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An Introduction to the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment
A measure of behaviors related to resilience, social-emotional competence, and school success for children in
Kindergarten through the Eighth grade.
Dear Colleague:
EnclosedpleasefindinformationontheDevereuxStudentStrengthsAssessment(DESSA),a nationally-normed behavior rating scale designed to assess social-emotional competencies of children and youth in grades K-8. This assessment was developed in response to a number of national trends in our schools and communities including:
• Thegrowingevidencebasethatstudents’social-emotionalcompetenciesare essential to academic success (Paytonetal.2008).
• Theacknowledgementthatmental,emotional and behavioral disorders create an under-recognized public healthburdenof$247billionannuallyanddeeplyimpactthelivedexperienceofoneineveryfiveAmericanfamilies(O’Connell,Boat,andWarner,2009).
• Therecognitionofsocial-emotionalcompetence promotion as a credible strategy for the prevention of mental,
emotional and behavioral disorders in childrenandyouth(O’Connell,Boat,andWarner,2009).
• Theemergingparadigmshiftinpupilpersonnel services, including school psychology, from a “wait-to-fail” and “test and place” approach to a universal mentalhealthpromotionagenda(Doll&Cummings,2008).
• Thepracticeandpolicyemphasisonresilienceasanorganizingframeworkfor the provision of mental health services(NewFreedomCommissiononMentalHealth,2003).
Forpractitionerstofullyembracetheserecentdevelopmentsinawaythatprovidesthemaximumbenefittochildrenandyouth,wemustfirsthaveascientifically-soundanduser-friendlymeansofassessingeachstudent’ssocial-emotionalcompetencies.Suchindividualizedassessmentwill allow us to recognize, support, and sustain social-emotional strengths and to allocate resources toaddressthesocial-emotionalneedsofeachstudent.Ofequalimportance,whentheseresultsare aggregated across students, classes, schools/programs, and districts/communities, they enable ustodescribethesocial-emotionalhealthofentirepopulationsandevaluatetheefficacyandeffectiveness of programs designed to promote social-emotional competence. This brief introduction is designed to provide a basic overview of the content, uses, and psychometricqualitiesoftheDESSA.MorecompleteinformationcanbefoundintheDESSAmanual(LeBuffe,Shapiro,&Naglieri,2009).MoreinformationcanalsobeobtainedattheDESSAwebsite,www.studentstrengths.org,bycalling1-866-872-4687,orbyemailingusatDESSA@Devereux.org.ThankyouforyourinterestintheDESSA.
PaulLeBuffe&LindaLikinsCo-DirectorsDevereuxCenterforResilientChildren
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Introduction to the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA)
ByPaulLeBuffe,ValerieShapiro,andJackNaglieri
DEScrIptIon of thE DESSA TheDESSAisa72-item,standardized,norm-referenced behavior rating scale that assesses the social-emotional competencies that serve as protective factors for children inkindergartenthroughtheeighthgrade.TheDESSAcanbecompletedbyparents/guardians,teachers, or staff at schools and child-serving agencies, including after-school, social service, and mental health programs. The assessment is entirely strength-based; meaning that the itemsquerypositivebehaviors(e.g.,getalongwithothers)ratherthanmaladaptiveones(e.g.,annoyothers).
TheDESSAisorganizedintoconceptually-derived scales that provide information about eightkeysocial-emotionalcompetencies.Standardscorescanbeusedtocalibrateeachchild’scompetenceineachoftheeightdimensions and guide school/program-wide, class-wide, and individual strategies to promote those competencies.Foreachitem,theraterisaskedtoindicateonafive-pointscalehowoftenthestudent engaged in each behavior over the past fourweeks.ApartialreproductionoftheDESSAisprovidedinFigure1.Thesameformisusedforall ages and both parent and teacher raters.
fIgurE 1
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uSES of thE DESSATheDESSAhasbeendevelopedtoserveavarietyofusesincluding:
• Providingapsychometricallysound,strength-based measure of social-emotional competence in children and youth.
• Identifyingchildrenandyouthatriskof developing social-emotional problems before those problems emerge.
• Identifyingtheuniquestrengthsandneeds of individual children and youth whohavealreadybeenidentifiedashaving social, emotional, and behavioral concerns.
