The Instruments

Child Trends’ and the Foundation’s primary goal was to create tools that the Foundation’s investees could use to assess and monitor the extent to which the organizations are improving low-income students’ social and emotional skills associated with success in school and life. A secondary goal was to provide these tools and related guidance to other educators across the country who share a desire to strengthen students’ social and emotional skills as a strategy for supporting their 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 Teacher–Child Rating Scale (T-CRS) is a brief, teacher-completed checklist that assesses children’s social-emotional and behavioral adjustment in school. It focuses on skills that support learning and positive classroom participation, such as attention, behavior regulation, and peer social skills. The current version, T-CRS 3.1, is designed for students from pre-K through grade 5 and can be completed in a few minutes.

From the same study that created the SESQ (Student Engagement in Schools Questionnaire) the TERF-N is a teacher-report form measuring teacher perceptions of student engagement (affective, behavioral, cognitive) for each student. The TERF-N is a revision of the Teacher Engagement Report Form-Original (TERF-O; Lam & Jimerson, 2008).

The 20-Item Teacher Multicultural Attitude Survey (TMAS) is a unidimensional self-report inventory of teachers' multicultural awareness and sensitivity. The survey analyzes teachers' multicultural awareness, appreciation, and tolerance. 

Teachers were asked to complete one for each student in their class as a way to identify high-risk children. Teachers were asked to describe, among other things, whether the child completed assignments, was friendly, broke rules, was disobedient, fought, or yelled at others. Teachers used a Likert scale of 0 to 5, with responses including almost never (0), rarely (1), sometimes (2), often (3), very often (4), and almost always (5). The original measure was 16 items, later revised by discarding two and adding 21 more. The items are aggregated into four subscales (Overt Aggression Subscale, Oppositional Subscale, Covert Antisocial Subscale, Authority Acceptance Subscale). For those looking for a scale with less cost and time to administer than the structured interview session, the TOCA-C was been developed in 2009. The TOCA-Checklist is a written, checklist-based version of the TOCA-R.  Subscore(s): Aggression, Authority, Opposition

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 Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation–Checklist (TOCA-C) is a teacher-completed checklist used to assess students’ classroom behavior and social functioning. It is a streamlined version of the original Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation (TOCA) instrument developed by Kellam et al. (1975). The checklist format makes it easier and faster to administer, while still capturing behaviors that influence students’ academic success and relationships with peers and teachers.

Developed by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy in 2001, the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) measures teachers’ beliefs in their ability to influence student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. The scale is available in both a long (24-item) and short (12-item) form and has been used with both pre-service and in-service teachers. Grounded in Bandura’s social cognitive theory, the scale originally identified a three-factor structure corresponding to key domains of teaching efficacy: student engagement, instructional practices, and classroom management. However, a 2012 confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) study by Duffin, French, and Patrick examining the TSES with beginning pre-service teachers found strong support for a unidimensional structure. While both one-factor and three-factor models showed good fit, high inter-factor correlations (above 0.8) indicated that early-stage pre-service teachers may not distinguish between the different aspects of teaching efficacy. For this population, the researchers recommend using the total TSES score rather than subscale scores.

Developed by Tyler L. Renshaw, Anna C. J. Long, and Clayton R. Cook in 2015, the Teacher Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (TSWQ) is an 8-item self-report tool designed to assess teachers’ work-related wellbeing. It includes two subscales—Teaching Efficacy and School Connectedness—that can be used separately or combined into a composite Teacher Wellbeing score. Initial validation with general and high-stress teacher samples showed strong internal consistency, good construct validity, and predictive validity for psychological distress. A 2018 confirmatory factor analysis by Mankin et al. confirmed the two-factor structure and demonstrated measurement invariance across elementary, middle, and high school teachers, supporting the tool’s broad applicability. The TSWQ is suited for screening, progress monitoring, and outcome measurement in school mental health contexts. Scoring is straightforward, with no reverse scoring required. While no national norms exist, local norming is recommended for interpretation.

