Overview
The CalSCHLS System is supported by on-call technical assistance and a wide range of training and instructional materials. Survey administration instructions, workshops, guidebooks, workbooks, and presentations are described and posted below for downloading.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Frequently Asked Questions. A list of the questions that survey Technical Advisors have received over the past 21 years and answers to them.
- Using CalSCHLS Data for the LCAP. A resource for LEAs using CalSCHLS for their Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) self-reflection tools on the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).
Workshops and Trainings
The CalSCHLS TA team offers state-subsidized* interactive workshops both in person and virtually.
CalSCHLS Data Workshop
- Why CalSCHLS Data Is Important
- What CalSCHLS Data Measures
- How to review and use CalSCHLS Data
Other topics, priorities, and focuses for presentations and workshops can be coordinated with the CalSCHLS team upon request.
CalSCHLS Virtual Password-Protected Dashboard Walkthrough
Free virtual, in-depth walkthrough of the CalSCHLS password-protected Data Dashboard for subscription holders.
*Please note: Once every two years, the CDE waives the fee for county offices of education to provide an in-person, interactive workshop for their districts at no cost to the COE or participating districts.
Interested? Please complete this form, and a member of the CalSCHLS team will contact you.
Resources and Tools
Survey Resources and Tools
- CalSCHLS Specifications. A handy two-page listing of CalSCHLS content, configuration, requirements, and level of administration.
- CalSCHLS Item Crosswalks. These handy tables list all the constructs and questions that are on two or more of the CalSCHLS surveys, along with the report table number where results can be found, to assist in the comparison of findings among students, staff, and parents.
Guides to Practice
- School Climate What Works Briefs: Summaries of state-of-the-art practices, strategies, and programs for improving school climate based on current research on topics aligned with the domain areas assessed by CalSCHLS.
- California Safe and Supportive Schools Website is a resource funded by the California Department of Education for supporting all California schools in the important task of fostering positive school climates as part of school improvement plans. It provides access to a wealth of information, publications, tools, and other materials to support data-driven school climate improvement.
- Resiliency: What We Have Learned by Bonnie Benard. The California Healthy Kids Survey is a strength-based assessment that provides data on key external and internal assets that research has shown to be linked to fostering resilience even among youth in high-risk environments. This book provides a masterful summary of this research and explains why these protective factors are so important, as well as guidance on strategies you can implement to foster those assets.
- Sign Up for the California Safe and Supportive Schools Newsletter. Keep informed about CalSCHLS-related developments and the latest research, resources, policies, and practices related to school climate and student, staff, and parent supports, particularly in California.
- California Safe and Supportive Schools Newsletter Archive
Research
- CalSCHLS Research Reader summarizes studies that have been conducted based on, or about, the suite of CalSCHLS surveys.
Studies Examining How School Climate and Health are Related to Academic Performance and Other Factors
- A Climate for Academic Success. Analyzing the relationship between the CalSCHLS School Climate Index and standardized academic test scores among schools that are demographically similar, this study found that a positive school climate is a crucial factor associated with California schools that consistently "beat the odds" and realize greater academic success than predicted for their student population.
- Ensuring That No Child Is Left Behind. This non-technical report summarizes the findings from a study examining how gains in test scores are related to health-related barriers to student learning.
- CHKS School Facilities Report. This report describes how student reports of the quality of the school physical environment relate to other characteristics of schools, based on three items added to the CHKS in response to a request from the California Department of Education’s Facilities Management Office.
Psychometric Studies
- Measurement Structure of the California School Climate, Health, and Learning Surveys
- The Appropriateness of a California Student and Staff Survey for Measuring Middle School Climate
- Measuring Resilience and Youth Development: The Psychometric Properties of the Healthy Kids Survey
- Older Psychometric Studies