Formative Assessment of Social-Emotional Skills Using Rubrics: A Review of Knowns and Unknowns

Educational practitioners have been increasingly interested in the use of formative assessment and rubrics to develop social-emotional skills in children and adolescents. Although social-emotional rubrics are nowadays commonly used, a thorough evaluation of their psychometric properties has not been conducted. In this scoping review, we examine the knowns and unknowns of the use of formative assessment approaches and rubrics in social-emotional learning. We first review initiatives of formative assessment and development of rubrics to assess social-emotional skills. Then, we discuss challenges associated with the development and use of rubrics to evaluate social-emotional skills in youth focusing on 1) assessment of single skills versus assessment of a comprehensive taxonomy of skills; 2) developing rubrics’ performance level descriptions that accurately describe increasing mastery of skills; 3) obtaining adequate internal consistency and discriminant validity evidence; 4) self-reports versus observer reports of skills; and finally 5) how to account for adolescents’ development in the construction of rubrics. This review outlines a research agenda for the psychometric study of rubrics to be used in social-emotional skill assessment.

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Teachers’ Understanding of Evidence of Students’ Social Emotional Learning and Self-Reported Gains of Monitored Implementation of SEL Toolkit

Journal of Education Culture and Society ◽

10.15503/jecs2020.2.157.170 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 157-170

Author(s):

Baiba Martinsone ◽

Marco Ferreira ◽

Sanela Talić

Keyword(s):

Formative Assessment ◽

Thematic Analysis ◽

Research Group ◽

Social Emotional Learning ◽

Emotional Learning ◽

Skills Development ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Emotional Skills ◽

Written Responses ◽

Self Reflection

Aim. The aim of this study was to highlight and analyse teachers’ responses to the evidence of their students’ social emotional growth and teachers’ own gains from the monitored implementation of social emotional learning in their classes. Methods. The research group was composed of 312 teachers from Latvia and Slovenia, who were involved in the implementation of indirect social emotional learning through classroom instruction and formative assessment. A thematic analysis of the teachers’ written responses was performed. Results. A thematic analysis of the teachers’ responses indicated that initially they had mentioned mostly (expressed) general statements and only some small part of their responses included observable and measurable indicators of students’ social emotional skills improvement. Therefore, four months after the beginning of the intervention, teachers reported rather on their personal and professional gains from the participation in this intervention than provided general statements. Conclusions. The teachers’ improved self-reflection is a premise for them to consider evidence of students’ social emotional skills development thus facilitating purposeful social emotional learning in schools.

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Scoping review and concept analysis of early adolescents’ emotional skills: Towards development of a music therapy assessment tool

Nordic Journal of Music Therapy ◽

10.1080/08098131.2021.1903977 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-26

Author(s):

Maija Salokivi ◽

Sanna Salanterä ◽

Esa Ala-Ruona

Keyword(s):

Music Therapy ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Early Adolescents ◽

Concept Analysis ◽

Emotional Skills ◽

Therapy Assessment

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A multilevel analysis of the influence of bullying participant roles upon the trajectories of adolescents’ social and emotional competencies

School Psychology International ◽

10.1177/0143034321988972 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 014303432198897

Author(s):

Vítor Alexandre Coelho ◽

Marta Marchante

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Self Control ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Emotional Competencies ◽

Social And Emotional ◽

Self Reports ◽

One Year ◽

Competencies Development ◽

Bullying Participant Roles ◽

Social And Emotional Competencies

This study analyzed how social and emotional competencies evolved according to adolescents’ involvement in bullying, and whether gender influenced social and emotional competencies’ development. Five-hundred-fourteen students ( Mage = 12.71; SD = 1.09) were assessed through self-reports at three different time points for one year. Results showed that students involved in the three analyzed bullying roles displayed a more negative trajectory in all but one social emotional competence analyzed compared to students not involved in bullying. The exception was students who bullied others for responsible decision making. Additionally, gender differences were only found in self-esteem trajectories; boys displayed a more pronounced decrease. In larger classes, students displayed higher levels of self-control, social awareness and responsible decision-making. These results showed that reduced social and emotional competencies were a consequence of bullying involvement for every bullying role analyzed.

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Measuring Forgiveness: Psychometric Properties of the Heartland Forgiveness Scale in the Spanish Population

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18010045 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 45

Author(s):

Karla Gallo-Giunzioni ◽

María Prieto-Ursúa ◽

Cristina Fernández-Belinchón ◽

Octavio Luque-Reca

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Discriminant Validity ◽

Criterion Validity ◽

Validity Evidence ◽

Dispositional Forgiveness ◽

Scale Reduction ◽

Convergent And Discriminant Validity ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Acceptable Internal Consistency

Given the scarcity of instruments in Spanish to measure forgiveness, two studies were conducted in this population to obtain validity evidence of the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), an instrument that measures dispositional forgiveness of self, others, and situations. In the first study, 203 students (65% women) participated. After ensuring the linguistic adequacy and clarity of the wording of the items, a lack of congruence was found between the factors obtained in the exploratory factor analysis and the original theoretical structure of the HFS. A sample of 512 participants (63.9% women) attended the second study. This study aimed to analyze the construct validity of the HFS using confirmatory factor analysis through structural equation modelling and to explore convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity. Of the different factorial configurations tested (including the original), only a scale reduction to eight items, grouped into three factors, showed an appropriate fit. The HFS eight-item version also showed acceptable internal consistency, adequate convergent and discriminant validity, and criterion validity with respect to related variables. These findings suggest that the eight-item version of the HFS may be a valid and reliable tool for assessing forgiveness for self, others, and situations in Spanish adults.

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Developing social-emotional skills through imaginative teaching methods in elementary education

Early Child Development and Care ◽

10.1080/03004430.2020.1854241 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-16

Author(s):

Xanthippi Tsortanidou ◽

Thanasis Daradoumis ◽

Elena Barberá

Keyword(s):

Elementary Education ◽

Teaching Methods ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Emotional Skills

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The DOG Scale

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001.29.1.17 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 17-24 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

H. Michael Crowson ◽

Teresa K. DeBacker ◽

Kendrick A. Davis

Keyword(s):

Construct Validity ◽

Discriminant Validity ◽

Factorial Validity ◽

Validity Evidence ◽

Convergent And Discriminant Validity ◽

Validity Criterion ◽

The 1960S ◽

Additional Support

Abstract. Since the 1960s Rokeach's conception and measurement of dogmatism has dominated the landscape of dogmatism research. In 1996, Altemeyer proposed a new conception of dogmatism, suggesting that it is best defined as an unchangeable and unjustified certainty in one's beliefs. This conception was operationalized in the form of the DOG Scale with validity evidence generally coming in the form of relationships between the measure and several criterion-related variables. The present study assessed the factorial validity of the measure and tested for convergent and discriminant validity. Criterion-related validity evidence was also reconsidered. The DOG Scale demonstrated reasonable factorial, discriminant, convergent, and criterion-related validity, providing additional support for the measure's construct validity.

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