The Teaching for a Robust Understanding (TRU) Mathematics framework is an observation and reflection tool used to examine the key dimensions of high-quality mathematics instruction. It identifies five areas that shape strong learning environments: the richness of the mathematical content, opportunities for students to engage in meaningful thinking, equitable access to that thinking, agency and identity development, and the quality of teacher–student interactions.

TeamUP is a package of teaching and learning activities based on a theoretically grounded assessment rubric (Hastie et al., 2014). This rubric was designed to guide student learning and to assess the teamwork skills that they practice while undertaking team-based academic assignments in higher education. The focus of the TeamUP Rubric is on the fundamental teamwork behaviours that can be taught, practised and assessed so that individual students are enabled to develop their skills over time. Students use the rubric to provide anonymous peer feedback to each other; the subject coordinator then assigns individual teamwork marks, taking into account peer feedback and other evidence such as project plans and meeting minutes. The other elements of TeamUP are six lectures and six associated skills practice tutorials on topics directly relevant to the skill domains referred to in the rubric. Subscore(s): Project Planning, Fostering a Team Climate, Facilitating the Contributions of Others, Conflict Management, Contributing to the Team, Teamwork

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 Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) instrument is a self-efficacy survey that seeks to monitor and assess teachers' development of TPACK and seven interrelated knowledge domains. The measure is primarily aimed towards pre-service secondary mathematics teachers and can be used to longitudinally study program effectiveness at TPACK development, and to conduct large-scale multi-institutional research studies (Zelkowski, et al., 2013).

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.

TerraNova 3 from Data Recognition Corporation includes a range ofassessment products that measure math knowledge and skills, including online formats and brief test forms. The testing system was developed to be aligned to NCTM standards. TerraNova is available in Spanish as SUPERA.

TerraNova 3 reading assessments are designed to measureimportant higher order thinking skills as well as basic and applied skills. These assessments includenorm-referenced achievement scores, criterion-referenced objective mastery scores, and performance-level information.

The TERA-4 is an individually administered assessment of early reading mastery.

The TOMA-3 is an assessmentdesigned to identify, describe, and quantify mathematical deficits in school-age children. In addition to the math assessment, there are also measures of attitudes toward math available.

The TORC-4 assesses students' silent reading comprehension. It can be used to identify students in need of targeted reading intervention, monitor student progress, and serve as a research tool. The assessment measuresword identification and contextual meaning across five subtests for students in grades 1-12.

The TOSCRF-2 is an assessment of reading comprehension and general reading ability.

The TOSREC is a test of silent reading efficiency and comprehension designed for screening and progress monitoring.

The TOSWRF-2 is an assessment designed to measure the ability to recognize printed words accurately and efficiently.

TPRI was created to assesses student progress in critical reading domains, including phonemic awareness, graphophonemic knowledge, word reading, comprehension, accuracy, and fluency.

The Texas Success Initiative Assessment 2.0 (TSIA2) was introduced in 2021, replacing the previous version utilized since 2013. As per the Texas State Legislature mandate, all students entering Texas public higher education institutions must undergo TSIA2 or qualify for one of its exemptions. The TSIA2 evaluates students' readiness for college-level coursework by testing them in English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) and Mathematics.

In ELAR, TSIA2 focuses on two key areas: reading and writing. The reading portion assesses comprehension and analysis of literary, informational, and argumentative texts, including paired passages. Meanwhile, the writing portion evaluates skills in revising and editing sentences, paragraphs, and early drafts of essays.

In mathematics, TSIA2 focuses on four key areas: quantitative reasoning, algebraic reasoning, geometric and spatial reasoning, and probabilistic and statistical reasoning.

Students taking the TSIA2 begin by completing College Readiness Classification (CRC) tests in ELAR and mathematics, comprising multiple-choice questions. If students fail to meet the college readiness benchmarks on these CRC tests, they proceed with the multiple-choice diagnostic tests in ELAR and Mathematics. These diagnostic tests present an additional chance for the students to demonstrate their preparedness for college-level coursework. They also highlight students' strengths and weaknesses in specific content areas, thus facilitating their placement into suitable courses and enabling them to receive the necessary remedial support and interventions.