• Providingmeaningfulinformationonchild strengths for inclusion in individual educationandserviceplans,asrequiredby federal, state, and funder regulations.
• Facilitatingparent-professionalcollaboration, by providing a means of comparing ratings on the same child to identify similarities and meaningful differences.
• Informingtheselectionand/ordesign
of interventions for children needing variouslevelsofsupport(universal,targeted,andindicated).
• Facilitatingprogressmonitoringforindividual children, by evaluating change over time at the individual scale level.
• Enablingtheevaluationofsocial-emotional learning and positive youth development programs, by rigorously evaluating outcomes at the student, classroom, school/program, and district/community levels.
• Servingasasoundresearchtooltoadvance science and support public policy.
• Providingacommonlanguageandapproach to those adults involved in promoting positive youth development including: social scientists, policy makers,communitymembers,mentalhealth and social service professionals, teachers, and after-school staff.
Chapter6oftheDESSAmanualprovidesmoredetailonthesevarioususesandorganizesthemwithinamulti-tiered(universal,targeted,andindicated)preventionframework.
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DESSA ScALESTheeightscalenames,scaledefinitions,andsamplescaleitemsareasfollows:
• Self-Awareness(7items):Achild’srealisticunderstanding of her/his strengths and limitations and consistent desire for self-improvement.
4giveanopinionwhenasked?4describehowhe/shewasfeeling?4asksomebodyforfeedback?
• Social-Awareness(9items):Achild’scapacity to interact with others in a way that shows respect for their ideas and behaviors, recognizes her/his impact on them, and uses cooperation and tolerance in social situations.
4get along with different types ofpeople?4cooperatewithpeersorsiblings?4forgive somebody that hurt or upset
her/him?
• Self-Management(11items):Achild’ssuccess in controlling his or her emotions andbehaviors,tocompleteataskorsucceed in a new or challenging situation.
4waitforher/histurn?4staycalmwhenfacedwithachallenge?4adjustwelltochangesinplans?
• Goal-DirectedBehavior(10items):Achild’sinitiation of, and persistence in completing, tasksofvaryingdifficulty.
4keeptryingwhenunsuccessful?4seekoutadditionalinformation?4takestepstoachievegoals?
• RelationshipSkills(10items):Achild’sconsistent performance of socially
acceptable actions that promote and maintain positive connections with others.
4complimentorcongratulatesomebody?4offertohelpsomebody?4expressconcernforanotherperson?
• PersonalResponsibility(10items):Achild’stendency to be careful and reliable in her/his actions and in contributing to group efforts.
4rememberimportantinformation?4serve an important role at home orschool?4handlehis/herbelongingswithcare?
• DecisionMaking(8items):Achild’sapproach to problem solving that involves learning from others and from her/his own previousexperiences,usingher/hisvaluesto guide her/his action, and accepting responsibility for her/his decisions.
4followtheexampleofapositive rolemodel?4accept responsibility for what he/shedid?4 learnfromexperience?
• OptimisticThinking(7items):Achild’sattitudeofconfidence,hopefulness,andpositivethinkingregardingherself/himselfand her/his life situations in the past, present, and future.
4saygoodthingsaboutherself/himself?4 lookforwardtoclassesoractivities atschool?4expresshighexpectationsfor himself/herself?
