Relationships Between School Climate and Indicators of School Effectiveness: A Multilevel Investigation

• In Event: Compositional and School Organization Effects on Student Outcomes

Abstract

Researchers and educators have increasingly recognized the importance of school climate and its relationship with various indicators of school performance, including school report card information. However, most studies conducted on school climate used single-level analyses (e.g., student-level) that did not take into account the nested structure of the data, potentially leading to inaccurate conclusions. This study uses a state-wide dataset of climate ratings to conduct multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA), appropriately accounting for the nesting of students within schools. The purpose of this study is to investigate school climate and potential differences in the relationships previously noted with report card variables in order to assist educators and policymakers to make sound decisions based on this information.

Authors

• Mihaela Ene, University of South Carolina

• Elizabeth Leighton, University of South Carolina

• Zhaoxia Guo, University of South Carolina - Columbia

• Christine DiStefano, University of South Carolina

• Diane M. Monrad, University of South Carolina