The Instruments

Social psychologist Arthur Aron and colleagues (1992) developed the single-item Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) scale to measure how close the respondent feels with another person or group. The IOS has been given to respondents as young as five years old (Cameron, 2006), as well as to teens and adults. It has also been used with respondents living on a low income and previously incarcerated respondents (Folk et al., 2016; Mashek, Cannaday, & Tangney, 2007). Respondents see seven pairs of circles that range from just touching to almost completely overlapping.

Indicators of Individual Growth and Development for Infants and Toddlers (IGDI) measure development outcomes for children between 6 and 42 months. IGDI assessments are evaluations of 6-minute play sessions with the child and require the use of a set of toys in addition to administration materials. IGDI assessments can be conducted live during the play session, based on a video recording of the play session, or by observing the play session virtually.

The Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS) measures the environmental quality of childcare programs for children up to 30 months old. The instrument was originally developed in 1990 and is now offered in a revised version (Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised, ITERS-R). The 39 items of ITERS-R focus on the following seven domains: space and furnishings, personal care routines, listening and talking, activities, interaction, program structure, and parents and staff. ITERS-R is suitable for inclusive and culturally diverse settings.

The Instructional Climate Survey-Student version (ICS-S) is a 20-item measure of students' perceptions of school climate created in 1988 in response to an increased focus on school climate as a causative factor in students dropping out of school. Each item is answered on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strong disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

The International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) is the only international, large-scale study of civic and citizenship education.ICCS investigates the ways in which young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens in a world where contexts of democracy and civic participation continue to change. ICCS reports on students’ knowledge and understanding of concepts and issues related to civics and citizenship, as well as their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors with respect to this domain.

The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) consists of 28 items and measures 4 dimensions of empathy. Each dimension is composed of 7 items. All of the items are scored on a 5-point summative rating scale ranging from 1 "does not describe me well" to 5 "describes me very well."

The Inventory of School Climate-Student version (ISC-S) is designed to asses 10 dimensions of school climate related to student adjustment. These dimensions include Teacher support, Consistency and clarity of rules and expectations, Student commitment and achievement orientation, Negative peer interactions, Positive peer interactions, Disciplinary harshness, Student input in decision-making, Instructional innovation/relevance, Support for cultural pluralism, and Safety problems. All items in the ISC-S are completed on a five-point Likert scale.

The Iowa Assessments replaced the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) and Iowa Test of Educational Development (ITED) in 2011-2012 to align with the Iowa Common Core Standards. The assessment can be administered to students in grades K-12 and can be used for monitoring student growth, making relative comparisons, predicting future performance, and identifying students who may need intervention. The Iowa Assessments measure students' abilities in reading, language, mathematics, social studies, and science.

Iowa Assessments, Forms E and F from Iowa Testing Programs at the University of Iowa measure student achievement and growth as defined by the Iowa Core. The tests are sold outside of Iowa by Riverside Insights.

ISIP Math is a computer-adaptive test of foundational math skills designed for progress monitoring.

ISIP is a computer administered assessment of reading ability. ISIP Early Reading is inteded for use with children in grades K-3 and can be administered to an entire classroom in a 30 minute time frame. ISIP Advanced Reading is meant to be used with students grades 4-8 and can also be administered to an entire class in a 30 miniute time frame.

The Jackson Personality Inventory-Revised (JPI-R) was designed to assess personality traits to predict an individual’s behavior in a variety of settings and environments, including work, education, teams, and interpersonal situations. The JPI-R contains 300 true/false items and can be used to assess normal adult personality in selection or counseling contexts, conduct research requiring comprehensive coverage of personality dimensions, assist with guidance and career counseling, and develop greater self-awareness and understanding of human behavior and motivation.

K-TEEM is a web-based assessment designed to measure early elementary teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching.

This instrument is a 50-item self-reported questionnaire. The items fall under the following 5 domains: Self/Everyday Creativity, Scholarly, Creativity, Performance Creativity (encompassing writing and music), Mechanical/Scientific Creativity, and Artistic Creativity. Participants rated themselves on a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 being much less creative and 5 being much more creative.

The KTEA-3 is an individually adminstered battery sold by Pearson. Within the battery is an assessment developed to be aligned with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards and also mapped to the Common Core State Standards.

