Development and Validation of Student Needs Assessment Scale

Development and Validation of Student Needs Assessment Scale

Jeffrey V. Sapitan

College of Education, Tarlac State University

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2024.808046

Received: 03 July 2024; Revised: 17 July 2024; Accepted: 20 July 2024; Published: 30 August 2024

ABSTRACT

This paper addresses the critical need for a validated and contextualized tool to assess student needs in Philippine educational setting specifically in Senior High School. This results into the development and validation of the Student Needs Assessment Scale (SNAS). The test instrument has evolved through a preliminary, development, and validation process using a rigorous R&D methodology. During the preliminary phase, informed by an extensive literature review, six key domains have been identified: Family, Social, Academic, Emotional, Career, and Spirituality Needs. Items were carefully formulated and refined through expert evaluation and pilot testing to align with the intended construct. In the validation phase, expert panels in guidance and counseling confirmed the relevance of each item, supported by reliable Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients indicating strong internal consistency across domains. The SNAS utilizes percentile scoring to provide standardized insights into student needs, guiding data-driven decisions for targeted interventions and resource allocation. This comprehensive process ensures the SNAS is an effective tool for assessing student needs and informing evidence- based practices in education.

Keywords: Test development, Student Needs, Assessment tool, Validity, Reliability, Guidance and Counseling

INTRODUCTION

Psychological assessment in the Philippines is integral to psychology practice, facilitating problem identification, intervention, and evaluation across diverse settings to enhance the quality of life for Filipinos. To ensure effective practice, practitioners must continually evaluate and adapt assessment tools and processes, emphasizing evidence-based practices tailored to local contexts, while addressing the predominance of Western tests through the development of culturally appropriate alternatives (Tarroja et al., 2020).

Bernardo (2011) discusses the challenges faced by Filipino psychologists when using foreign-made psychological tests in English as it questions their validity for Filipino respondents. The paper examines issues of equivalence for both qualitative and quantitative of the translated versions and the original tests where it highlights the biases such as construct, method, and item biases that can affect translation accuracy. Bernardo emphasizes the need for collective action within the Filipino psychology community to address these concerns and improve the appropriateness of psychological testing in the Philippines.

On the other hand, Biswas & Aggarwal (1971) describes “need” as a lack or want of something on the part of an individual that might be acquired or physiological in nature. When these needs are met an individual’s well-being is enhanced as counseling aids in promoting personal growth and development (cited in Azees, A. & Sumangala, V., 2015).

According to Cagas and Hassandra (2014) found that the Filipino version of the Basic Psychological Needs in Physical Education Scale revealed a clear three-factor structure corresponding to competence, autonomy, and relatedness, supporting its use as a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing psychological needs fulfillment among Filipino high school students in physical education.

Furthermore, McClelland’s Achievement Motivation Theory posits that individuals are primarily driven by three needs: achievement, power, and affiliation. Each person typically prioritizes one of these needs over the others, which is influenced by their culture and lifestyle. This theory suggests that understanding and fulfilling these dominant needs can effectively motivate employees, enhancing their productivity and satisfaction in the workplace (Miller, 2022).

John Holland’s Theory of Career Choice posits that individuals seek careers that align with their personality types, which are categorized into six groups. This alignment satisfies their intrinsic needs for achievement, affiliation, power, autonomy, and recognition, thereby enhancing career satisfaction and performance (Duman & Obrali, 2014).

Moreover, belongingness freedom security and recognition were highlighted by Azees et al (2015) as the strong needs of individuals where the fulfillment drives further their activities.

Sculli (2015) studied the pivotal role played by counselors in implementing counseling programs, revealing that career needs were more predominant than academic and personal / social areas.

Attachment theory, rooted in Bowlby’s foundational work on the emotional bonds has grown to address diverse human needs across the lifespan, including the relational foundations of personality development and the impacts of early attachments on individual well-being (Thompson, Simpson, & Berlin, 2021).

Additionally, family systems theory highlights how interactions within families impact individual behaviors and needs. By identifying and modifying problematic interaction patterns, the theory suggests that individuals’ emotional and psychological needs can be better met within the family context, promoting healthier development and relationships (Johnson, 2016).

