The ClassMaps Survey: A Measure of Middle School Science Students’ Perceptions of Classroom Characteristics

Abstract

This study examined the structure, internal consistency, and construct validity of the ClassMaps Survey, a measure of classroom characteristics that are related to students’ resilience and classroom success. Participants were 1,019 fifth- through eighth-grade science students who completed the ClassMaps Survey, a survey describing their classroom engagement, and three surveys describing their attitudes about science learning after being in their science class for 6 months. Results confirmed that the survey’s items factored into the predicted subscales and that the subscales’ internal consistency was adequate. Although significant grade and gender effects were noted, the effect sizes were uniformly small. Subscales of the ClassMaps Survey correlated as predicted with the four additional scales. Results suggest that the ClassMaps Survey is a promising measure of the characteristics of classrooms that promote resilience.