A Comparison of DESSA-mini and SRSS-IE Screening Tools

In this article, we report findings of a psychometric study comparing two screening tools: the Student Risk Screening Scale-Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE) and the Devereaux Student Strengths Assessment-mini (DESSA-mini). Participants included 3,110 kindergarten through fifth-grade elementary students from five schools in one district in one state in the southern United States. Pearson correlation coefficients indicated statistically significant relations between DESSA-mini and each subscale and the total score of the SRSS-IE: externalizing (r = -0.58), internalizing (r = -0.25, p <.0001), and total score (r = -0.54). When DESSA-mini scores were dichotomized in terms of needs instruction versus combined typical and strengths, DESSA-mini scores demonstrated marginal agreement with SRSS-IE externalizing scores (SRSS-E7) and, in many instances, identified different students as requiring instruction than the students identified as having externalizing behavior patterns according to SRSS-E7 scores. DESSA-mini scores demonstrated low agreement with the SRSS-IE internalizing scores (SRSS-I5) and, in many instances, identified different students as requiring instruction than the students identified as having internalizing behaviors as measured by the SRSS-I5. Although the percentage of students detected across both screening tools was quite low; overall, the DESSA-mini performed more similarly to the SRSS-E7 in detecting students with externalizing behaviors than to the SRSS-I5 for detecting students with internalizing behaviors. We discuss educational implications, limitations, and future directions.