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DESSA rESuLtS: ScorES AnD profILES EachoftheeightDESSAscalescoresis derived from the ratings of the items assigned to that scale. A Social-Emotional composite score is also included, which is based on a combination of the eight scales. This composite score provides an overall indication ofthestrengthofthechild’ssocial-emotionalcompetence.DESSAresultsarereportedusingT-scoresandpercentileranks. Inadditiontothestandardscores,DESSAresults are presented graphically using the IndividualStudentProfileaswellastheClassroom/ProgramProfile.TheIndividualStudentProfile(Figure2)conveysthestrengths and needs of the student compared tonationalnorms.BecausetheDESSAisastrength-based instrument, high scores are desirableand,ontheprofile,scalescoresthatfallinthegray-shadedarea(T-scoresof60andabove)aredescribedasstrengths.Scoresthatfallinthenon-shadedareaontheprofile
(T-scoresof41-59inclusive)arecharacterizedas typicalscores.Scalescoresthatfallinthered-shadedarea(T-scoreof40andbelow)are described as needs for instruction. The IndividualStudentProfileisveryusefulinconveying results to parent/guardians or in facilitating discussion in team meetings. TheClassroom/ProgramProfile(Figure3)graphicallydepictsthesocial-emotionalfunctioning of an entire classroom, program or othergroupofstudents.OntheClassroom/ProgramProfile,eachstudentisarow,eachsocial-emotional competency is a column, and scale scores for each student on each scale are color-coded.Agreenboxindicatesastrength,ablueboxatypicalscore,andaredboxaneedforinstruction.Byexaminingrows,ateacherorprogramleadercanquicklyascertainthe strengths and needs of each student. Byinspectingthecolumns,areasofcommonstrengths or needs can be readily seen.
fIgurE 2: Individual Student Profile
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Inadditiontoguidinguniversal(classroomorprogram-wide)strategies,theClassroom/ProgramProfilecanalsobeveryusefultocounselors,psychologists,social-workersandteachersin
gauging the social-emotional characteristics of theclassaswhole.Finallytherelativeprevalenceofgreen,blue,andredboxescanbeusedinprogram evaluation.
fIgurE 3: Classroom/Program Profile
coLor coDIng LEgEnD ScALE LEgEnD
first
A
A
A
B
c
E
E
h
J
J
J
K
K
K
K
p
p
V
Y
A
r
S
m
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Y
E
x
L
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A
B
L
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x
o
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m
m
12/29/2002
4/16/2003
7/6/2003
9/15/2002
12/12/2002
6/4/2003
9/21/2002
4/17/2003
7/18/2003
6/19/2002
3/13/2003
12/11/2002
10/15/2002
2/26/2003
10/27/2002
3/30/2003
12/2/2002
4/27/2003
9/18/2002
4/10/2003
49
59
44
54
38
45
54
48
46
46
42
61
50
54
38
54
54
54
61
53
47
55
40
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39
51
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62
40
40
42
57
45
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37
45
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43
55
38
48
57
62
40
40
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57
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48
37
61
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69
55
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60
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41
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41
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62
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66
58
48
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43
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44
44
47
59
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40
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59
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59
41
52
38
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40
46
48
63
35
35
42
57
44
50
33
42
46
55
61
52
48
52
43
53
42
44
50
50
39
39
41
56
49
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43
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50
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48
56
44
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39
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42
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49
52
38
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60
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Last Birth Date pr ot gB So Dm rS SA Sm SEc
pr ot gB So Dm rS SA Sm SEc
Teacher’sName:
number of children grEEn
number of children BLuE
number of children rED
grEEn -scalescores60andaboveBLuE -scalescoresbetween41-59rED -scalescores40andbelow
pr - PersonalResponsibilityot - OptimisticThinkinggB - Goal-directedBehavior
So - SocialAwarenessDm - DecisionMakingrS - RelationshipSkills
SA - Self-AwarenessSm - Self-ManagementSEc - Social-Emotional Composite
Date:
2
16
2
1
14
5
3
13
4
6
13
1
0
20
0
0
19
1
2
13
5
0
18
2
1
17
2
Susan Osborne April 2009
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BASIc IntErprEtAtIon of thE DESSA InterpretingDESSAresultsisathree-step process proceeding from the most general indicatorofthestudent’ssocial-emotionalfunctioningtospecificbehaviorsthatprovidebothadetailedunderstandingofthestudent’sstrengths and needs, and also serve as the basis for planning individualized strategies to support the development of social-emotional competencies.
ThefirststepistheexaminationoftheSocial-Emotional composite. This scale gives anoverallindicationofthechild’ssocial-emotional competencies. This scale is the most reliable and valid overall indicator of strengths withintheDESSA.Becauseitcharacterizesthechild’ssocialandemotionalstrengthswithasinglenumber,theSocial-EmotionalCompositeis particularly useful in outcome measurement and program evaluation.
