The Parent Perceptions of Overall School Experiences Scale: Initial Development and Validation

Parent engagement in schools is often precipitated by a thorough and genuine assessment of parents’ needs, priorities, and perceptions of their children’s schools. This study reports on the development and validation of the Parent Perceptions of Overall School Experiences Scale. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) examined the factorial validity of the measure using cross-sectional survey data from 2,643 parents. In addition, a series of CFAs was conducted to explore the language invariance of the measurement model across Spanish and English versions of the scale. Predictive validity also was determined using correlational analyses. Results revealed that the five-item Parent Perceptions of Overall School Experiences Scale is a brief, universal measure of parents’ perceptions of their overall experiences with their children’s schools. Schools, parents, and community members may use this measure to assess parents’ needs and to advocate for necessary programmatic changes that serve parents and their children.