The following standardized assessments are provided as examples of measures that may be useful for evaluation of children’s responsibility and independence in community-based programs.  This listing is not comprehensive and is not intended as an endorsement of any particular measure.  Some of the assessment instruments that follow are copyrighted and require specific levels of training to administer.  Prices of measures are subject to change.  In deciding to use any standardized measures or checklists, it is important to review specific items and subscales to decide how well they fit your program.

It is important to recognize that standardized measures, such as the ones listed below, are not the only appropriate ways to assess responsibility and independence in children.  Locally-developed checklists, surveys of classroom teachers and program staff, or structured observation of children in the program setting may provide additional information about children’s developing responsibility and independence.
 

1.  Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Scale Stanford Research Institute
Date:  1975

Subtests:    None

Available Through:

ERIC Document Reproduction Service
7420 Fullerton Road, Suite 110
Springfield, VA  22153-2852

Contact ERIC for reproduction costs

Children in grade 3

This measure (adapted from the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Scale by V. C. Crandall, Walter Katkovsky, and Vaughan C. Crandall) assesses children's beliefs that they, rather than external forces, control their academic successes and failures.  The measure consists of 34 items that describe a positive or negative achievement experiences.  Each description is followed by two response alternatives: one stating that the child caused the event and one that the event occurred because of someone else’s action.  The measure is scored by adding all positive events for which the child takes credit and all negative events for which the child takes the blame. 

2.  School Failure Coping Scale M. Rijavec & I. Brdar
Date:   1997

Subtests:    None

Available Through:

 Rijavec, M., & Brdar, I. (1997).  Coping with school failure: Development of the school failure coping scale.  European Journal of Psychology of Education, 12, 37 - 49.

Contact authors for price information

Ages 9 - 18 years

The School Failure Coping Scale is a self-report measure that assesses children’s ways of handling school failure.  The measure was standardized on 500 elementary and high school students.  Because the measure is relatively new and was developed for Croatian students, pilot testing is encouraged before the measure is adopted.

Responsibility and Independence	Bibliography
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