Shastina et al. (2020) in a literature analysis investigated the influence of family characteristics on childrens personalities, bringing forth the importance of parental realization and open communication while maneuvering through familiar difficulties depicted in literature.

One of the influential developments in transpersonal psychology is the extension of psychological research to consider the spiritual experience and the actualization of human potential. It focuses on creating conditions for the unfolding of spirituality dimensions in a person, attending to a much wider range of human needs than those considered by traditional psychological theories and practices. (Lattuada, 2018).

The concept of spirituality needs transcends specific religious denominations and is universally inherent and symbolically expressed across diverse human experiences. This absence of precise religious delineation in spirituality needs is significant theologically, emphasizing human autonomy and serving as a foundational element for human entitlement to religious liberty (Baumann, K. & Frick, E. 2021). Consequently, individuals undergoing significant spiritual turmoil often exhibit diminished quality of life, alongside the heightened levels of depression and anxiety. Thus, healthcare professionals are urged to integrate assessments of patients’ spiritual well-being into their clinical evaluations as an essential component (Puchalski, C. 2021).

Moreover, Bożek, A. et al. (2021) demonstrated a direct correlation between spirituality and the nature of education received, particularly among students focusing on the human psyche and consciousness in their academic pursuits. Additionally, within this student cohort, spirituality appears to be intricately linked to psychological well-being to a greater extent. These findings could deepen understanding of the fundamental factors influencing psychological well-being, with significant implications for educators designing curricula. This underscores the importance of incorporating teachings on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and fostering spiritual development.

Social exchange theory, proposed by Homans (1961), examines social behavior through a cost-benefit analysis of relationships, emphasizing how individuals evaluate rewards and resources within social interactions. It underscores that individuals engage in relationships based on perceived benefits, whether socioemotional or economic, which fulfill their needs and contribute to their well-being (cited in Davlembayeva & Alamanos, 2023).

From the preceding concepts and ideas that emphasizes important role of identifying the student needs in developing guidance program as well as the intervention in the needs of the students. For counseling purposes, this assessment tool would be able to identify and clarify the needs of the students associated in the family, social, academic, emotional, career, and spirituality. The development Student Needs Assessment Scale (SNAS)  for use in the Philippines is essential tool that integrates culturally sensitive approaches and locally validated psychometric tools that will help to address the challenges identified with foreign-made psychological assessments.

Also, it ensures and accurately reflects the unique over-all needs of Filipino students that incorporate theories, literatures and studies that emphasize cultural relevance that can effectively support guidance and counseling programs in promoting student well-being within Filipino educational settings. Lastly, this assessment tool is designed to address the needs for locally made assessment tool for schools especially the guidance and counseling.

METHODS

This chapter details the methodology used in the study, covering research design, subject selection, data collection procedures, instruments employed, and statistical analysis to meet the study’s objectives. Employing a Research and Development (R&D) approach, the study aimed to develop and validate educational instruments addressing identified challenges. The iterative R&D process included preliminary review, development based on literature review to define Student Needs domains, and validation through pilot testing to assess effectiveness across preliminary, development, and validation phases.

Instrument development began with formulating an initial draft grounded in identified domains and literature, ensuring comprehensive coverage. Subject-matter experts evaluated this draft using a four-point Likert scale (4-Highly Relevant to 1-Not Relevant), providing critical feedback for refinement. Adjustments based on expert recommendations led to a revised assessment draft.

The validation phase included rigorous item analysis and expert evaluation to establish content validity. Pilot testing involved 24 Grade 11 and 12 students from Apo Jose Catholic Educational System Foundation Inc. (ACES), selected to represent various proficiency levels. Additional respondents were chosen via stratified random sampling for diversity. Post-pilot testing, papers underwent t-tests to assess their ability to discriminate between high and low scores. Cronbach’s Alpha assessed internal consistency post-final testing, indicating reliability across instrument scales.

