A Comparison of Methodologies for Scaling Longitudinal Social-Emotional Survey Responses

ABSTRACT Much of what we know about how children develop is based on survey data. In order to estimate growth across time and, thereby, better understand that development, short survey scales are typically administered at repeated timepoints. Before estimating growth, those repeated measures must be put onto the same scale. Yet, little research examines how scaling decisions affect comparisons of growth derived from survey item responses. In this study, we use a sample of 174,669 students in grades 7 through 12 who took the same self-efficacy and social awareness surveys for four years. We use those survey item responses to construct scales using different approaches, then compare the resultant scores to see how inferences about changes over time during adolescence might shift dependent on scaling. While we find that conclusions about average trends are quite consistent by scaling approach, specific quantifications of change like effect sizes can differ by scaling method.