Abstract: School characteristics is a major concern in school education worldwide. However, there still remains no agreed understanding of it, and there is little research on measurement of school characteristics. Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches, this study employed various research methods, including literature review, questionnaire survey, interview, and some data analysis methods like exploratory factor a-nalysis and structural equation model. It first redefined the concept of school characteristics, and then devel-oped the measurement index system, as well as the measurement scale and model for school characteristics. The measurement model for school characteristics involves three dimensions:adaptability of school philosophy to internal reality and external environment, consistency between practice and theory, the superiority of the effects of school characteristics and their quantitative relation.

Key words: school characteristics, operational definition, scale, index system, measurement model