The current study examined the psychometric properties of a set of maximally efficient items (SMIs) from the Social Skills Improvement System–Teacher Rating Scale (SSIS-TRS). Sixty-three teachers rated 302 second through sixth graders on these SMIs, and several concurrent validity measures were administered. Results provided initial support for the validity of scores from the SMIs. Implications for practice and psychological research are discussed.
American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education. (2014). The Standards for educational and psychological testing. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
2.
AnthonyC. J.DiPernaJ. C.LeiP.-W. (2016). Maximizing measurement efficiency of behavior rating scales using item response theory: An example with the Social Skills Improvement System–Teacher Rating Scale. Journal of School Psychology, 55, 57-69. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2015.12.005
3.
CaemmererJ. M.KeithT. Z. (2015). Longitudinal, reciprocal effects of social skills and achievement from kindergarten to eighth grade. Journal of School Psychology, 53, 265-281.
4.
CampbellD. T.FiskeD. W. (1959). Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56, 81-105.
CarterA. S.Briggs-GowanM. J. (2000). Manual of the Infant-Toddler Social-Emotional Assessment. New Haven, CT: Yale University.
7.
CowenE. L.PedersonA.BabigianH.IssoL. D.TrostM. A. (1973). Long-term follow-up of early detected vulnerable children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 41, 438-446.
8.
CronbachL. J.MeehlP. E. (1955). Construct validity in psychological tests. Psychological Bulletin, 52, 281-302.
9.
de AyalaR. J. (2009). The theory and practice of item response theory. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
10.
DemarayM. K.JenkinsL. N. (2011). Relations among academic enablers and academic achievement in children with and without high levels of parent-rated symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Psychology in the Schools, 48, 573-586. doi:10.1002/pits.20578
11.
DiPernaJ. C.BaileyC. G.AnthonyC. J. (2014). Broadband screening of academic and social behavior. In KettlerR. J.GloverT. A.AlbersC. A.Feeney-KettlerK. A. (Eds.), Universal screening in educational settings: Identification, implementation, and interpretation. (pp. 223-248). Washington, DC: APA Books.
12.
DiPernaJ. C.ElliottS. N. (2000). Academic Competence Evaluation Scales. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
13.
DiPernaJ. C.VolpeR. J.ElliottS. N. (2002). A model of academic enablers and elementary reading/language arts achievement. School Psychology Review, 31, 298-312.
14.
DiPernaJ. C.VolpeR. J.ElliottS. N. (2005). A model of academic enablers and mathematics achievement in the elementary grades. Journal of School Psychology, 43, 379-392.
15.
DirksM. A.TreatT. A.WeersingV. R. (2007). Integrating theoretical, measurement, and intervention models of youth social competence. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 327-347. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2006.11.002
16.
DurlakJ. A.WeissbergR. P.DymnickiA. B.TaylorR. D.SchellingerK. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82, 405-432. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
17.
EdelenM. O.ReeveB. B. (2007). Applying item response theory (IRT) modeling to questionnaire development, evaluation, and refinement. Quality of Life Research, 16, 5-18.
18.
FlemingC. B.HaggertyK. P.CatalanoR. F.HarachiT. W.MazzaJ. J.GrumanD. H. (2005). Do social and behavioral characteristics targeted by preventive interventions predict standardized test scores and grades?Journal of School Health, 75, 342-349.
19.
GalesicM.BosnjakM. (2009). Effects of questionnaire length on participation and indicators of response quality in a web survey. Public Opinion Quarterly, 73, 349-360. doi:10.1093/poq/nfp031
20.
GreenbergM. T.WeissbergR. P.O’BrienM. U.ZinsJ. E.FredericksL.ResnikH.EliasM. J. (2003). Enhancing school-based prevention and youth development through coordinated social, emotional, and academic learning. American Psychologist, 58, 466-474.
21.
GreshamF. M. (1981). Social skills training with handicapped children: A review. Review of Educational Research, 51, 139-176.
22.
GreshamF. M. (2016). Social skills assessment and intervention for children and youth. Cambridge Journal of Education, 46, 319-332. doi:10.1080/0305764X.2016.1195788
23.
GreshamF. M.ElliotS. N. (1990). Social skills rating system. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
24.
