As many youths will display symptoms of social-emotional or behavioral (SEB) health concerns during their childhood or adolescence, schools are called upon to provide supports to students who have demonstrated barriers to learning. Universal screening has been identified as one strategy to enhance the accurate identification of students struggling with SEB concerns. Universal screening measures take on a variety of formats but often include some type of brief behavior rating completed by a teacher, parent, or student to assess individual student functioning. The current chapter provides an overview of universal screening for SEB concerns. Available screening measures are reviewed, along with the psychometric evidence supporting each measure (e.g., validity, reliability, diagnostic accuracy). Procedural considerations are examined, including administration frequency and duration, screening informant selection, and parental consent protocols. Finally, a procedural framework is provided that outlines how to link screening results to evidence-based interventions.
Generalizability of Universal Screening Measures for Behavioral and Emotional Risk
