Authoritative School Climate Survey

Development of a Standard Model for School Climate and Safety Assessment

This study built upon the work of the previous Virginia High School Safety Study but expanded our assessment to grades 6-12. A central research goal of this study was to develop standardized measures of school climate (disciplinary structure, student support, student engagement) that are predictive of both school safety conditions (discipline problems, suspension rates, bullying and other forms of peer aggression, teacher mistreatment) and academic outcomes (such as school academic performance and graduation rates).

A key practical goal of the project was to provide Virginia secondary schools with a biennial report of school climate and safety conditions based on student and teacher surveys. Copies of these reports are available to the individual schools from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services website.

This study was conducted in collaboration with the Virginia Center for School Safety of the Department of Criminal Justice Services and the Virginia Department of Education and was supported by Grant #2012-JF-FX-0062 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice. The final report for Grant #2012-JF-FX-0062.

For more information on our survey, explore our summary of research and read the July 24, 2020 article in the Daily Progress on our project: Survey: SROs Make Majority of Virginia High-schoolers Feel Safer.

Improvement of School Climate Assessment in Virginia Secondary Schools

The three main goals of this project, which builds on the Virginia High School Safety Study and the Virginia Secondary School Climate Study, were to investigate stakeholder understanding and use of school climate data; to improve the school climate reporting process; and to identify the longitudinal associations between school climate characteristics, school safety, and equity in student outcomes. The final technical report.

This project was supported by Grant #NIJ 2017-CK-BX-007 awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice, the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety at the Department of Criminal Justice Services, or the advisory board.

Middle School

2013: In the spring of 2013, anonymous online surveys were completed by 43,805 students and 9,134 teachers in grades 7 and 8 from 423 public schools. Participation rates were high for schools (98%), students (85%), and teachers (79%).  

2015: The middle schools were surveyed again in spring 2015. Anonymous online surveys were completed by 56,508 students and 8,585 teachers and other staff from 415 schools with grades 7 or 8. Participation rates were high for schools (93.3%) and students (80.5%), but lower for teachers and staff (52.8%). 

2017: The middle schools were surveyed for the third time in spring 2017. Anonymous online surveys were completed by a final sample of  85,762 students and 12,661 teachers and staff members in grades 6 through 8 from 410 public schools. Participation rates were high for schools (98.3%), students (83%), and teachers and staff (56%). 

2019: The middle schools were surveyed a fourth time in spring 2019.  Anonymous online surveys were completed by a final sample of 118,389 students and 15,001 teachers and staff members in grades 6 through 8 from 422 public schools. Participation rates were higher for schools (100%) and students (78%), but lower for teachers and staff members (49%).  

High School

2014: In the spring of 2014, anonymous online surveys were completed by 48,027 students and 13,455 teachers in grades 9-12 in 323 public high schools. Participation rates were 99.7% for schools, 88.7% for students, and 56.5% for teachers. 

2016: The high schools were surveyed again in spring of 2016. Anonymous online surveys were completed by 68,951 students and 14,619 teachers in grades 9-12 in 320 public high schools. Participation rates were high for schools (99.3%) and students (85.9%), but lower for teachers (52.8%). 

2018: The high schools were surveyed for a third time in spring 2018. Anonymous online surveys were completed by 85,750 students and 16,525 teachers and staff members in grades 9 through 12 from 322 public schools. Participation rates were high for schools (99.3%) and students (82.0%), but lower for teachers and staff members (45.5%). 

2020: The high schools were surveyed a fourth time in 2020.  Anonymous online surveys were completed by a final sample of 106,865 students and 15,707 teachers and staff members in grades 9 through 12 from 299 public schools. Participation rates were high for schools (92%) and students (71%), but lower for teachers and staff members (46%).