Year developed:2021 (TSIA2 replaced TSIA introduced in 2013).

The Abbreviated School Climate Survey (ASCS), an abbreviated version of the 100-item School Climate survey developed by the Developmental Studies Center (now known as the Center for the Collaborative Classroom), is a 34-item assessment of school climate that includes 7 of the 11 subscales from the original assessment. The subscales include: positive behavior, negative behavior, classroom and school supportiveness, autonomy and influence, safety at schools, enjoyment of school, and school norms and rules).

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 Echelle de Motivation en Education (EME) is based on the tenets of self-determination theory and is composed of 28 items subdivided into 7 subscales assessing three types of intrinsic motivation (intrinsic motivation to know, to accomplish things, and to experience stimulation), three types of extrinsic motivation (external, introjected, and identified regulation), and amotivation. The EME was translated into English and named the Academic Motivation Scale. The English version, the AMS, showed satisfactory levels of internal consistency temporal stability over a one-month period. A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the 7-factor structure of the AMS.  A college version is also available. Subscore(s): Motivation, Internal Motivation, External Motivation, Amotivation

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 Bridge-Positive Youth Development measure is an open-source, 40-item Likert survey initially validated using responses from 7-18-year-old  children in a community-based after school program in Denver, CO. It uses a resilience-based framework incorporating the 5 Cs: Competence, Confidence, Connection, Character, and Caring/Compassion.  Subscore(s): Competence, Confidence, Connection, Character, Caring/Compassion, Resilience 

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 Cleminshaw-Guidubaldi Parent Satisfaction Scale is a 50-item self-reporting instrument that measures satisfaction with child-rearing skills. The instrument, which is designed for parents with children birth-18 years of age, contains five subscales: spouse support, child-parent relationship, parent performance, family discipline and control, and general satisfaction subscales.

The Cornell Cooperative Extension Parent Education Data Collection System is a tool used for Cornell Cooperative Extension parenting education classes. Items on the pre- and post- surveys are taken from national surveys such as the Three Cities Study and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to ensure validity and reliability. The instrument has been utilized to evaluate Home Visitation Programs, Incredible Years Program, Magic Years Program, and the Strengthening Families Program in New York state.

The purpose of the CACS is to extract the racialized experiences of youth of color in school to highlight opportunities to mitigate issues of racial bias and discrimination. In previous work the CACS has been used to identify strategies to improve student well-being, belonging, and engagement.  Six constructs are currently used to assess school climate through the CACS, including awareness of student interests, teacher expectations, racial identity and discrimination, multicultural navigation, selective vulnerability, and promotion of social justice.  Awareness of student interests measures youth of color's perspectives on their teacher's awareness and nurturance of their interests, both academic and non-academic.  Teacher expectations measures students' perspectives on how teachers expect them to perform and the support teachers provide related to those expectations.  Racial identity/discrimination measures students’ perspectives on whether the classroom environment is culturally affirming and whether they experience subtle or overt forms of racism and discrimination.  Multicultural navigation measures students' perspectives of learning about other non-White cultures. Selective trust measures students’ perspectives on whether they trust their classroom teachers and whether there are other adults in their schools who they trust.  Promotion of social justice measures students' perspectives of teachers' openness about inequalities and injustice and efforts to promote equity and fairness as it relates to marginalized identities (e.g., race, socioeconomic status).

The DECA is a newly developed standardized, norm‐referenced measure of resilience, completed by parents and teachers in a collaborative and supportive partnership. Subscales include initiative, attachment, self‐control, and behavioral concerns.

The ERQ (Gross & John, 2003) comprises 10 items assessing the ER strategies of CR (6 items) and ES (4 items). Items are rated on a 7-point Likert-type response scale. Higher scores on each scale indicate greater use of the corresponding ER strategy. Subscore(s): Cognitive Reappraisal, Expressive Suppression, Emotion Regulation