Academic optimism, a measure originally developed by Hoy, Tarter, and Woolfolk Hoy (2005), is examined in an effort to test the construct validity. This research seeks to address Hoy et al.'s construct that the collective properties of academic emphasis, efficacy, and faculty trust are multiple elements of academic optimism (Hoy et al., 2005). Researchers have indicated that there are other school characteristics that shape student performance outside of the socioeconomic factors. Hoy, Tarter, & Woolfolk Hoy (2005) examined three organizational properties that made a difference in student achievement: the academic emphasis of the school, the collective efficacy of the faculty, and the faculty's trust in parents and students. They suggested the following: “Academic emphasis, collective efficacy, and faculty trust are tightly woven together and seem to reinforce each other as they positively constrain student performance” (Hoy, Tarter, and Woolfolk Hoy, 2005, p. 4). This research seeks to cross-validate the construct of academic optimism proposed by Hoy, Tarter, and Woolfolk by (2005) on an independent sample. A second goal is to assess the construct validity of academic optimism by determining the degree to which it is related to the broader construct of dispositional optimism (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994). By testing the Hoy et al. model, administrators will better understand the key elements needed, outside of SES, to improve schools and students' learning. The first hypothesis is academic emphasis, collective efficacy, and faculty trust in parents and students will be significantly correlated with each other and will load on a single component. The second hypothesis is academic emphasis, collective efficacy, and faculty trust in parents and students will be significantly less correlated with other constructs measured than with each other. The third hypothesis is construct academic optimism will not be highly correlated with the construct of dispositional optimism, providing evidence of divergent validity for Hoy et al.'s construct.