By assessing the perceptions of school climate, educators and education agencies can identify key issues in need of reform. Once needs are identified, data from school climate assessments can be used to set goals and priorities and choose programmatic interventions. Data also can identify areas where students, staff, and parents view climate in similar or dissimilar ways.
When measured over time, school climate data can be a powerful tool to track progress toward goals. Data also can be used to compare and contrast schools with one another.
Reliable school climate surveys for students, families, and school staff are great tools for measuring school climate. You may find a growing list of these assessment tools in NCSSLE’s School Climate Survey Compendium.
