Start Date: July 2017

ID #: 74396

Principal Investigator: Marlene Schwartz, PhD

Organization: University of Connecticut

Funding Round: Round 10

See more related research

Share


The WellSAT, created in 2005, is a leading measure used to assess the quality of written school wellness policies. The aim of the present study is to update the WellSAT to a 3.0 version based on current science and psychometric assessments to reflect the 2016 final federal rule from the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The final product will be an assessment measure with high internal reliability and inter-rater reliability. This project will occur in three phases. Phase I will consist of reviewing USDA regulations and academic reports on school wellness and creating a list of topics to add and remove in WellSAT 3.0. In Phase II, the research team will analyze WellSAT 2.0 scores and gather feedback and recommendations for improvement from a sample of WellSAT 2.0 users, and create the WellSAT 3.0 with feedback from stakeholders and other researchers, practitioners, and advocates. In Phase Ill, the research team will double code a sample of 50 policies from a national database and test inter-rater and internal reliability of the revised tool.

Related Research

July 2020

Wellness School Assessment Tool Version 3.0: An Updated Quantitative Measure of Written School Wellness Policies

Schools play an important role in promoting student wellness. As directed by the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, the US Department of Agriculture updated the requirements for written school wellness policies in 2016. The WellSAT (Wellness School Assessment Tool) is an online tool that provides a quantitative score for wellness policy comprehensiveness and strength. The WellSAT More

May 2026

A Pediatric Perspective on the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines

Clear, evidence-based guidance on what foods and beverages children and adolescents should consume—and in what amounts—is foundational for promoting healthy growth and preventing diet-related chronic disease across the life course. Yet many children and adolescents in the US continue to have diets of poor nutritional quality. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), issued every 5 More

May 2026

Ultraprocessed Foods in the U.S.: Recommended Definitions and Policies

Despite growing interest in ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), there is not consensus on how to define UPFs for policy purposes. To meet this need, Healthy Eating Research convened an expert panel to develop evidence-informed recommendations for policymakers and advocates interested in advancing policies to limit UPF exposure and consumption at the local, state, and federal levels. More