About Us

The Alliance for the Study of School Climate (ASSC) was originally created in 2002 by faculty members at California State University, Los Angeles as the Western Alliance for the Study of School Climate (WASSC). Our mission continues to be to help schools improve from the inside. Our instruments are designed to act as reliable user-friendly windows into school life, shedding light on every aspect of the school environment. We continue to grow, adding new nationally recognized members, as well as more and better products and services. ASSC tailors its support to the needs of each group it serves. We can assist schools in their process of assessment and improvement or provide school climate assessment instruments to schools who want to undertake the assessment process by themselves. We offer consulting and staff development related to every phase of the school climate improvement process. In addition we continue to do research in schools and regularly update our instruments to improve their performance.

ASSC was recognized by California Superintendent Jack O'Donnell's California P-16 Council on "Closing the Achievement Gap" in their 2008 report. In the Council's words "ASSC gets it" when it comes to understanding what it takes to create the learning conditions that will narrow the gap in achievement between groups. Fundamental to the construction of the ASSC Climate instrument are the factors of a "success psychology." These factors are at the heart of what contributes to student achievement, motivation and high quality behavior. While surface, piecemeal improvement efforts can have a potential impact on student achievement and/or improving school climate, their affects are typically limited by the elements of "failure psychology" that exist in the school. While these factors operate below the surface and are commonly missed, they are explainable. Moreover, a psychology of success or failure can be created at a school by the practices of teachers, staff and administrators. ASSC can be a valuable partner in assisting a school move toward a higher level of success psychology and a better overall climate for learning, student growth, and collective functioning.