High Stakes Accountability and High School Student Perceptions of Instructional Climate: A Longitudinal Trend Study

This longitudinal trend study investigated student satisfaction perceptions of instructional climate in one high school district. The purpose was to probe what students define as instructional climate and whether their perception changed during a decade of expanding emphasis on accountability in California. Archival data from six biennial surveys conducted over 10 years were analyzed using factor analysis to identify a sustained instructional climate factor. Factor loading items were tracked over the six survey cycles for purposes of ascertaining how student satisfaction scale components performed. Findings suggest that as the emphasis on standardized testing and accountability in California was ramped up between 1999 and 2009 student satisfaction levels with instructional climate kept pace. Student perception was that their satisfaction with the instructional climate was improving. Also, student satisfaction with instructional climate appeared to be viewed through the lens of student experience in English and mathematics courses.