Measuring School Wellness

What gets measured gets changed.

Nearly 20 years ago, this idea prompted a team of researchers including Dr. Marlene Schwartz to create the WellSAT - the first national quantitative measure of school wellness policies. Today, the WellSAT is the leading tool in the country to complete triennial assessments, which are required by the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA). Additionally, the tool is the most widely-used measure to study the impact of school policies, and it is recommended by the CDC, USDA, and many state departments of education.

More information about the WellSAT and the WellSAT WSCC can be found below.

WellSAT:

The Wellness School Assessment Tool (WellSAT) logoThe Wellness School Assessment Tool  (WellSAT) compares a school district's wellness policies and practices with evidence-based recommendations.

The tool is split into two sections. First, the WellSAT Policy tool (formerly known as WellSAT 3.0) helps school officials evaluate their written district wellness policies. Then, the WellSAT Practice tool (formerly known as WellSAT-I) helps districts evaluate their implementation of specific practices.

The WellSAT was originally developed in 2006 by a team of researchers funded by Healthy Eating Research. It has been updated multiple times with input from partners around the country to reflect the changing policy landscape and best practices in school health. Since its inception, the WellSAT tools have been used by researchers, state government agencies, and hundreds of individual school districts around the country.

In the summer of 2025, the Rudd Center updated the WellSAT website with support from the Connecticut State Department of Education.

WellSAT WSCC:

WellSAT WSCC - LogoIn 2014, the ASCD and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) jointly developed the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) Model. The WSCC model is comprised of ten domains linked to child well-being: health education; physical education and physical activity; nutrition environment and services; health services; counseling, psychological, and social services; social and emotional climate; physical environment; employee wellness; family engagement; and community involvement.

In 2019, the Rudd Center and the UConn Collaboratory on School and Child Health (CSCH) created the WellSAT WSCC. This comprehensive tool utilizes the WSCC model to expand upon the WellSAT and provide a more complete picture of the school wellness environment.

The complete Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model used to assess school wellness. An icon of the child is at the center. They are surrounded by the words healthy, safe, supported, engaged, and challenged. The 10 WSCC domains are shown. Finally, the word community surrounds the entire graphic.

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Federal Requirements

Originally, policies were required to:

  • Goals for nutrition education and physical activity to promote student wellness;
  • Nutritional guidelines for all foods available on each school campus during the school day;
  • An assurance that reimbursable school meals follow federal law;
  • A plan for measuring policy implementation; and
  • The involvement of parents, students, the school food authority, school board, school administrators, and the public in the development of the policy.

New regulations released in 2016 added that policies must ensure that school districts:

  • Review and consider evidence-based strategies to promote student wellness;
  • Comply with federal competitive food nutrition standards, called Smart Snacks, for all foods sold on campus during the school day;
  • Prohibit marketing of all foods and beverages that do not meet Smart Snacks standards;
  • Permit all stakeholders to participate in policy development, implementation, review and updates;
  • Report annually to the community about policy content, implementation and updates;
  • Complete triennial assessments on compliance, alignment with model policies, and progress towards goals; and
  • Designate one or more officials as responsible for school-level compliance with the policy.

For the past fifteen years, Rudd research and tools have supported the importance of strong school wellness policies. The results of a three-year study in twelve middle schools found that supporting strong nutrition policies in schools was associated with a healthier body mass trajectory.

Model School Wellness Policy

To help school districts strengthen their written wellness policies, the Rudd Center has developed a model Local School Wellness Policy (LSWP).

This model policy includes strong language for each of the 67 policy topics assessed by the Wellness School Assessment Tool, or WellSAT. WellSAT items are indicated throughout the model policy in red text in square brackets (“[IEC1]”). This allows users to refer back to the tool to determine the important elements of policy language for each item.

School districts are encouraged to adapt this policy to meet the needs of their district.

Questions about this tool should be directed to Marlene Schwartz (marlene.schwartz@uconn.edu).