 Five experts, including licensed psychologists and experienced counselors, validated the Student Needs Assessment Scale (SNAS), ensuring thorough evaluation and refinement from initial to final version, drawing on deep psychometric knowledge and counseling experience. These experts from research, education, guidance and counseling, psychometrics, statistics, and psychology formed the SNAS evaluation panel. The validation process began by refining the initial scale based on expert feedback to produce a final draft. The examiner’s manual, test booklet, answer sheet, and key underwent expert evaluation as integral assessment tool components. An evaluation form, using a five-point scale (1=Poor to 5=Excellent), assessed content, scorability, administrability, usability, and statistical analysis. Experts’ collective evaluation, represented by the Grand Mean, was crucial in refining the SNAS.

Statistical evaluations focused on assessing the SNAS’s effectiveness in measuring student needs, establishing validity through inferential analysis and reliability across scales. Emphasizing content validity, the SNAS evaluated academic, social, family, emotional, career, and spiritual domains. Items with an Item Content Validity Index (I-CVI) ≥ 0.78, agreed upon by three or more experts, indicated good validity. Scale Content Validity Index (S-CVI) assessed overall validity per domain. Percentile scores categorized raw scores (25th, 50th, 75th, 100th percentiles) for distribution insights. Item validation analyzed score differences between high and low groups for appropriateness and discrimination. Cronbach’s alpha ensured internal consistency across Likert scale responses, securing SNAS reliability in assessing student needs

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Development of the Student Needs Assessment Scale

The Student Needs Assessment Scale (SNAS) was meticulously developed by integrating insights from extensive literature and research across six essential domains such as Academic, Social, Family, Emotional, Career, and Spiritual. Each domain of the SNAS was carefully crafted based on comprehensive reviews of relevant literature to ensure thorough coverage of students’ diverse needs.

Table 1. Table of Item Pooled from Related Literature and Studies

For instance, the Academic Needs domain focused on areas such as comprehension, time management, organizational skills, and emotional well-being, drawing from educational psychology and academic achievement studies. Similarly, the Social Needs domain explored active listening, interpersonal skills, and coping with peer pressure, informed by social psychology and developmental literature. The Family Needs items reflected concepts of communication, trust, and conflict resolution within families, highlighting their impact on students’ lives. Emotional Needs items addressed emotional awareness, coping strategies, and the influence of external factors on emotional stability, drawing from emotional intelligence and mental health research. Career Needs items encompassed career aspirations, decision-making skills, and personal agency in career choices, rooted in career development theories. Lastly, the Spirituality Needs domain examined faith, moral alignment, and the search for life’s purpose, reflecting insights from spirituality and personal development studies. This systematic approach ensured that the SNAS comprehensively assessed student needs across multiple dimensions, providing educators and counselors with a robust tool to support students’ academic success and overall well-being. The researcher advocates for a holistic approach to assessing students’ needs through the use and development of SNAS, focusing on varied needs: academic, social, family, emotional, career, and spirituality. By drawing from the earlier well-established research in these diverse fields, the researcher assured that this comprehensive framework fosters an improved understanding of student challenges and effectively arms educators and counselors with appropriate tools to assess and address the overall well-being and academic success among students. Using this assessment tool is an important perspective in developing all-rounded support systems in learning environments.

Validation of Items of the Student Needs Assessment Scale

Content Validation

The content validation of the Student Needs Assessment Scale (SNAS) engaged five expert practitioners in guidance and counseling. They evaluated each item using a 4-point scale to assess its relevance, employing the Item Content Validation Index (I-CVI) and Scale Content Validation Index (S-CVI) to ensure consensus on item relevance among experts. Items achieving an I-CVI of 0.78 or higher, supported by at least three experts, were deemed to have good content validity. This validation process included expert ratings, as well as pilot testing involving 24 students and final testing with 300 senior high school students, ensuring the scale’s validity across diverse domains.

The content validation process for the Student Needs Assessment Scale (SNAS) identified areas for improvement across various domains. In the Academic Needs Domain, items addressing comprehension difficulties, time management, and emotional well-being are slated for revision based on varied expert ratings. The Social Needs Domain highlighted strong consensus on most items but identified some for refinement to better capture diverse social interactions. Similarly, the Family Needs Domain showed excellent validity overall, with adjustments needed for items where experts had differing opinions.

