Informant Discrepancies in Universal Screening as a Function of Student and Teacher Characteristics

Abstract

Despite the widespread use of school-based universal screening systems for social, emotional, and behavioral risk, limited research has examined discrepancies in ratings provided by teachers and their secondary students. Using the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS; teacher report) and mySAEBRS (student report) scores from a middle school sample, we examined the magnitudes and prevalence of informant discrepancies as well as associated student and teacher factors. Analyses revealed discrepancies consistently in the direction of teachers reporting lower levels of risk than students and were starkest for the Emotional Behavior Risk subscale. Across subscales, multiple student and teacher factors significantly predicted variance in discrepancies. We discuss these findings in the context of implications for selecting screening informants at the secondary level and opportunities to advance practical guidance in this area.

Impact Statement

Middle school students and their teachers provide discrepant ratings within universal screenings of students’ social, emotional, and behavioral risk. In this sample, students self-reported higher levels of risk than their teachers reported for them. This was especially true for risk in the Emotional Behavior domain and for students and teachers with certain demographic characteristics.

Keywords:

• Assessment
• social–emotional
• mental health services
• behavior
• hierarchical linear modeling
• service delivery models

Associate Editor:

• Cixin Wang

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Education Mental Health Professional Demonstration Grant #S184X190033.

Notes on contributors

Brittany N. Zakszeski

Brittany Zakszeski, PhD, NCSP, BCBA-D is an assistant professor of school psychology in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. Dr. Zakszeski’s research centers on promoting students’ and personnel’s mental and behavioral health through multitiered systems of support in schools. Her work leverages advances in implementation science and organizational management to address barriers to schools’ adoption, high-fidelity implementation, and sustained use of evidence-based assessment and intervention practices.

Heather E. Ormiston

Heather E. Ormiston, PhD, NCSP, HSPP is an assistant professor in the school psychology program at Indiana University Bloomington and Director of the School-Based Mental Health Research and Training Initiative. Her current research focuses on examining the impact of trauma-informed multitiered systems of supports on students’ academic, behavioral, and socioemotional outcomes. She also conducts research examining family and educator perspectives of students reentering the educational setting after inpatient hospitalization.

Malena A. Nygaard

Malena A. Nygaard, MSEd, is a doctoral candidate in the school psychology program at Indiana University Bloomington and a graduate assistant for a U.S. Department of Education grant examining the impact of trauma-informed multitiered systems of supports on student academic, behavioral, and socioemotional outcomes. Her research focuses on school-based mental health practices and the continuity and coordination of care for students with intensive socioemotional needs.

Kane Carlock

Kane Carlock, MSEd, is a doctoral candidate in school psychology at Indiana University Bloomington. His research and clinical interests are focused on the integration of behavioral health services within and across population health settings such as schools and primary care. This work is guided by frameworks from public health and implementation science.