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Background: Schools are increasingly measuring school climate and social emotional learning, yet few measures conduct invariance testing by race, gender, or language despite known differences in perceptions of these constructs based on these identities. Objective: This study reports on the validation process of a school climate and social emotional learning (SEL) student survey in the context of a research practice partnership (RPP), including ways the research process was shaped by the partnership. Guided by the principles of practical measurement and the goal of creating a measure used for continuous improvement, we examined item quality, construct validity, internal consistency, and measurement invariance. Methods: Data are from a district-wide survey of 29,415 students enrolled in 3rd through 12th grade. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to establish a measurement model. Multiple group CFA was used to assess configural, metric, and scalar invariance by race, gender, home language and grade band. Results: The measurement model had adequate fit after minor post hoc modification, albeit with high correlations among factors, showing evidence of construct validity. Scales were sufficiently reliable. Evidence was found for configural and metric invariance but not scalar invariance for race or grade band. Conclusion: Findings suggest that districts measuring SEL and school climate should take additional care to attend to differences in how students perceive these constructs. Ongoing consultation with the RPP was crucial to designing a measure that was practical and useful for continuous improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined marijuana-related parenting attitudes, behaviors, and challenges in the context of nonmedical marijuana legalization in Washington State. Qualitative data were collected via 6 focus groups with a total of 54 parents of preteen and teenage children, following the opening of the first marijuana retail store in Seattle in 2014. A structured interview protocol was used to ask parents about their marijuana-related parenting behaviors and about information, skills, or strategies that parents might find helpful while raising children in a state where nonmedical marijuana use is legal for adults. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis with NVivo software. Findings indicate that most parents talked to their children about marijuana, communicating rules and information about the effects of the drug. Although most parents felt that marijuana use by underage youth was not acceptable, many recognized that it was something teens would likely experiment with. Most parents set guidelines about marijuana in their households, but several faced challenges monitoring their children's behavior (e.g., use of edibles), imposing consequences when children used marijuana, reconciling societal and personal norms, and deciding whether or not to disclose their own use. Parents expressed that they would benefit from learning strategies to deal with these challenges, including factual information and parenting skills, through programs offered in schools or community settings. Results have implications for future research that seeks to inform prevention program development and shape policies attuned to the needs of parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]