In the Emotional Needs Domain, specific items with lower consensus among experts prompted detailed review and revision to ensure alignment with domain constructs. The Career Needs Domain demonstrated robust content validity overall, suggesting targeted refinements for items focusing on career-related concerns. Finally, the Spirituality Needs Domain indicated strong initial validity but requires clarity enhancements for certain items aligning with spirituality dimensions.  The content validation of the Student Needs Assessment Scale is very high, with close adherence to reliability and relevance. Five expert practitioners with the help of both I-CVI and S-CVI as indicators, ensure a comprehensive assessment of the relevance of the items.

Although many of the items had good validity, certain areas for improvement identified, particularly within the Academic and Emotional Needs Domains, point toward refinement. These variations of expert consensus suggest a range of student needs, particularly in terms of students’ well-being.

Overall, the SNAS proved to be an effective tool because, with some focused adjustments and constant evaluation, it comes to be quite efficient in handling the diversified needs of senior high school students and improving the guidance services in schools.

Item Reliability of Student Needs Assessment Scale (SNAS)

In the Academic Needs Domain, initial testing yielded a Cronbach’s Alpha of .717, with item-total correlations reflecting varied associations with the overall scale score. Post-deletion analysis improved reliability to .757, aligning with academic performance factors and suggesting ongoing refinement opportunities.

Similarly, the Social Needs Domain showed a Cronbach’s Alpha of .708 during final testing, with item-total correlations ranging from .092 to .481. Post-deletion, reliability slightly improved to .753, emphasizing stability in measuring social needs and supporting effective communication and relationship-building.

The Family Needs Domain demonstrated strong internal consistency with a Cronbach’s Alpha of .875, highlighting reliable measurement of family dynamics and support systems. Post-deletion, reliability improved to .893, affirming robust assessment of familial interactions crucial for social and emotional well-being.

In the Emotional Needs Domain, a Cronbach’s Alpha of .846 during actual testing indicated effective measurement of emotional experiences, validated through varied item-total correlations. Post-deletion analysis confirmed stability with a maintained Cronbach’s Alpha of .846, reinforcing validity in capturing diverse emotional needs.

Evaluation of the Career Needs Domain’s reliability showed a Cronbach’s Alpha of .709 during testing, improving post-deletion to .824, indicating enhanced consistency in measuring vocational interests and goal-setting aligned with career development theories.

For the Spirituality Needs Domain, a Cronbach’s Alpha of .765 during testing demonstrated effective assessment of spiritual beliefs and practices, further strengthened post-deletion to .798, reflecting reliability in measuring various spirituality dimensions.

In summary, domains about family and emotional needs showed strong reliabilities. This means that their performance underscores their critical role in being able to understand the holistic needs of individuals.

Scores on reliability, however, differ when considering the domains such as Academic, Social, and Career. The researcher can enhance internal consistency and reliability for the assessments by systematically removing or revising underperforming items from each scale.

In addition, an iterative approach would increase not only the reliability of the scales but also be representative of varied experiences and challenges in academic, social, and career contexts. Indeed, a focused commitment to refining the Academic, Social, and Career Domains has resulted in more comprehensive and reliable assessment schemes and brought about an increased depth of understanding of multidimensional needs.

Table 2. Over-all Reliability after the Deletion of Items

The Student Needs Assessment (SNAS) demonstrates excellent overall reliability for the remaining items, with a Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of .914, indicating strong internal consistency. This suggests that the items consistently measure the same underlying dimension of student needs. Scale statistics reveal a mean score of 203.6589, variance of 889.366, and standard deviation of 29.82225 across its 78 items, offering insights into response distribution and variability within the assessment. Overall, the SNAS has a remarkable overall Cronbach’s Alpha of .914 for these remaining items, featuring excellent internal consistency across all domains. In other words, this higher level of reliability not only confirms the validity of the scale but also reinforces it as a practical comprehensive assessment tool. The SNAS can be a potential huge help for educators and counselors alike. It points out and addresses the many complex needs that students have so that targeted intervention may be guided toward the well-being and success of the school students.

Assessing the SNAS’s reliability after item removal is crucial to ensure accurate measurement of students’ diverse needs across academic, emotional, social, career, family, and spirituality domains. This evaluation confirms that the remaining items effectively capture students’ requirements, maintaining the validity and efficacy of the SNAS as a holistic assessment tool.

