Predictive Validity of the Student Risk Screening Scale-Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE) Scores

Abstract

Schools have become the most common setting for youth to receive additional supports—including access to mental health services serving as an entry point for identification and subsequent provision of these services. Many schools rely on office discipline referral (ODR) or suspension data as informal screeners for students who may need additional supports. Discipline data may be effective at identifying students with externalizing behaviors, yet students with internalizing behaviors may not engage in behaviors that warrant an ODR or suspension. As such, these students may go undetected in the absence of systematic screenings. This study explored whether a universal behavior screener identified students at risk for externalizing and internalizing concerns who may not have been identified through ODRs. The Student Risk Screening Scale for Internalizing/Externalizing (SRSS-IE) was completed for 1,201 elementary students in 3 elementary schools. SRSS-IE data were used to predict year-end ODRs. Results showed externalizing scores (SRSS-E7) on the SRSS-IE predicted year-end ODRs, with higher SRSS-E7 scores predicting with more ODRs. However, internalizing scores (SRSS-I5) on the SRSS-IE did not significantly predict year-end ODRs suggesting ODRs may not be an effective data source for identifying students with internalizing behaviors absent of externalizing behaviors.

Additional Evidence of Predictive Validity of SRSS-IE Scores With Elementary Students

“…Furthermore, collective findings were comparable to previous predictive validity analyses conducted at the elementary level, yielding similar relations between fall screening scores and year-end outcomes (e.g., Gregory et al, 2021;Lane, Oakes, Cantwell, Common, et al, 2019;Menzies & Lane, 2012;Oakes et al, 2010). For example, as reported in the introduction, most correlations between externalizing behavior scores in the fall and student end-ofyear outcomes in the literature ranged between .38 (Oakes et al, 2010) and .48 for ODRs (Menzies & Lane, 2012), with lower relations between fall internalizing scores and students end-of-year ODR values (e.g., .08; Gregory et al, 2021). In addition, earlier inquiry established externalizing and internalizing fall scores predicted year-end academic performance in reading performance suggesting statistically significant, low-magnitude relations (e.g., −.28 for ORF; Oakes et al, 2010).…”

“…Gregory and colleagues (2021) also examined predictive validity of the SRSS-IE in a sample of 1,201 students in three elementary schools in the southeastern United States. They also found SRSS-E7 scores significantly predicted ODRs ( r = .35), though the SRSS-I5 score was not significantly related to ODRs ( r = .08).…”

Exploring the relationship between teachers' perceptions of cultural responsiveness, student risk, and classroom behavior

“…When considering students' response to social and behavioral supports in schools, educators often consider office discipline referral (ODR) data and universal screening scores. Although these data sources are well‐researched (e.g., Allen et al, 2019; Gregory et al, 2020; Predy et al, 2014) and predictive of outcomes such as risk for suspension (Naser et al, 2018), both are reliant upon teachers' perceptions of student behavior. For ODRs, subjectively defined problem behaviors (e.g., disruption) and teachers' implicit bias have been linked to racial discipline disproportionality (Girvan et al, 2017), particularly for Black youth (Bradshaw et al, 2010).…”

Examination of the Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the SRSS-IE

“…Results indicated elementary students with high levels of risk in fall—especially externalizing behaviors—had lower year-end reading scores, more nurse visits, and spent more days in in-school suspension compared to students whose scores indicated they were at low risk for externalizing or internalizing behaviors. Gregory, Graybill, Barger, Roach, and Lane (2021) also found SRSS-E7 scores to be significantly related to ODRs ( r = .35), where students who scored in low and moderate risk ranges received fewer ODRs than students who scored in the high-risk range, respectively.…”