The Keys to Interactive Parenting Scale (KIPS) is an observation-based instrument that assesses parent-child interaction during play. The instrument has been rated “A-Reliability and Validity Demonstrated” by California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse and recommended by Parents As Teachers, Healthy Families America, SafeCare, and WAVE Trust & Department for Education, United Kingdom. The observation portion of KIPS, which helps measure 12 key parenting behaviors, can be completed in 15 minutes, while scoring takes approximately 20 minutes.

The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) measures college students’ learning and study strategies. It can be used for screening to identify students at risk of poor academic achievement and for diagnostics to examine strengths and weaknesses and provide focused remediation. 

The Learning Behavior Scale (LBS), is a teacher-respondent questionnaire that evaluates a student's behaviors relevant to effective learning. The LBS consists of 29 items, belonging to 4 subscales; competence motivation, attitude toward learning, attention/persistence, strategy/flexibility.

The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) is a parent-focused instrument measuring the communicative development of children aged 8-37 months. CDI allows professionals to screen and develop prognoses for language delays by tapping into parents’ knowledge of their children’s language skills, starting from early comprehension to early vocabulary and grammar expansion.

Making Sense of Science (Electric Circuits Assessment) is a written test that measures teachers' pedagogical content knowledge regarding electric circuits. Test items are aligned to the National Science Education Standards Benchmarks, the Full Option Science System curriculum, and the Science and Technology Concepts curriculum. Items reflect the format and content of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) assessments.

The Maryland Safe and Supports School Survey was developed by the Johns Hopkins Center for Youth Violence Prevention in collaboration with project partners. Researchers from the Center undertook a comprehensive review of the literature focusing on the 3 domains of school climate (safety, engagement, and the environment) included in the USDOE model.

The Maslach Burnout Inventory: Educators Survey (MBI-ES) is a version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory measuring professional burnout among educators (teachers, staff, and volunteers). It contains 22 items examining emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from “never” to “every day.”

The Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) instrument measures the specialized knowledge of K-8 teachers of mathematics use in teaching. These measures include items that reflect the real mathematics tasks teachers face in classrooms, such as assessing student work, representing numbers and operations, and explaining common mathematical rules or procedures. Assessments composed of these problems can be used to measure the effectiveness of mathematics-focused professional development.

The Mathematical Quality of Instruction (MQI) is a Common Core-aligned observational rubric that provides a framework for analyzing mathematics instruction. Observers rate instruction across five domains: common core-aligned student practices; working with students and mathematics; richness of mathematics; errors and imprecision; and, classroom work is connected to mathematics. Although originally designed for research use, the MQI can be used as a tool to support teachers' professional development.

The Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (MTEBI) is a domain-specific modification of the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI). The MTEBI measures pre-service teachers’ beliefs regarding mathematical instruction, students' ability to learn mathematics and teachers’ sense of efficacy in teaching mathematics.

Subscales within the article are: Critical Awareness, Heritage Language Expectations, Cultural Content Integration. The authors reported that honoring students’ heritage language (i.e., Spanish) is the mediating element through which cultural content integration predicts mathematics achievement for Latino children. 

The MTQ-48 assesses total MT and comprises four dimensions: challenge, commitment, confidence (subdivided into two components; interpersonal and own ability) and control (partitioned into two components; emotional and life). The MTQ-18 and MTQ-10 use items drawn directly from the MTQ-48.

The Meriden School Climate Survey-Student Version is a 47-item survey of students’ perception of adult support at school, school safety, respect for differences, adult support at home, including academic support, student aggression toward others, and peer support.

The Metacognitive Skills Teacher Questionnaire is an 8-item teacher-respondent assessment of children's metacognitive abilities.

The Misconceptions-Oriented Standards-Based Assessment Resources for Teachers (MOSART) is a set of teacher knowledge assessments linked to the NRC National Science Education Standards. Assessments are broken down by grade level (K-4, 5-8, and 9-12) and by content area (physical science, earth science, space science, and life science). Assessments are multiple choice with each question asking for the scientifically correct answer (to measure subject matter knowledge) as well as the most popular incorrect answer given by students (to measure knowledge of student misconceptions). Student assessments with items linked to teacher assessments are also available.