Free instruments
Tier 2 measures ask for a reported change. Each instrument below has a form you can link to and a license sentence quoted from its publisher. Check the quote before you rely on it.
- Public domain 1. The publisher or author says no permission is needed.
- Free, with conditions 8. Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.
Cleared instruments, best rights class first 9
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale
Public domainLicense wording
“freely available; permission not required for use.”
The publisher or author says no permission is needed.
10 items2-3 min (estimated)Youth; self-esteem
- Scoring
- Score positive statements 3-0 and negative statements 0-3; sum 0-30, higher = greater self-esteem.
- Named by funders
- NIH PhenX catalogue; no grant mandate verified.
- Validity
- Rosenberg, 1989; Gray-Little et al., 1997, item-response analysis.
- Caveat
- EN; Chinese. Measures global self-esteem, not mentoring quality or employment readiness.
Form License source
General Self-Efficacy Scale, Schwarzer/Jerusalem
Free, with conditionsLicense wording
“permission to use and reproduce the General Self-Efficacy Scale for your study”
Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.
10 items4 minYouth; coping confidence
- Scoring
- Sum ten responses, each 1-4: 10-40, higher = greater efficacy; no reverse coding.
- Named by funders
- None named in the sources opened.
- Validity
- Luszczynska, Scholz & Schwarzer, 2005; cross-cultural evidence summarized in author FAQ.
- Caveat
- EN; extensive translations. The author's permission explicitly addresses research studies; do not represent it as unrestricted permission for a commercial product.
Form License source
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)
Free, with conditionsLicense wording
“Paper copies "without charge by individuals or non-profit organisations," subject to the owner's conditions. Electronic reproduction requires separate authorization; no unauthorized modification.”
Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.
25 core items5-10 min (estimated)Youth psychosocial functioning
- Scoring
- Five subscales 0-10. Total difficulties = four problem subscales, 0-40; prosocial score stays separate. Apply version-specific reverse coding.
- Named by funders
- No US grant mandate verified.
- Validity
- Goodman, 1997, J Child Psychol Psychiatry 38:581-586; DOI 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01545.x. Original full text unverified.
- Caveat
- EN; many translations. Select the authorized 25-item, one-sided form. Impact supplements and administrative additions can push the administered packet above 30 items. Embedding it in software is a separate, paid-permission case (see the trap list).
Form License source
Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS)
Free, with conditionsLicense wording
“The MSPSS is free to use.”
Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.
12 items3-4 min (estimated)Youth; social support
- Scoring
- Mean all twelve 1-7 ratings; also calculate four-item Family, Friends, Significant Other means. Higher = more support.
- Named by funders
- None named in the sources opened.
- Validity
- Zimet et al., 1988, J Personality Assessment 52:30-41.
- Caveat
- EN; Spanish, Chinese, French and many other translations. The author asks users to credit Zimet and colleagues. The author states there are no established population norms; avoid inventing clinical cutoffs.
Form License source
CRQ-A: four selected career-resource subscales
Free, with conditionsLicense wording
“CC BY-NC 4.0: attribution and noncommercial use.”
Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.
12, four validated 3-item subscales items3-5 min (estimated)Youth employment preparation
- Scoring
- Mean each three-item subscale, 1-5; higher = more resource. No invented 12-item global total. Use Soft Skills, Career Confidence, Career Clarity, Self-Exploration.
- Named by funders
- The OJJDP-funded National Mentoring Resource Center identifies these four subscales.
- Validity
- Marciniak et al., 2021, J Career Assessment 29:164-180; two adolescent samples (author technical summary).
- Caveat
- EN verified. The complete CRQ-A has 36 items and fails the length rule; this entry concerns the named subscales only.
Form License source
PALS Academic Efficacy subscale
Free, with conditionsLicense wording
“non-commercial use”
Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.
5 items1-2 min (estimated)Academic confidence
- Scoring
- Mean five 1-5 responses; higher = stronger academic efficacy.
- Named by funders
- OJJDP-funded National Mentoring Resource Center resource, not an AmeriCorps or OJJDP reporting mandate.
- Validity
- Midgley et al., 2000, PALS manual; subscale reliability reported; original PALS validation references included.
- Caveat
- EN verified. NMRC states no cost. Use this established subscale (printed p. 20), not the entire manual's questionnaire collection. Confidence is not academic achievement.
Form License source
Engagement versus Disaffection: Behavioral Engagement subscale
Free, with conditionsLicense wording
“non-commercial use; no advance permission required.”
Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.
5 items1-2 min (estimated)Classroom engagement
- Scoring
- Mean five 1-4 ratings; higher = more behavioral engagement.
- Named by funders
- OJJDP-funded National Mentoring Resource Center resource, not a mandate.
