Do student ratings of classroom management teil us more about teachers or about classroom composition?

The present study investigated whether the varying referents (i.e., teacher or Student referent) of Student ratings of established classroom management measures differ in their associations with compositional classroom characteristics and students' math achievement. Re-analysis of a large-scale dataset (PISA 2003) showed that classrooms with a higher proportion of male students, as well as those with lower math Performance, exhibited lower scores on classroom management factors referring more to students than the teacher. These were in turn related to lower pre-adjusted math achievement of students. There were no associations with a measure referring to the teacher. Our results indicate that varying referents tap into different aspects of the classroom management process.