Article

Prevalence and characteristics of student attitude surveys used in public elementary schools in the United States

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Abstract

There is anecdotal evidence of an increase in school administrator's use of surveys of students to obtain school climate information even though it is difficult to obtain valid measurement from student self-report. To better understand the context, this research estimated the prevalence of the use of student surveys in elementary schools and reviewed the types of questions and response options currently used in applied settings. A survey was administered to a nationally representative sample of 300 public elementary school principals (34% response rate). Approximately half of the schools use surveys of students in their schools, with rates of surveying depending on the grade. A qualitative review of example surveys suggests that many typically-used questions may be problematic, given research on best methods of attitude measurement. Suggestions for practice and future research directions are provided. Accessed 11,640 times on https://pareonline.net from May 18, 2010 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right.

Keywords: Educational Research, Research Methodology

How to Cite:

Stapleton, L. M., Cafarelli, M., Almario, M. N. & Ching, T., (2010) “Prevalence and characteristics of student attitude surveys used in public elementary schools in the United States”, Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation 15(1): 9. doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/qjwn-s181