School Academic Optimism Scale (SAOS)

1. Teachers in this school are able to get through to the most difficult students.
2. Teachers here are confident they will be able to motivate their students.
3. If a child doesn’t want to learn teachers here give up.
4. Teachers here don’t have the skills needed to produce meaningful results.
5. Teachers in this school believe that every child can learn.
6. These students come to school ready to learn.
7. Home life provides so many advantages that students are bound to learn.
8. Students here just aren’t motivated to learn.
9. Teachers in this school do not have the skills to deal with student disciplinary problems.
10. The opportunities in this community help ensure that these students will learn.
11. Learning is more difficult at this school because students are worried about their safety.
12. Drug and alcohol abuse in the community make learning difficult for students here.
13. Teachers in this school trust their students.
14. Teachers in this school trust the parents.
15. Students in this school care about each other.
16. Parents in this school are reliable in their commitments.

17. Students in this school can be counted upon to do their work.
18. Teachers can count upon parental support.
19. Teachers here believe that students are competent learners.
20. Teachers think that most of the parents do a good job.
21. Teachers can believe what parents tell them.
22. Students here are secretive.
23. 
The
 school 
sets 
high 
standards 
for 
performance.
24. 
Students 
respect 
others 
who 
get 
good
 grades.
25. 
Students
 seek 
extra 
work
 so 
they 
can 
get 
good 
grades.
26. 
Academic
 achievement is recognized and acknowledged by the school.
27. 
Students try hard to improve on previous work.
28. 
The 
learning environment is orderly and serious.
29. 
The students in this school can achieve the goals that have been set for them.
30. 
Teachers in this school believe that their students have the ability to achieve academically
 
Collective Sense of Self-Efficacy‚ Faculty Trust in Student and Parents‚ Academic Emphasis
Items 1-22: 1=
 Strongly
Disagree‚ 2= Disagree‚ 3= Somewhat
Disagree‚ 4= Somewhat
Agree‚ 5= Agree‚ 6= Strongly

Agree
Items 23-30: 1= Rarely‚ 2= Sometimes‚ 3= Often‚ 4= Very 
Often
Collective Efficacy (CE) of the School (items 1-12): reverse scores 3‚ 4‚ 8‚ 9‚ 11‚ and 12.
Faculty Trust (FT) in Parents and Teachers (items 13-22): reverse scores on item 22.
Academic Emphasis (AE) of the School (items 23-30).
Standard score= [100X (items mean – Scale mean)/ std] +500
 
This instrument can be found at: http://www.waynekhoy.com/pdfs/saos.pdf     

Hoy‚ W. K.‚ Tarter‚ C. J.‚ & Woolfolk Hoy‚ A. (2006). Academic optimism of schools: A force for student achievement. American Educational Research Journal‚ 43(3) 425-446.

McGuigan‚ L. & Hoy‚ W. K. (2006). Principal Leadership: Creating a Culture of Academic Optimism to Improve Achievement for All Students. Leadership and Policy in Schools‚ 5‚ 203-229.

Smith‚ P. A. & Hoy‚ W. K. (2007). Academic optimism and student achievement in urban elementary schools. Journal of Educational Administration‚ 45‚ 556-568.

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