Exploring the School Climate - Student Achievement Connection: Making Sense of Why the First Precedes the Second

Oct 15, 2026

Study examining how school climate relates to student academic achievement, arguing that climate quality is strongly predictive of a school’s capacity to promote achievement. Reviews prior research establishing correlations among climate dimensions and highlights reform efforts seeking to close achievement gaps. Investigates 30 urban public schools using the Alliance for the Study of School Climate instrument, paired with state achievement measures, to explore potential causality and practical implications for moving toward higher-functioning climates.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Purpose

Methods

Study setting and sample

Measurement tools

Climate dimensions and rating levels

Student achievement indicators

Exploring the School Climate--Student Achievement Connection: Making Sense of Why the First Precedes the Second Albert Jones John Shindler Many educators view school climate and student achievement as separate considerations. For some, the idea of promoting a high quality climate can seem like a luxury in the face of the current high stakes assessment climate in which student achievement gains are the paramount consideration. However, the results of this study suggest that climate and student achievement are related. In fact, the quality of the climate appears to be the single most predictive factor in any school’s capacity to promote student achievement. The school climate – student achievement connection has been well-established in the research (Freiberg, Driscoll, & Knights, 1999: Hoy, & Hannum, 1997; Kober, 2001; Loukas, & Robinson, 2004; Norton, 2008; Shindler, et al., 2004) . While this relationship would not be news to most school administrators or teachers, considerations of climate are most often viewed as secondary. Likewise few would endorse neglecting the quality of the climate at one’s school, yet the minority of schools have systematic approaches to promoting or maintain the quality of their climate. In many cases, the reason for the casual approach to climate is that it is not well understood and/or is viewed as a discrete consideration - unrelated to such things are pedagogical practice, achievement goals, curriculum, and teacher development. When school climate is defined narrowly, it can appear as a relatively independent factor. However, when viewed contextually, it becomes clear that it is related to everything else. In a study of urban public schools, Jones [et. al](et. al). (2003) found that all of the various aspects of climate were correlated to one another at most schools. Where one variable was found to be either high or low, the others were as well. In other words, no cases were found in which one variable, such as the discipline culture was low and another such as student interactions was high. 35 After nearly a decade of putting climate on the back burner, a growing number of states are elevating climate back to a front line issue in the broader effort to improve achievement and reduce the achievement gap. For example, the California Superintendent’s P-16 Council Report (January, 2008) entitled “Closing the Achievement Gap” identified formally assessing and addressing school climate asan essential component in any schools’ effort toward successful reform, achievement and making a difference for underprivileged student groups. While more direct methods of intervention with the goal of improving student achievement make sense, if the basic structure of a school is dysfunctional, its capacity to promote its desired goals is limited (Fullan, 2003) . Examining the student achievement trends from the past few years, the data shows what could best be described as stagnation in the effort to improve test scores and the decrease the unacceptably large size of the achievement gap (NAEP, 2008) . This may suggest that that the common practice of adding isolated or piecemeal reforms has not produced the kinds of results that were hoped for (Norton, 2008) . Placing climate at the heart of the reform process may provide the mechanism to situate problems and solutions more effectively, so that they can be better diagnosed, assessed and mapped. Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between student academic achievement and various elements within the domain of school climate, and to examine the nature and potential causality of that relationship. The paper also seeks to derive implications for practice including a possible fundamental conceptual framework for climate quality and function and an operational roadmap for moving from a less functional to more functional climate. Methods The study examined school climate and achievement at 30 urban public schools. The sa

FAQs

What relationship does the study investigate between school climate and student achievement?

The study explores how elements of school climate relate to student academic achievement and examines the nature and potential causality of that relationship.

How are school climate and achievement measured in the study?

School climate is assessed using the Alliance for the Study of School Climate (ASSC) School Climate Assessment Instrument (SCAI), while student achievement is measured using California State Academic Performance Index (API) and Similar School Rating (SIM) scores.

What dimensions of school climate does the SCAI assess?

The SCAI evaluates climate through eight dimensions: appearance and physical plant, faculty relations, student interactions, leadership/decision making, discipline environment, learning environment, attitude and culture, and school-community relations.

Oct 15, 2026

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