School climate profoundly influences students’ social, emotional, and academic functioning, representing an important indicator of student and school success. The federal Every Student Succeeds Act recognizes the importance of prioritizing positive learning conditions for all students and requires states to both include an indicator of “school quality and student success” in their statewide accountability systems and provide school climate data in annual school report cards.

School psychologists have critical knowledge of the evidence-based methods to support a positive school climate, as well as a background in using appropriate data collection methods and analysis. State and local school administrators and school psychologists are encouraged to work together to ensure valid, reliable, and meaningful measurement of school climate for the purposes of creating safe, supportive learning environments for all students.

NASP’s Guidance for Measuring and Using School Climate Data is designed to assist SEAs and LEAs in the following ways:

1. Define school climate, its components, and influential factors related to its assessment.
2. Illustrate the importance of a positive school climate on student outcomes.
3. Describe how to measure school climate for purposes of school improvement and accountability.
4. Identify basic considerations associated with assessing and using school climate data.
5. Provide additional resources to help with measuring and using school climate data.