Steptwoconsistsofexamining the eight separate DESSA scales and noting the T-scores and corresponding strength, typical, andneedforinstructionranges.ExaminationoftheseparateDESSAscaleT-scores providesusefulinformationaboutthespecificstrengthsandneedsofthechild.Forinstance,thescorescansuggestwhetherachild’sstrengths or needs are primarily intrapersonal (asevidencedbyhighorlowscoresontheSelf-AwarenessandSelf-ManagementScales)orinterpersonal(asshownbyhighorlowscoresonSocial-AwarenessandRelationshipSkills).ExaminationoftheDESSAIndividualStudentProfileontheDESSARecordFormisparticularly useful at this step, as the visual depictionofthescalescorescanmakepatternseasier to discern.
Stepthree,Identification of specific strengths and needs, involves a method called Individual Item Analysis. Any item can represent a need for instruction if the rating the child received is substantially lower than the rating given to children who have typical scores.Similarly,anyitemcanrepresentastrength if the rating is substantially higher than that given to children with typical scores. This approach can be used to identify specific,focalstrengths(scoresgreaterthanorequaltooneSDabovethemeanofthestandardizationsample)aswellasspecificneedsforinstruction(lessthanorequaltooneSDbelowthemean).
The primary advantage of this method is thatitallowsforidentificationofspecificbehaviorsthatcanbeleveraged(strengths)orremediated(needsforinstruction)byspecificinterventions.Individualitemidentificationfacilitates the development of goals and objectivesforIEPsandinterventionplansthatare individualized and behaviorally grounded. TheidentificationofspecificstrengthsandneedsisanimportantstepinlinkingDESSAassessment results to interventions.
The individual item scores for both strengths and needs are provided on pages 4and5oftheDESSARecordForm(seeFigure4).Onthosepages,theitemrawscoreboxesthataresquare,shadedinred,andconnected by horizontal lines are in the need forinstructionrange.Itemrawscoreboxesthataresquareandhaveablackborderareinthetypicalrange.Itemrawscoreboxesthatarehexagonsandshadedingreyareinthestrength range.
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fIgurE 4
ADVAncED IntErprEtAtIon of thE DESSA OneofthegoalsoftheDESSAistoprovide professionals with tools to enhance their practice and improve outcomes for students. Two of these tools are rater comparisons and pretest-posttest comparisons.Inbothinstances,theDESSAmanual includes tables that indicate how much ofadifferenceneedstoexistbetweentworatingstoconcludethatthereisasignificantdifferenceinthescores.Inthecaseofratercomparisons,thisenablestheDESSAusertocompare ratings obtained from two teachers, two parents, or a parent and a teacher to determine if they are perceiving the same strengths and needs in the student. This can result in more meaningful interpretations of thestudent’sbehavior,bettercoordinationofstrategies across classrooms and the home, and greater collaboration between the teachers/staff and parents. This approach can also be used in non-school settings to compare ratings of staff to each other or to parents/guardians.
The same approach is used in pretest-posttest comparisons to determine if the change in scores between the two administrationsoftheDESSAisreliable.Thatis,hasthestudentshownsignificantimprovement in his/her social-emotional competencies?Inbothraterandpretest-posttest comparisons, the determination of significantchangecanbemadeforeachofthe eight social-emotional competencies as wellastheSocial-EmotionalComposite.Thisenables the professional to determine not only if the raters agree, or if the child has shown improvement,butinwhatspecificareas.Thisinformation can then be aggregated across students, classroom/programs, schools, districts/communities to evaluate programs andinformqualityimprovementefforts.Theseadvancedinterpretationtechniquesalso support data-driven practice and provide solid practice-based evidence of program/curriculum effectiveness.
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BASIc pSYchomEtrIc propErtIES of thE DESSA TheDESSAwasdevelopedtomeetorexceedprofessionalstandardsforahigh-quality,well-developed assessment instrument. The standardization sample; internal, inter-rater, and test-retest reliabilities; and content, construct, and criterion validity evidence are discussed at length intheDESSAmanual.Someofthemostimportantfindingsarepresentedbelow:
Standardization Sample TheDESSAstandardizationsampleconsistsof2,500childrenwhoarerepresentativeoftheUnitedStatespopulationwithrespecttogender,race(seeTable1),Hispanicethnicity,regionofresidence, and poverty status.
