Student School Engagement Survey (SSES)

General Information on the Measure
Purpose of the measure

The Student School Engagement Survey measures students’ cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement in school.

Main constructs measured

Intrapersonal competencies

Applicable grade levels

Secondary students

Publication year for the most recent version

2016

Year originally developed

2006

Related measures
Measure Administration
Respondent

Student

Method of administration

Paper/Pencil, Digital

Number of items

45

Item format

Selected response

Administration time

30-45 minutes

Available languages

English, Spanish, Portuguese

Fee for use Fee charged by developer
Credentials required for administration

None

Scoring
Overall score reporting

No overall scores are reported.

Subscore reporting

There are three subscores:

  • Behavioral engagement
  • Emotional engagement
  • Cognitive engagement
Scoring procedures

No information is available in the references reviewed.

Interpretive information

No information is available in the references reviewed.

Evidence of Technical Quality
Populations for which technical quality evidence has been collected

Study 1: Evidence is based on approximately 150 students in three large urban areas (Houston, Jacksonville, Seattle).

Study 2: Evidence is based on 860 6th grade students in Adams County 12 Five Star Public Schools during the 2007-2008 school year.

Reliability evidence

Internal consistency (coefficient alpha) was estimated for all subscales separately for each participating site. Estimates ranged from 0.88 to 0.90 for emotional engagement, 0.87 to 0.92 for cognitive engagement, and 0.49 to 0.80 for behavioral engagement.

In a second study (CITE) internal consistency (coefficient alpha) was estimated for all subscales separately for each participating site. Estimates ranged from Chronbach’s alphas for behavioral engagement ranged from 0.75 to 0.78 for behavioral engagement, from 0.77 to 0.82 for cognitive engagement; and from 0.81 to 0.83 for emotional engagement (Seeley, 2009).

Validity evidence
Evidence based on content
Items adapted from previously published surveys, including ADD Health.
Evidence based on response processes
No information available in the references reviewed.
Evidence based on internal structure
No information available in the references reviewed.
Evidence based on relations with other variables
Subscale scores correlate positively with attendance and grades, and negatively with peer victimization.
Locating the Measure
Obtaining a copy of the measure schoolengagement.org
References

Finlay, K. , "Quantifying school engagement: research report," National Center for School Engagement, Partnership for Families & Children, 2006.

Fredricks, J., McColskey, W., Meli, J., Mordica, J., Montrosse, B., & Mooney, K. , "Measuring Student Engagement in Upper Elementary through High School: A Description of 21 Instruments," Issues & Answers, Vol. No. 098, Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast, 2011.

Seeley, K., et al. "Peer Victimization in Schools: A Set of Quantitative and Qualitative Studies of the Connections Among Peer Victimization, School Engagement, Truancy, School Achievement, and Other Outcomes," National Center for School Engagement, Partnership for Families & Children, 2009.

Notes

Measure summary updated October 3, 2018.