The SSIS SEL Brief Scales–Student Form

Initial Development and Validation

Anthony, Christopher J.
Elliott, Stephen N.
DiPerna, James C.
Lei, Pui-Wa

School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies, University of Florida
School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University
Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, The Pennsylvania State University

Christopher J. Anthony, School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies, University of Florida, 2-189 Norman Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611 [email protected]

Received November 21, 2019

revised May 8, 2020

Accepted May 15, 2020

School Psychology 35(4):p 277-283, July 2020. | DOI: 10.1037/spq0000390

The SSIS SEL Brief Scales–Student Form (SSIS SELb-S) was developed to create an efficient assessment of students’ social and emotional learning (SEL). Using item response theory with ratings from 800 students in Grades 3–12 from the standardization sample, 20 items were selected from the full-length SSIS SEL Rating Form - Student to maximize score information and rating efficiency. After identifying items for the SSIS SELb-S, we conducted several reliability and validity analyses. These analyses provided initial support for the use of the SSIS SELb-S for low-stakes decision making contexts. As such, the SSIS SELb-S holds promise for incorporating the perspectives of students ages 8–18 into assessments of their SEL competencies.