In sum, the reliability findings indicate that SNAS is on the edge of making a great difference in the education setting by pursuing a data-driven approach toward understanding the needs of students. Its framework can perform a wide range of possible conditions and allows support development devised to move closer to a more holistic educational experience for students.

Percentile Scoring of Student Needs Assessment Scale (SNAS)

Percentile scores in the Academic Domain of the SNAS offer standardized measures of students’ academic performance relative to peers, ranging from the 25th to the 100th percentile. These scores inform targeted interventions and resource allocation strategies based on individual academic needs.

In the Family Domain, percentile scores assess students’ family-related needs, ranging from the 25th to the 100th percentile. They guide educators and policymakers in allocating resources effectively to address familial dynamics impacting students.

The Emotional Domain’s percentile scores provide insights into students’ emotional well- being compared to peers, ranging from the 25th to the 100th percentile. These scores inform tailored interventions to enhance emotional resilience and well-being.

Percentile scores in the Career Domain measure students’ career readiness relative to peers, ranging from the 25th to the 100th percentile. They guide career guidance and support interventions aimed at improving vocational preparedness and prospects.

In the Social Domain, percentile scores assess students’ social needs and interactions, ranging from the 25th to

the 100th percentile. These scores inform interventions to enhance social skills and foster positive relationships among students.

Percentile scores in the Spirituality Domain gauge students’ spiritual inclinations relative to peers, ranging from the 25th to the 100th percentile. They provide insights into spirituality needs, guiding interventions to support students’ spiritual development and well-being.

Overall, the use of percentile scores across these domains positions the SNAS as a powerful assessment tool. By effectively identifying individual needs and guiding targeted interventions, the SNAS plays a crucial role in promoting student success and well-being. This data-driven approach not only empowers educators to develop tailored strategies but also fosters a supportive learning environment that addresses the multifaceted needs of each student. Ultimately, the SNAS serves as an essential resource for enhancing educational outcomes and supporting the diverse journeys of students.

Experts’ Evaluation of the SNAS Final Form

The Expert Evaluation of the Student Needs Assessment Scale (SNAS) Final Form is crucial for its development and validation as a tool to assess student needs in educational settings. Experts in education, counseling, and psychology rigorously scrutinized the SNAS to ensure its validity, reliability, and effectiveness. This involved a thorough examination of the scale’s content, linguistic clarity, and psychometric properties. The outcome established the SNAS as a robust instrument capable of guiding effective guidance and counseling practices by accurately capturing the diverse needs of students.

Table 3. Experts’ Evaluation on the Content of SNAS

The Student Needs Assessment Survey (SNAS) has garnered high ratings for its comprehensive coverage and culturally sensitive content tailored to Filipino high school students. Clear directions and equitable item distribution ensure reliable assessment results, empowering educators to effectively tailor interventions and support services. This feedback underscores the SNAS’s role in promoting students’ well-being and academic success through meaningful insights and targeted educational strategies.

Hence, SNAS provides a solid framework for understanding students’ situations and enables educators to tailor the appropriate interventions and support services mandated by their problems. This is where academic success and well-being among students lie. In effect, this positive feedback from the survey emphasizes the vital role of the SNAS in promoting an accepting education environment that would foster the development of relevant and effective strategies for addressing the varied needs of Filipino high school students.

Table 4. Experts’ Evaluation on the the Psychometric Properties of SNAS

The Student Needs Assessment Survey (SNAS) excels in psychometric quality, with items that effectively distinguish between varying levels of student needs, ensuring valid assessment results. It demonstrates high reliability across repeated administrations, enhancing its credibility as a dependable tool. The SNAS is also highly praised for its user-friendly administration and scoring, supported by an interpretation guide that facilitates actionable insights for tailored interventions. Its sensitivity to detect meaningful differences in student needs, along with appropriate score interpretation norms, further enhances its utility in addressing diverse student needs effectively.

Overall, the Student Needs Assessment Survey (SNAS) excels in psychometric quality, effectively distinguishing between varying levels of student needs and ensuring valid assessment results. Its high reliability across repeated administrations enhances its credibility as a potential tool educators can trust. Its user-friendly design accompanies a comprehensive interpretation guide for easy administration and scoring. This yields information with which to enable tailored interventions.

