Student Perceptions of Classroom Learning Environments: Development of the Classmaps Survey

The purpose of this study was to describe the means, variability, internal consistency reliability, and structural validity evidence of the Class Maps Survey, a measure of student perceptions of classroom learning environments. The Class-Maps Survey is a 55-item student rating scale of eight important classroom characteristics. The survey provides a brief, relevant, and conceptually simple appraisal of students' perceptions of the classroom conditions that contribute to academic engagement. Participants were 345 third- fourth-, and fifth-grade students drawn from a public school in the Midwest and a second in the Northeast. Results demonstrated that 53 of the 55 survey items loaded onto their predicted subscale, subscale alphas were at or above .75, and the survey means were relatively consistent across grade and gender. Results suggest that the Class Maps Survey is a promising measure that captures students' perspectives of classroom environments so they can be used to plan and implement classwide interventions.