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Academic Resilience

Measuring Resilience and Youth Development: The Psychometric Properties of the Healthy Kids Survey

This report summarizes findings from a study of the psychometric properties of the resilience and youth development module, a key component of the Healthy Kids Survey. The study aims to improve resilience assessment and research so that educators can shape the school environment to promote academic resilience.

Breakfast and Benefits

The Feasibility of Mandating School Breakfast in California’s Severe Need Schools: Costs, Challenges, and Recommendations

The 2006 state legislature authorized the CDE to conduct a study to evaluate the feasibility of mandating that all severe need schools in California offer the School Breakfast (SBP) program. The following is a final report of that study, following interviews with 44 school districts (60 schools) that did not offer the SBP and interviews with seven school districts (7 schools) that recently adopted the SBP. Results also used CDE data obtained from 6,523 severe need schools in California about their SBP status.

Health & Achievement

Research has shown that meeting the basic developmental needs of students — ensuring that they are safe, drug-free, healthy, and resilient — is central to improving their academic performance. Research studies and reviews over the past decade have consistently concluded that student health status and achievement are inextricably interwined.

The documents in this section describe research on the link between health status and student achievement and discuss how incorporating health and prevention programs into school improvement efforts can produce positive achievement gains.

EdSource Policy Brief (PDF): The purpose of this brief - presented at the EdSource Educational Policy Convening by Greg Austin - is to raise the awareness of the value of the CHKS and CSCS among educators and policy makers concerned with improving schools and student achievement. It is a useful document for both School Health and Prevention Practitioners to share with districts looking at school reform efforts as well as those connected with the CHKS.
Ensuring That No Child Is Left Behind (PDF): Important copyright information: The WestEd copyright applies to the downloaded version of this document and it may not be further reproduced. Please download no more than one copy of this product. Bound copies of this report can be purchased online from WestEd's Products & Resources. To request permission to reproduce this report, please call the WestEd Publications Center at (888) C-WestEd (888-293-7833) or email customerservice@WestEd.org.; This non-technical report summarizes the findings from the two annual reports listed below, examining how gains in test scores are related to health-related barriers to student learning. A corresponding PowerPoint presentation(PPT) includes talking points and background information to enable anyone to make a presentation on the study results. For other useful summaries, download Factsheets 1 and 3. This research supported by the Stuart Foundation.
Student Health Risks, Resilience, and the Academic Performance Index:: Year 1 Report (PDF) The Year 1 Report describes how schools where students are low in health risk factors and high in protective factors have higher API scores than other schools.; Year 2 Report, Longitudinal Analyses (PDF) The Year 2 Report describes the extent to which student exposure to health risks and low levels of development supports is related to subsequent changes in academic performance.; PowerPoint Presentation (PDF) The PowerPoint presents a brief summary of the results, while the annual reports provide a more extensive discussion of the analyses and results.
This research supported by the Stuart Foundation.
Using the CHKS to Help Improve Schools and Student Achievement (PDF): A great tool to help foster support for the survey, this document explains how the CHKS can be used to help improve schools and student achievement. It briefly describes survey content and rationale, and provides a short synopsis of recent research linking health with achievement.