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ABSTRACT:
We report findings of a convergent validity study examining the internalizing subscale (SRSS-15) of the newly adapted Student Risk Screening Scale for Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE12) with the internalizing subscale of the Teacher Report Form (TRF; Achenbach, 1991) conducted in 13 schools across three states with 195 kindergarten through fifth-grade elementary students. Results of logistic regression and receiver operating characteristics curves suggest the following cut scores for the SRSS-15: 0-1 low risk, 2-3 moderate risk, and 4-15 high risk for internalizing behavior patterns, relative to the internalizing subscale of the TRF subscale. Limitations and future directions are discussed, along with illustrations of how to use the SRSS-15 scores for decision making in a tiered system of supports.
* The Student Risk Screening Scale (SRSS; Drummond, 1994) is a free-access, brief, systematic screening tool developed to detect elementary-age youth with antisocial tendencies. This seven-item tool requires approximately 10-15 min of teacher time to rate an entire class, making this a highly feasible tool for use in a tiered system of supports to detect students with behavior challenges for whom primary prevention efforts alone are insufficient. More specifically, using a 4-point Likert-type scale (never = 0, occasionally = 1, sometimes - 2, frequently = 3), teachers rate each student on seven items: (a) steal; (b) lie, cheat, sneak; (c) behavior problem; (d) peer rejection; (e) low academic achievement; (f) negative attitude; and
(g) aggressive behavior. These items are summed to obtain a total score for each student and used to place students into one of the following risk categories developed by Drummond (1994): low (0-3), moderate (4-8), or high (9-21).
These data can be used for a number of purposes within of the framework of tiered systems of support as well as in schools that do not yet employ graduated systems of support. For example, screening data can be analyzed to examine the overall level of risk in a building or district, ascertain if teacher-level strategies and supports (e.g., increasing opportunities to respond, incorporating instructional choice) may be warranted, and determine students in need of validated Tier 2 (for some) and Tier 3 (for a few) supports (Lane & Walker, 2015; Oakes, Lane, Cox, & Messenger, 2014).
While the SRSS can be completed in a...