tABLE 1: Standardization Sample characteristics by race & geographic region
northeast
South
midwest
West
total
u.S. %1
9 1.7 7 1.3 190 35.6 0 0 327 61.4 533
16 1.8 22 2.5 200 22.3 3 0.3 424 47.3 665
3 0.6 12 2.2 71 13.0 2 0.4 453 83.1 541
13 2.6 24 4.7 20 3.9 9 1.8 354 69.8 420
41 1.9 65 3.0 481 22.3 14 0.6 1,558 72.2 2,159
1.2 4.0 15.4 0.2 76.3
AmericanIndian/Alaskanative
n % n % n % n % n %
native/hawaiian/Pacific
Islander
Black/AfricanAmericanAsian White total
Note:TheU.S.racedataarebasedonthe2006figuresfor5-through14-year-oldsonlyin“ResidentPopulationbyRace,HispanicOrigin,andAge:2000and2006,TableNo.8,”StatisticalAbstractoftheUnitedStates:2008(127thedition):U.S.CensusBureau,2008.1 U.S.figuresdonotaddupto100%dueto“TwoormoreRaces”notbeingincluded.
reliability AsshowninTable,2,theinternalconsistency(alphacoefficients)ofeachscaleaswellastheSocial-EmotionalComposite,forbothteacher/staffandparentraters,exceedstherecommendedstandardof.80forascaleand.90foratotalscale(i.e.theSocial-EmotionalComposite)recommendedbyBracken(1987).Infact,thealphacoefficientfortheSocial-EmotionalCompositeis.98forparentsand.99forteachers/staff.
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tABLE 2: Internal Reliability (Alpha) Coefficients for the DESSA Scales by Rater
Social-Emotional composite personal responsibilityoptimistic thinkinggoal-Directed BehaviorSocial-AwarenessDecision makingrelationship SkillsSelf-AwarenessSelf-management
.98 .99
.86 .92
.82 .89
.88 .93
.84 .91
.85 .92
.89 .94
.82 .89
.86 .92
raters
parentsScales teachers/Staff
Test-retestreliabilitiesarealsohighwithcorrelationcoefficientsrangingfrom.79to.90forparentsandfrom.86to.94forteachers/staff.Inter-raterreliabilitiesarealsoquitegood,withmedianscalecorrelationcoefficientsof.725forparentsand.735forteachers/staff.
Validity Data AvarietyofvaliditystudiesarereportedintheDESSAmanual.Someofthemoreimportantfindingsare:
• InacriterionvaliditystudycomparingDESSAscoresofstudentswhohadalreadybeenidentifiedashavingsocial,emotional, or behavioral disorders totheirnon-identifiedpeers,eachDESSAscaleshowedsignificantmeanscoredifferences(allpvalues<.01),withamedianeffectsizeof.80,whichwould be characterized as a large difference between the scores. The effectsizefortheSocial-EmotionalCompositewas1.31.TheseresultsshowthattheDESSAisveryeffectivein differentiating between students with and without social, emotional, and behavioral problems.
• UsingonlytheSocial-Emotional
Composite score, the group membership of70%ofstudentswithsocial,emotional,andbehavioraldifficultiesand76%oftheirnon-identifiedpeerscouldbe correctly predicted.
• ThescalesontheDESSAcanbeconsidered protective factors within ariskandresiliencetheoreticalframework.HighscoresonDESSAscaleswereassociatedwithsignificantlyfewer behavioral problems for students atbothhighandaveragelevelsofrisk.
• NickersonandFishman(2009),inan article published in the SchoolPsychologyQuarterly, reported strong convergentvalidityofDESSAscoreswithBASC-2andBERS-2scores.
ThisisjustasamplingofresearchfindingswiththeDESSA.MoredetailsontheseandotherstudiesarefoundbothintheDESSAmanualandattheDESSAwebsite,www.studentstrengths.org.
