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 has been updated 3 times over the past decade to remain current with federal law and best practices. In this article, we describe the process of updating to WellSAT 3.0. The steps included: reviewing the language of each item linked to a federal provision; adding and deleting items based on frequencies from the National Wellness Policy Study and the empirical support for specific policies; gathering feedback from a survey of experts (N = 77) about best practices and measure usability; and establishing intercoder reliability in a national sample (N = 50) of policies. We conclude with recommendations and guidance for the use of WellSAT 3.0.
Wellness School Assessment Tool Version 3.0: An Updated Quantitative Measure of Written School Wellness Policies
Published: July 2020
ID #: 74396
Journal: Preventing Chronic Disease
Authors: Schwartz MB, Piekarz-Porter E, Read MA, Chriqui JF
State: National
Age Groups: Elementary-age children (grades K to 5), Young adolescents (grades 6 to 8), Adolescents (grades 9 to 12)
Resource Type: Journal Article
Focus Area: School & After School
Keyword: School wellness policies
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