Description of the Strategy

The use of behavior rating scales as a method of assessing behavioral, social, and emotional problems of students has increased dramatically since about 1980. Behavior rating scales are used frequently either as a primary component of an assessment battery or as a key means of obtaining information on a student before implementing an intervention. As behavior rating scales have become more widely used, there have been numerous advances in research on rating scale technology that have strengthened the desirability of using this form of assessment. Rating scales provide a standardized format for the development of summary judgments regarding a student's behavioral characteristics by an informant who knows the student well. The informant is usually a parent or teacher, but ...