Hence, the SNAS is sensitive to detect meaningful differences in student needs, and appropriate norms for score interpretation are available. This will increase its usability in effectively meeting the differing needs of students. Thus, the SNAS is outstanding not just because of its distinguished psychometric properties in general but because of its practical usability in an educational setting, it becomes an invaluable help towards the fulfillment of student success and well-being.

Table 5. Experts’ Evaluation on the the Linguistic Properties of SNAS

The inventory scale used in the Student Needs Assessment Survey (SNAS) is lauded for its clear and accessible language, which ensures respondents understand and respond accurately. Rigorous translation validation maintains linguistic equivalence across versions, bolstering reliability and cultural sensitivity. Designed at an appropriate reading level, the SNAS effectively assesses student needs across diverse populations. The SNAS inventory scale is excellent in using clear and accessible language to ensure that the respondents answer the questions correctly. Clearness in this area not only offers better reliability of the responses but at the same time helps to create an air of trust and student engagement, laying them bare to express their needs candidly.

Moreover, the rigorous translation validation process in the development of the SNAS is important in maintaining linguistic equivalence between different language versions. This careful attention to detail enhances the reliability of the assessment tool and its cultural sensitivity, thus making it most relevant to and appropriate for a student population characterized by diversity. The SNAS can effectively target the unique needs of Filipino high school students by attending to the nuances of language and culture.

It is likewise written at a level that allows readability for students who have been through different educational backgrounds. This thoughtfully designed instrument makes it possible for all students, regardless of their class abilities, to meaningfully respond to this survey. Thus, the SNAS standards efficiently identify the needs of students across all kinds of demographics, enabling a holistic understanding of the issues or requirements that student groups might face.

Overall, this validated inventory scale with readings at appropriate levels has become an indispensable instrument within an educational setting. An accurate judgment of students’ needs paves the way for targeted interventions that express the students’ experiences. With priority given to accessibility and relevance, the SNAS has become an asset in developing student well-being and academic success.

Implications for Guidance and Counseling:

The Student Needs Assessment Scale (SNAS) significantly enhances guidance and counseling practices within educational settings by providing a structured framework to evaluate various dimensions of student needs—academic, emotional, social, spirituality, and career. This empowers counselors to gain nuanced insights and develop targeted interventions and support strategies that address specific student requirements effectively. The SNAS facilitates systematic needs assessments, enabling counselors to identify students in need of additional support and prioritize areas requiring immediate attention. Periodic administration of the scale allows counselors to track changes in students’ needs over time, facilitating proactive interventions and positive student outcomes.

Integrating SNAS results with other assessments and follow-up interviews enhances counselors’ ability to validate findings and address underlying issues with tailored approaches. Beyond individual assessments, SNAS data informs educational stakeholders about prevalent challenges, guiding evidence-based strategies and policies that promote student well- being and academic success. By fostering collaboration among educators, administrators, parents, and stakeholders, SNAS supports a cohesive support system that comprehensively addresses students’ holistic development.

Ultimately, the SNAS promotes data-informed decision-making, enabling schools to effectively allocate resources, identify trends, and continuously enhance guidance and counseling services to meet students’ diverse needs and foster a supportive, inclusive environment conducive to student success.

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION

Summary:

The Student Need Assessment Scale (SNAS) intends to measure six domains; academic, social, family, emotional, career, and spirituality.  This scale came from a vast literature review of the specific items under each domain. For example, in the Academic Needs field, issues were informed by such works as those from the researchers like Muthoni (2013) and Reilly (2001), and in the Social Needs field, concerns dealt with interpersonal skills supported by works from Homans (1958) and Reilly (2001). Issues under Family Needs include Family relationship dynamics based on studies by Doerries and Foster (2001) and Emotional Needs based on Christensen (2010) and Raina (2019). Career Needs delved into the determinants of career choice based on the work of Chircu (2014) and Bhatnagar,et.al. (1999), while Spirituality Needs discussed the beliefs and unapplied practices of Corey (2004) and Delgado (2005). These literatures and studies along with the other gathered works in this study played vital role in the development of the items for SNAS.

