Testing a multi-stage screening system: Predicting performance on Australia’s national achievement test using teachers’ ratings of academic and social behaviors

Abstract

This study addresses the predictive validity of results from a screening system of academic enablers, with a sample of Australian elementary school students, when the criterion variable is end-of-year achievement. The investigation included (a) comparing the predictive validity of a brief criterion-referenced nomination system with more comprehensive behavior ratings, and (b) determining the optimal combination of scores to gather from this system for identifying academic difficulties. Students (n = 360) were rated using both the Performance Screening Guides (PSGs; Elliott & Gresham, 2007) and the Rating Scales (Gresham & Elliott, 2008) of the Social Skills Improvement System. The PSGs were highly sensitive (0.95) predictors of below minimum standard performance on the national test. The Rating Scales, including the brief academic competence scale in particular, added predictive value in most domains. The discussion addresses implications of these findings for school psychologists and other educators interested in the role of social behaviors as academic enablers and predictors of academic achievement.

Trajetórias de habilidades sociais e problemas de comportamento no ensino fundamental: influência da educação infantil

“…Ganhos no aprendizado são mediados em parte por efeitos de engajamento nas atividades escolares (Kettler et al, 2011). Diferenças de gênero e origem social têm sido relatadas; os professores em geral avaliam mais positivamente as meninas (Bandeira, Rocha, Freitas, Del Prette, & Del Prette, 2006;Gardinal & Marturano, 2007;Sallquist et al, 2009) e as crianças de nível socioeconômico (NSE) mais alto (Bandeira et al, 2006; M. R. Reynolds et al, 2010).…”

Simultaneous assessement of social skills and behavior problems: Education and gender

“…Thus, skilled social behaviors can be considered inversely proportional to behavior problems (Kettler, Elliott, Davies, & Griffin, 2011;Miner, & Clarke-Stewart, 2008;Pizato, Marturano, & Fontaine, 2014). …”

Diagnostic Utility of the Social Skills Improvement System Performance Screening Guide

“…The conditional probability analysis measures four things (Kettler et al, 2012): sensitivity (the likelihood that a screening test will correctly identify a student as below the minimum cutoff), specificity (the likelihood that a screening test will correctly not identify a student who is at or above the minimum cutoff), positive predictive value (PPV; the likelihood that an identified student is below the minimum cutoff), and negative predictive value (NPV; the likelihood that a student who is not identified is at or above the minimum cutoff).…”

“…There Finally, Kettler, Elliott, Davies, and Griffin (2012) included the only diagnostic utility study available on the SSIS-PSG. They used an Australian sample of 360 students in both third and fifth grades.…”