Examining the Psychometrics and Characteristics of the Assessing School Settings: Interactions of Students and Teachers

• NCJ Number: 307809
• Journal: Assessment for Effective Intervention Volume: 49 Issue: 2 Dated: 2023 Pages: 86-97
• Author(s): Catherine P. Bradshaw; Heather L. McDaniel; Chelsea A. Kaihoi; Summer S. Braun; Elise T. Pas; Jessika H. Bottiani; Anne H. Cash; Katrina J. Debnam
• Date Published: 2023
• Length: 12 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2014-CK-BX-0005; 2015-CK-BX-0008
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Award: Comprehensive Assessment of School Climate to Improve Safety in Maryland Middle Schools; Coaching teachers in detection and intervention related to bullying

Annotation

This study examines the psychometrics and characteristic of the Assessing School Settings: Interactions of Students and Teachers (ASSIST) observational measure.

Abstract

This study’s findings highlight the utility of the Assessing School Settings: Interactions of Students and Teachers (ASSIST) observational measure, both as a research and practice tool, across multiple school types and classroom contexts, and with potential to inform coaching to improve teachers’ classroom management. This article focuses on the psychometric properties and characteristics of ASSIST, an observational assessment administered by trained external observers of teacher practices, classroom context, and student behaviors at the classroom level. Study 1 examines variability, reliability, and convergence between ASSIST scores with data from 3,298 classrooms nested within 185 elementary, middle, and high schools. The authors report school-level intraclass correlations (ICCs), standard deviations, means, and reliability estimates of ASSIST scales; investigate the correspondence among ASSIST-measured constructs with multilevel correlations; and explore school-level predictors of ASSIST global scale scores. Study 2 further examines reliability over time and convergent validity using repeated ASSIST and Classroom Assessment Scoring System–Secondary (CLASS-S) observations in classrooms of 335 teachers in 41 middle schools. The ASSIST global measures exhibited moderate to good reliability across three same-teacher observations (ICCs ranged from .69 to .82). Associations between all ASSIST and CLASS-S scales suggested close correspondence of the measures, especially at the teacher level and school level. (Published Abstract Provided)