Advancing School Climate Assessment: A Psychometrically Sound, Time-Efficient Survey for Intervention Frameworks

School climate plays a critical role in student well-being, academic success, and behavioral outcomes, yet the length of existing school climate surveys limits their feasibility for frequent administration within intervention frameworks such as Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a shortened school climate survey adapted from the validated U.S. Department of Education School Climate Surveys (EDSCLS)-Student Survey. A sample of 596 secondary students responded to 19 strategically selected items from the original survey. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, two items were removed due to low factor loadings, resulting in a refined 17-item measure with strong psychometric properties across three factors: embracing school diversity, school belonging, and student-teacher relationships. Findings suggest that this shortened survey maintains measurement integrity while enhancing practical usability within a data-driven intervention framework. Implications for integrating school climate assessment into MTSS and PBIS models to inform timely and effective school-wide interventions are discussed.