GreshamF. M.ElliottS. N. (2008). Social Skills Improvement System–Rating Scales. Minneapolis, MN: Pearson Assessments.
25.
GreshamF. M.ElliottS. N.CookC. R.VanceM. J.KettlerR. (2010). Cross-informant agreement for ratings for social skill and problem behavior ratings: An investigation of the Social Skills Improvement System–Rating Scales. Psychological Assessment, 22, 157-166. doi:10.1037/a0018124
26.
GreshamF. M.ElliottS. N.VanceM. J.CookC. R. (2011). Comparability of Social Skills Rating System to the Social Skills Improvement System: Content and psychometric comparisons across elementary and secondary age levels. School Psychology Quarterly, 26, 27-44. doi:10.1037/a0022662
27.
HalleT. G.Darling-ChurchillK. E. (2016). Review of measures of social and emotional development. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 45, 8-18. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2016.02.003
28.
HambletonR. K.SwaminathanH.RogersH. J. (1991). Fundamentals of item response theory. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
29.
LorenzD. J.DattaS.HarkemaS. J. (2011). Marginal association measures for clustered data. Statistics in Medicine, 30, 3181-3191.
30.
MaleckiC. K.ElliotS. N. (2002). Children’s social behaviors as predictors of academic achievement: A longitudinal analysis. School Psychology Quarterly, 17, 1-23. doi:10.1521/scpq.17.1.1.19902
31.
McDermottP. A.LeighN. M.PerryM. A. (2002). Development and validation of the preschool learning behaviors scale. Psychology in the Schools, 39, 353-365. doi:10.1002/pits.10036
32.
NeringM. L.OstiniR. (Eds.). (2010). Handbook of polytomous item response theory models. New York, NY: Routledge.
33.
OberleE.Schonert-ReichlK. A.HertzmanC.ZumboB. D. (2014). Social–emotional competencies make the grade: Predicting academic success in early adolescence. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 35, 138-147.
34.
R Development Core Team. (2016). R: A language and environment for statistical computing [Computer software]. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Available from https://www.R-project.org/
35.
Renaissance Learning, Inc. (2007). Understanding STAR assessments. Wisconsin Rapids, WI: Author.
36.
ReynoldsC. R.KamphausR. W. (2004). Behavior assessment system for children (2nd ed.). Bloomington, MN: Pearson Assessments.
37.
SegrinC. (2000). Social skills deficits associated with depression. Clinical Psychology Review, 20, 379-403.
38.
SmithG. T.McCarthyD. M.AndersonK. G. (2000). On the sins of short-form development. Psychological Assessment, 12, 102-111. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.12.1.102
39.
SteigerJ. H. (1980). Tests for comparing elements of a correlation matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 87, 245-251.
40.
TurneyK.McLanahanS. (2015). The academic consequences of early childhood problem behaviors. Social Science Research, 54, 131-145. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.06.022
41.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center on Response to Intervention. (2010). Review of progress monitoring tools [Review of STAR Math]. Washington, DC: Author.
WalkerH. M.SeversonH. H.FeilE. G. (2014). Systematic screening for behavior disorders (SSBD) technical manual: Universal screening for preK–9 (2nd ed.). Eugene, OR: Pacific Northwest.
44.
WentzelK. R. (1993). Does being good make the grade? Social behavior and academic competence in middle school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 357-364.
45.
WhitcombS.MerrellK. (2013). Behavioral, social, and emotional assessment of children and adolescents (4th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
46.
WidamanK. F.LittleT. D.PreacherK. J.SawalaniG. M. (2011). On creating and using short forms of scales in secondary research. In TrzesniewskiK. H.DonnellanM. B.LucasR. E. (Eds.), Secondary data analysis: An introduction for psychologists (pp. 39-61). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
47.
YoungstromE. A. (2013). Future directions in psychological assessment: Combining evidence-based medicine innovations with psychology’s historical strengths to enhance utility. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 42, 139-159. doi:10.1080/15374416.2012.736358
48.
ZaslowM.HalleT.MartinL.CabreraN.CalkinsJ.PitzerL.GeyelinN. M. (2006). Child outcome measures in the study of child care quality. Evaluation Review, 30, 577-610. doi:10.1177/0193841X06291529