As educators, we strive to equip our students with the tools, knowledge and confidence to inspire learning. Even with the best we can provide for our students, there will always be students who lack confidence, and there will always be those who don’t always feel connected with school and their teachers. However, the consistency of this challenge does not negate its importance. No student should ‘fall through the cracks’ along their educational journey.
PASS takes the guesswork out of understanding why some students are reluctant learners, why they are underachieving or why they are disengaged. Often, it’s the children that are least expected who are most in need of support and intervention. With PASS, traffic light reporting provides easy-to-understand, actionable windows into students’ attitudes toward school and themselves.
PASS: Pupil’s Attitudes Toward Self and School
Hindrances to learning come in many forms, some of which are difficult to detect through the daily ins and outs of classroom, remote or blended learning. What if there was a simple yet effective metric for gauging students’ attitudes toward self and school? That’s where PASS comes in.
What makes the PASS approach unique from other metrics of addressing social and emotional learning? With PASS, questionnaires zero in on the school-oriented perceptions that students hold. Research shows that healthy minds are more receptive to learning and retaining knowledge. PASS is a turn-key digital tool that gets right to the heart of student wellbeing and academic mindset.
PASS focuses on three broad areas – connectedness, self efficacy, and motivation. This quick and effective 20-minute assessment provides valuable insights into students’ lives. If a child is reserved, it may be unlikely that the underlying causes of their disengagement in school will ever be identified without support. Similarly, children who are disruptive may also act out in response to underlying struggles. PASS levels the playing field for students of all backgrounds and attitudes. Schools finally have a tool that is proven to identify children in need of support, opening up pathways to building confidence, resilience and engagement in the classroom.
The 9 Factors of PASS
With PASS, schools gain valuable insights into student social and emotional learning through three lenses: academics, behavior and attendance. To gain a clear picture of where individual students and cohorts stand within these three realms of wellbeing, PASS assesses nine factors:
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Feelings about School measures a student’s feelings of inclusion in, or alienation from, the school community. This is sometimes called “school connectedness.”
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Perceived Learning Capability measures how capable students feel in their abilities in the present moment.
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Self-Regard measures a learner’s long-term perception of their ability to achieve academic success.
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Preparedness for Learning measures how effective a learner feels with regard to their self-regulation and learning skills.
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Attitudes to Teachers measures a student’s perceptions of the relationships they have with the adults at school.
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General Work Ethic measures students’ broad motivation to succeed in school and life.
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Confidence in Learning measures a student’s ability to persevere when faced with a challenge.
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Attitudes to Attendance measures students’ perceptions regarding the importance of attending school every day.
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Response to Curriculum Demands measures school-based motivation and how effectively students can respond to academic demands.
A student’s sense of connectedness can make or break their motivation for learning and growing as an individual. PASS assesses connectedness by identifying if students have positive relationships with teachers and peers. Educators and school leaders may not know that some of the student population feels alienated or uncomfortable in the school environment without providing students a confidential outlet for having their voice heard, especially for students that are normally quiet and keep to themselves. With these multi-faceted and data-rich reports, trends become identifiable not only among individual students, but also among population subsets.
Motivation goes hand-in-hand with academic engagement. The PASS assessment sheds light on the roots of student motivation and how it relates to their desire to show up to school ready to give their best effort. Attitudes towards attendance are connected to overall academic well-being. If students don’t care to be there in the first place, how tangible will academics be to them? Furthermore, educators gain a valuable but typically hard to acquire understanding of how students perceive the relevance of what they’re learning. Students are more likely to feel motivated and have ‘skin in the game’ when they feel that their education is relevant to their lives.
So much of what PASS encompasses is related to self-efficacy. Do students feel capable of mastering learning? Are they confident they are being equipped with skills for academic success? Do students find learning enjoyable? There are so many valuable insights to be gained from exploring these questions with students.
Learn More About PASS and the Difference It Makes In Schools
With availability in 26 different languages and implementation around the world, PASS has been proven effective in gauging student wellbeing. Learn more about how PASS has helped teachers and support staff in schools provide the social and emotional resources their students need with these real-world case studies. Our sample reports and additional resources provide tangible insights of what to expect from PASS implementation, including key features and how to interpret the results. Our team of former educators is ready to help you bring academic-focused student wellbeing support to your classroom. Get in touch with the PASS team today. We look forward to supporting your students and staff.