The Instruments

The Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale assesses self-concept in children and adolescents. It can be used as a research tool, to monitor change in self-concept over time, and as a screening tool for identifying individuals who need further testing or treatment. Subscore(s): (1) Behavioral adjustment (2) Intellectual and school status (3) Physical appearance and attributes (4) Freedom from anxiety (5) Popularity (6) Happiness and satisfaction

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

The Playground Observation of Peer Engagement (POPE) is an observation-based instrument measuring children‘s engagement in activities and with peers in naturalistic environments. It focuses on the time children spend in various engagement states and the frequency of their social engagement states and behaviors (games and conversations, parallel play, observing others, and solitary play). 

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

This tool can be used to measure change in PYD from the start of a program to the end.

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

The PYDSQ was developed to model pathways of positive youth development and can be used for the planning and development of interventions and youth programs. Subscore(s): (1) Competence (2) Connection (3) Character (4) Confidence (5) Caring

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

This scale is meant to be used as a self-reporting tool to assess the impacts of positive youth development programs. These programs are meant to provide opportunities for youth to increase their skills, abilities, and interests in positive activities. This scale was created for both domestic and international use. This scale was based on the PYDI (Arnold et al.) but adjusted with items removed and a construct to measure happiness added. Subscore(s): Development

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

The postsecondary education-going knowledge (PEG-K) scale developed by Martinez et al. (2017) focuses on the knowledge of various requirements for applying and enrolling in college. PEG-K has 46 true-false questions on three domains: access, preparedness/readiness, and affordability. In a sample of 163 students, PEG-K’s alpha reliability coefficient was .93 (Martinez et al., 2017).

The postsecondary education-going access aspirations (PEG-AA) scale proposed by Martinez et al. (2017) focuses on students’ ability to sustain hopes and dreams for the future despite real or perceived barriers. PEG-AA has 14 Likert-type questions (from 1 “not important” to 3 “very important”) on college aspirations, resilience, and expectations. In a sample of 163 students, PEG-AA’s alpha reliability coefficient was .69 (Martinez et al., 2017).

The Practical Measures, Routines & Representations (PMR²) Task Analysis Tool is an observation and planning tool used to examine the level of cognitive rigor built into a mathematics task before it is taught. It helps teachers and instructional teams look closely at what students must actually think and do to complete a task successfully. The tool sorts tasks into three categories—Using Procedures, Making Sense of Procedures, and Problem Solving—based on how much reasoning, explanation, and analysis the task requires.

The Practical Measures, Routines & Representations (PMR²) Whole Class Discussion Survey is a short student survey to gather quick feedback about what happens during a whole-class discussion in mathematics. It is part of the PMR² suite of tools developed by researchers to support continuous instructional improvement, not formal teacher evaluation.

The Small Group Work Survey is a short student survey used to understand how small-group activities are working during math lessons. It is part of the broader PMR suite of practical measurement tools designed to support continuous instructional improvement, not formal evaluation. The survey is typically given at the end of a lesson where students worked in groups.

The Predictive Assessment of Reading (PAR) can be used to measure a student's reading level, identify skills in need of intervention, monitor progress, and predict future reading achievement. The assessment contains four reading subtests that can be administered to special needs, gifted, ELL students, and developing students in grades PreK-3.

The Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales–Second Edition (PKBS-2) is a behavior rating scale designed to assess young children’s social skills and problem behaviors. It provides a balanced view of both positive and challenging behaviors, making it useful for understanding children’s overall social-emotional development in early learning settings.

Teachers rate children’s approaches to learning using the PLBS (PLBS; McDermott, Leigh, & Perry, 2002). In general, content focuses on attentiveness, responses to novelty and correction, observed problem‐solving strategy, flexibility, reflectivity, initiative, self‐direction, and cooperative learning.

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

The current revision of the PQA includes two notable differences from earlier versions: 1) the number of content areas has increased from four to seven, and 2) the scoring system has been revised to adequately measure the full range of quality along each quality construct. As described by the authors: “The Preschool Program Quality Assessment (PQA), Second Edition, is a rating instrument designed to evaluate the quality of early childhood programs and identify staff training needs. Developed by High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, it isappropriate for use in all center‐based settings, not just those using the High/Scope educational approach. The Preschool PQA intentionally reflects “best practices” in early childhood education as a whole. The measure identifies the structural characteristics and dynamic relationships that effectively promote the development of young children, encourage the involvement of families and communities, and create supportive working environments for staff” (High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, 2003, p. 1).

The PQA can be used for a variety of purposes including both pre‐service and in‐service training initiatives, self‐assessment and monitoring. The PQA can also be used to conduct observations and provide feedback to staff. In addition, the Preschool PQA can be used as a research tool when administered by trained outside observers to document program practices, compare quality, examine the relationship between quality of care and children’s outcomes, and evaluate the effectiveness of staff development initiatives. Finally, the Preschool PQA can be used to explain research‐based practices to a variety of individuals and agencies including administrators, policymakers, and support staff in the preschool (High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, 2003).

