lot of the time things do not run smoothly. 21. When it comes to grades and assignments a. What it takes to get a good grade is very clear to me.
ASSC School Climate Instrument SCAI-E-S v3.1 www.calstatela.edu/schoolclimate

b. Most of the time I understand what is expected. c. Often I am confused as to why I get the grades I do. 22. What is important in my class is a. How much we try and the effort we put into our work. b. Getting right answers and good grades. c. Doing what makes the teacher happy. 23. I a. b. c. would describe the work in my class as Active, hands-on and interesting. Interesting but mostly out of the book. Mostly worksheets and the teacher talking.

24. The work in my class a. Makes me think and challenges me. b. Is mostly about remembering what the teacher or textbook says c. Is mostly about keeping us all busy 25. At this school when a student uses mean language a. Other students point out to them that it is not right. b. Sometimes they get in trouble from an adult. c. Nothing happens to them, so they keep doing it. 26. At this school a. I trust and can talk to most of the adults. b. There are one or two adults that I can trust to talk to, but not many. c. I do not feel like I can be honest with the adults at the school. 27. On the playground a. We have peer mediators and/or Peacemakers that help the students solve their own problems. b. We have peer mediators and/or Peacemakers, but they mostly just get kids in trouble. c. There are only adults to supervise. 28. The best way to describe how I feel about this school is a. I am very proud to be a student here. b. I like this school. c. This school is okay, but I would rather be at another school. 29. My parents a. Feel welcome to come to the school. b. Mostly just come to school for events that are expected such as parent-teacher conferences. c. Dont come to the school very often. 30. At this school a. We have lots of guests, visitors, and volunteers. b. We have a few guests, visitors and volunteers. c. There are not many guests, visitors or volunteers.

ASSC School Climate Instrument SCAI-E-S v3.1

www.calstatela.edu/schoolclimate

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