Assessment of children referred to and receiving special education services is based on a deficit model. Recently, questions about a deficit-driven assessment model have led to calls for alternative approaches. A strength-based approach to assessment focuses on the strengths, resources, and competencies of a child and family. The purpose of this article is twofold: (a) to provide an overview of strength-based assessment and (b) to discuss the development and psychometric characteristics of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS). The BERS is a norm-referenced, standardized test that assesses the strengths of children and adolescents.
Emotional/behavioral disturbance (EBD) is characterized by a range of behaviors that adversely affect a child's academic performance and cannot be explained by other sensory or health impairments. Although research has clearly demonstrated that children and youth with EBD tend to exhibit high rates of problem behavior, research on the characteristics of their academic performance has been less clear. This article reports the results of a meta-analysis of the academic status of students with EBD. The overall effect size was −.64, which indicated that students with EBD had significant deficits in academic achievement. An examination of moderators (subject area, setting, and age) indicated that students with EBD performed at a significantly lower level than did students without disabilities across academic subjects and settings; greater deficits were not observed in older students with EBD (i.e., those more than 12 years old), as compared to younger students. Implications and areas for future research are discussed.
This review conducted a comprehensive examination of the current state of the literature on the academic status of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). The authors examined the literature to assess (a) student characteristics, (b) placement settings, (c) academic subject areas, and (d) measures used to assess academic achievement. Second, when possible, the functioning level of students was examined.Third, trends in the research over the past 4 decades were assessed. Although several investigators have researched the academic status of these students, significant limitations exist in the research, including incomplete reporting of student information, inadequate research on specific academic skill sets, and limited numbers of studies assessing students served in general education settings. Implications of the findings are discussed.
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