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

Several observational tasks that show good value as denoting children’s ability to regulate emotions have been identified by Kochanska and colleagues. Radiah Smith‐Donald and Cybele Raver are now piloting a very clear, detailed use of such tasks, with specific measurement of the child’s performance both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

The Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment (PSRA) is a direct assessment designed to measure young children’s ability to manage their emotions, attention, and behavior in structured settings. It uses a short series of hands-on tasks and assessor observations to capture different aspects of self-regulation in preschool-aged children. The PSRA includes activities that assess impulse control, attention, and executive functioning—skills that help children follow directions, stay focused, and control their actions.

The Preservice Teacher Feedback Survey measures beliefs about classroom feedback practices and confidence in giving feedback to students. The measure is designed for use by preservice teachers to assess the extent to which their beliefs and confidence in giving feedback align with research on quality feedback. The measure has been used as a pre- and post-test to assess the effects of initial teacher education courses on assessment.

The Pride Learning Environment Survey is a comprehensive school climate survey designed for students in grades 6 to 12. This assessment measures aspects ranging from student-teacher relationships to student mental health and teacher involvement alone with several additional concepts. The Pride Learning Environment Survey can be administered in conjunction with the Pride Teaching Environment survey in order to to directly compare teacher and student responses.

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

The Pride Teaching Environment Survey provides a context by which whole schools are measured. After undergoing more than three years of psychometric testing of responses drawn from 72,000 teachers, the data produced by this comprehensive school climate survey has been found proven and valid to help school administrators foster an environment of teacher satisfaction and student success.

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

The Protocol for Language Arts Teaching Observations (PLATO) is a classroom observation protocol designed to evaluate thirteen elements of English Language Arts (ELA) instruction. It was originally developed for a study of the relationship between teachers' classroom practices and their impact on student achievement. It is currently being used as a professional development tool to support teachers' use of rigorous, research-based teaching practices. PLATO is designed to work across a variety of curricula and instructional approaches.

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

The Psychological Wellbeing Scale (PWB) is comprised of several subscales (self acceptance, positive relationships with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth) that measures six aspects of wellbeing and happiness. Individuals respond to the 42 items within this measure using a seven-point Likert scale.

The 12-item Pure Procrastination Scale (PPS) was created by combining the 12 highest loading items from 3 other procrastination assessments. Respondent indicate their answers to question items on a 5-point Likert Scale ranging from 1 (very seldom or not true of me) to 5 (very often true or true of me). The PPS has been translated into several languages. Subscore(s): Decisional Delay, Irrational Delay, Delay in meeting deadlines/timeliness

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

The Quality of Classroom Instruction (QCI) measures the quality of explicit instruction. QCI examines the following eight aspects of instructional interactions: teacher modeling, instructional pacing, response time, transitions between activities, student engagement, learning success, checks of student understanding, and academic feedback. Observers assign QCI scores to each instructional aspect on a scale from 1 (low quality) to 3 (high quality) at the end of the observed lesson.

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

The Quality of School Life Scale (QSL) measures the extent to which students have positive attitudes toward school. Subscore(s): Satisfaction with school, Commitment to classwork, Reactions to teachers

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

This survey measures social, emotional, and other factors on a student's learning motivation. It can be used to capture a one-time snapshot of academic motivation drivers or administered multiple times to assess change in students' motivation and strengths over time. Subscore(s): Motivation

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.

ReadBasix is a web-administered reading assessment for students in grades 3–12. ReadBasix measures foundational reading skills including word recognition & decoding, vocabulary, sentence processing, reading efficiency, and other skills involved in reading comprehension via separate subtests.The assessment has multiple forms and is vertically scaled, allowing it to be used for progress monitoring, measuring student growth, or detecting changes in reading as a result of intervention.

The Readiness and Expectations Questionnaire (REQ) is a researcher-designed instrument for measuring first-year postsecondary students’ expectations and preparedness for studying in college (Jansen et al., 2013; Jansen & van der Meer, 2007).

In the domain of student expectations, the REQ focuses on the expectations to be inducted by teachers, be involved in research or be told about research activities, that university will be similar to high school, and that they need time-management skills.

In the college readiness domain, the REQ measures students’ perceived readiness in information processing, collaborative learning, time management, and writing.

Year developed:2006.

The REAL Math Toolkit Observation and Debrief Protocol is a pair of tools designed to support teachers and coaches in examining how culturally responsive and sustaining mathematics instruction shows up in a single lesson. The Observation Protocol provides a focused set of indicators tied to key features of CRSE-aligned math teaching. Observers use it during a live or recorded lesson to note specific evidence—what students and teachers say and do—that illustrates how the lesson supported belonging, affirmation, and rigorous engagement.

RESET is a special education teacher observation system that includes observation protocols aligned with evidence-based instructional practices for students with high-incidence disabilities.  Subscore(s): Explicit instruction

Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.