Furthermore, the validation process was conducted with the help of five experts in guidance and counseling subjects, using the I-CVI and S-CVI to establish item relevance. Items with I-CVI scores of ≥ 0.8 were rated excellent; 0.5 and 0.8 were fair to good. Initial pilot testing was with a sample of 24 students from senior high school students in Grades 11 and 12 further validated with 300 students and yielded satisfactory test-retest reliability in all 6 domains. Experts reported varying levels of consensus in the identified students needs items. The Academic Needs domain experienced many modifications as it achieved lower scores. On the contrary, the Family Needs domain achieved the strongest agreement. The Social and Spirituality Needs subdomains reached a moderate level of consensus, while the Emotional and Career Needs subdomains reached a relatively high average S-CVI. However, some items had to do with refining.

This resulted in item analysis, performed through independent samples t-tests to establish between-proficiency-level differences, which registered the need for item modification. Almost all the items were good in terms of validity, whereas a few items had to be modified based on their validation results. Finally, Cronbach’s Alpha testing of SNAS’s reliability provided a total of 0.914 for the said test, showing the items are highly internally consistent resulting into 78 items left as it undergone thorough process.

Overall, experts rated the SNAS highly about content relevance, psychometric properties, and clarity. The scale showed significant discrimination power and acceptable reliability, which further supports its strength in assessing diverse student needs regarding the educational environment.

Conclusion:

The development of the SNAS has been designed with the idea of incorporation of scholarly insights that emerge from its different experiential and knowledge domains: Academic, Social, Family, Emotional, Career, and Spirituality, through a comprehensive review of literature. The items on the scale are based on detailed research providing strength for the evaluation of the complex needs of students within different educational settings. It focuses on immediate concerns and lays the foundation for tailored interventions to support holistic student development and well-being.

Indeed, validation for this underwent strict analysis and pilot testing with senior high school students to establish its reliability and validity. Statistical analyses used, which included t-tests and Cronbach’s alpha, proved that there was strong internal consistency in the majority of domains. Items were also fine-tuned for better representation of the theoretical construct and clarity of meaning towards psychometric standards. The SNAS is, therefore, quite a useful tool in understanding student needs, providing practices with an evidence base inside the school, and fostering holistic well-being and success of students.

Recommendation:

Based on the results from this development and validation of the Student Needs Assessment Scale, several recommendations are made. Because generalizability may further be enhanced by future research into cross-cultural and demographic validation of the SNAS, it is recommended to include the scale in other assessment methods to represent student needs better and to have more oriented interventions.

The SNAS can be better enforced by follow-up interviews or other psychological profiling tests with the school guidance counselors to pick up the underlying problems, and they must be trained in the proper use of the scale and its interpretation for the best help for the child. It is foreseen that school administrators will have to dedicate enough resources, time, and personnel to follow through effectively with the implementation of the SNAS and, at the same time, leverage its scale to inform school policies and resource allocation to meet a diverse range of student needs. Educators should collaborate with school counselors in using the SNAS findings within classroom practices and embark on professional development opportunities that will better enable them to understand the scale and its implications for developing supportive learning environments.

Finally, when it comes to the terms and conditions of the tool, permissions for any adaptations of the SNAS must be obtained to protect the intellectual property rights of the author. People also have to buy the complete set of tools to try and maintain a good integrity and reliability assessment score since there is a prohibition against unauthorized reproduction.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeffrey V. Sapitan is a dedicated Senior High School Teacher at OLSHCO in Guimba, Nueva Ecija. He also work as Guidance Staff for 8 years in the same institution. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Central Luzon State University (graduated April 2010) and completed a Teacher Certificate Program in March 2016. He is also a graduating student of Tarlac State University in the program Master of Arts in Education Major in Guidance and Counseling. Jeffrey has a strong background in career guidance and leadership, having spoken at various events including the Career Guidance Program at Cinense Integrated School in 2023 and the Job Hunting Symposium at OLSHCO in 2018. He is skilled in songwriting, playing musical instruments, and music production, and is fluent in English, Iloco, and Filipino.