- Validity
- Skinner, Kindermann & Furrer, 2009, Educational and Psychological Measurement 69:493-525; DOI 10.1177/0013164408323233.
- Caveat
- EN verified. Complete questions and response options are in the article appendix; there is no separate standalone PDF verified.
Form License source
Revised Implicit Theories of Intelligence, Self scale
Free, with conditionsLicense wording
“non-commercial use”
Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.
8 items2-3 min (estimated)Academic mindset
- Scoring
- Reverse four incremental-belief items; average eight 1-6 responses. Higher = stronger fixed-intelligence belief.
- Named by funders
- OJJDP-funded National Mentoring Resource Center resource, not a mandate.
- Validity
- De Castella & Byrne, 2015, European J Psychology of Education 30:245-267; DOI 10.1007/s10212-015-0244-y.
- Caveat
- EN verified. NMRC states no charge. Direction is easily reversed accidentally. Mindset change does not itself establish improved grades. Form is Appendix 1 of an author manuscript.
Form License source
Hemingway School Connectedness subscale
Free, with conditionsLicense wording
“non-commercial use; no charge. Author requests review of terms and an acceptance email before use.”
Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.
6 items1-2 min (estimated)School attachment
- Scoring
- Reverse the negatively worded school-boredom item; mean six 1-5 ratings, higher = greater connectedness.
- Named by funders
- OJJDP-funded National Mentoring Resource Center resource, not a mandate.
- Validity
- Karcher & Sass, 2010, J Counseling Psychology 57:274-289; DOI 10.1037/a0019357.
- Caveat
- EN; Spanish, French, Chinese. Use the school subscale and age-appropriate version; the full connectedness instrument is longer.
Form License source
Looks free, is not 15
Each of these circulates widely and carries a licensing restriction. The wording is quoted from the publisher's page.
- Client Satisfaction Questionnaire, CSQ-8. Use requires "express written permission" and "remission of use fees." Applies to service and research use. It also measures satisfaction, not outcome change. Licensing page
- Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, MMAS-8 / MMAS-4. Owner license pricing posts fees of $7 per MMAS-8 administration and $4 per MMAS-4 administration, with other licensing arrangements. Licensing page
- Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, CD-RISC. The author's request form refers to "terms of use and payment details"; PhenX confirms a licensing agreement is required. Current owner-site pricing is unverified because those sites did not open. Licensing page
- Outcome Rating Scale, ORS. Agency and group paper licenses carry fees; electronic or digital use is excluded from that license. Not universally paid, but not blanket-free for a nonprofit agency. Licensing page
- Session Rating Scale, SRS. Same agency-fee and electronic-use restrictions as the ORS. It also measures therapeutic alliance rather than participant outcomes. Licensing page
- SDQ embedded in your digital product. Electronic reproduction requires authorization and may involve payment. This does not invalidate the conditional paper-use entry in the instrument list. Licensing page
- PRAPARE embedded in a platform. Developer agreements are listed at $5,000 per year (regular) or $10,000 per year (enterprise). Royalty-free end-user agreements are a separate category. These are the published 2024 terms, not a verified 2026 quotation. Licensing page
- North Carolina Family Assessment Scale, General Services (NCFAS-G). The license is issued to the purchasing agency, and cost depends on the number of workers using it. Viewing a sample is not permission to administer. Licensing page
- Parenting Stress Index, 4th ed., Short Form (PSI-4-SF). The publisher's purchase page lists paid materials. Its 36 items also exceed the 30-item length limit. Licensing page
- BASC-3 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS). The publisher page lists paid forms and digital administrations and Qualification Level B. Short administration and simple completion do not make it public domain. Licensing page
- Drug Abuse Screening Test, DAST-10. The instrument is under copyright: "Copyright 1982 by Harvey A. Skinner, PhD, and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada." The PhenX page allows reproduction "for non-commercial use (clinical, research, training purposes)" with credit to the author, and says it "may be obtained through" CAMH. Conditional, not unrestricted; CAMH's own terms were not opened. Licensing page
- Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and Beck Anxiety Inventory. The publisher sells it: the Pearson page lists the BDI-2 Complete Kit (Print) at $195.70, with items from $3.90, and shows Qualification level B. Licensing page
- Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). PAR publishes it and the site states "All rights reserved." A modified version requires a permission request to PAR. Licensing page
- Outcomes Star (family of Stars). The site refers to licence holders and states "all Outcomes Star licence holders must complete our core training programme." A licence is required; the page opened does not state fees. Licensing page
- PROMIS short forms embedded in an electronic platform. The PROMIS terms state "Permission to use PROMIS INSTRUMENTS does NOT grant permission to modify the wording or layout of items," or "to distribute to others for a fee, or to translate items into any other language." The need for HealthMeasures Electronic Administration Permission (HEAP) when embedding in a platform comes from secondary sources and was not found in the terms page. Licensing page