Resources

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

Survey Administration Trainings

The CalSCHLS TA team offers a two-hour survey administration training at no charge when County Offices of Education organize a training for their districts. The CalSCHLS TA team offers customized trainings for districts at the CDE subsidized rate of $125 per hour. To schedule a countywide training or request a custom training, please contact Leslie Poynor.

Data Workshops and Coaching

The CalSCHLS TA team offers data workshops and data coaching at the CDE subsidized rate of $125 per hour to assist counties, districts, and schools in understanding and using their data. The workshop and coaching are designed to engage stakeholders in locating, reviewing, interpreting, understanding, and acting on their local data. For more information, contact Leslie Poynor.

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.
  • 2023-24 CalSCHLS Item Crosswalk
  • 2022-23 CalSCHLS Item Crosswalk
  • 2021-22 CalSCHLS Item Crosswalk
  • 2020-21 CalSCHLS Item Crosswalk
  • 2019-20 CalSCHLS Item Crosswalk
  • 2018-19 CalSCHLS Item Crosswalk
  • 2017-18 CalSCHLS Item Crosswalk

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

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