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thE DESSA-mInI Ideally,allstudentsingradesK-8willbeassessedwiththeDESSAtodeterminetheirsocial-emotionalstrengthsandneeds.However,completinga72-itembehaviorratingscaleonauniversalbasismaybeimpracticalduetolimitedhuman,financial,andtimeresources.AshortformoftheDESSA,knownastheDESSA-mini,isbeingdevelopedtomeetthisneedforabrief,economical,andefficientscreenerforsocial-emotionalcompetence.Slatedtobepublishedinthefallof2009,theDESSA-miniconsistsoffourequivalent8-itemforms.TheDESSA-miniyieldsonetotalsocial-emotionalcompetencescalescorethatcorrelateshighlywiththeSocial-EmotionalCompositeonthefull72-itemDESSA.TheDESSA-minicanbeusedasauniversalscreenerforsocial-emotionalcompetence.Inaddition,thefourequivalentformsallowforrepeatedmeasurementandmaketheDESSA-miniideallysuitedforuseinaresponsetointervention(RTI)frameworkaddressingsocial-emotionalcompetence.
thE DEVELopmEntAL contInuum of StrEngth-BASED ASSESSmEntS puBLIShED BY thE DEVErEux cEntEr for rESILIEnt chILDrEn
TheDESSAisthefourthinaseriesofstrength-basedassessmentsgroundedinresiliencetheorytobepublishedbytheDevereuxCenterforResilientChildren.Alloftheseassessmentshave as their overarching goal the promotion of social-emotional competence, resilience, and school and life success for all children. All can be completed by both parents and teachers. These assessments span the age range from 1 month through the 8th grade and include:
the Devereux Early childhood Assessment for Infants and toddlers (DECA-I/T)forages1monthto36months.
the Devereux Early childhood Assessment for preschoolers(DECA)foragestwothroughfiveyears.
the Devereux Early childhood Assessment for preschoolers – clinical form (DECA-C)forchildrenagestwothroughfiveyearswithbehavioralconcerns.
the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment for students in Kindergarten through the 8th grade.
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thE DEVErEux cEntEr for rESILIEnt chILDrEn TheDevereuxCenterforResilientChildren(DCRC),whichwasfoundedin2009,hasasitsmission,promotingsocial-emotionaldevelopment,fosteringresilience,andbuildingtheskillsforschool and life success in all children and the adults who care for them.
ThestaffoftheDCRCvaluecollaborationwithcommunitypartnerswhoshareourmission.Weareespeciallyinterestedinopportunitiesforcollaborativeresearchandmodelprogramdevelopment.InterestedresearchersandotherprofessionalscancontacttheDCRCthroughPaulLeBuffeatplebuffe@Devereux.org.FormoreinformationontheDCRC,visitourwebsite,www.centerforresilientchildren.org,orcall866-872-4687.
rEfErEncESBracken,B.A.(1987).Limitationsofpreschoolinstrumentsandstandardsforminimal levels of technicaladequacy.JournalofPsychoeducationalAssessment,5,313-326.
Doll,B.,&Cummings,J.A.(2008).Transforming school mental health services.ThousandOaks,CA:CorwinPress.
LeBuffe,P.A.,Shapiro,V.B.,&Naglieri,J.A.(2009).TheDevereuxStudentStrengthsAssessment(DESSA).Lewisville,NC:KaplanPress.
Nickerson,A.B.,&Fishman,C.(2009).ConvergentanddivergentvalidityoftheDevereuxStudentStrengthsAssessment.SchoolPsychologyQuarterly, 24,48-59.
NewFreedomCommissiononMentalHealth.(2003).Achieving the promise: Transforming mentalhealthcareinAmerica.FinalReport.DHHSPub.No.SMA-03-3832.Rockville,MD:USDepartmentofHealthandHumanServices.
O’Connell,M.A.,Boat,T.,Warner,K.E.(Eds.).(2009).Preventingmental,emotional andbehavioraldisordersamongyoungpeople:Progressandpossibilities.Washington,DC:TheNationalAcademiesPress.
Payton,J.,Weissberg,R.P.,Durlak,J.A.,Dymnicki,A.B.,Taylor,R.D.,Schellinger,K.B.,&Pachan,M.(2008).Thepositiveimpactofsocialandemotionallearningforkindergartentoeighth-gradestudents:Findingsfromthreescientificreviews.TheCollaborativeforAcademic,SocialandEmotionalLearning(CASEL).RetrievedJune3,2009fromhttp://www.casel.org/downloads/PackardTR.pdf.
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