BY DAVID LACHAR, PHD

Quick, focused, and easy to use, this convenient new test draws information from three sources to give you an accurate assessment of student behavior and adjustment problems. It is composed of a Parent Report, a Teacher Report, and a Student Report, which together reveal the specific nature of student difficulties and point toward effective intervention.   

The Parent and Teacher Reports can be used to evaluate students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The Student Report should be added when you are assessing children and teens in 4th grade or higher. (All three forms have a 4th-grade reading level.) Although each form is administered separately and can be used independently, it is strongly recommended that both Parent and Teacher Reports be used for younger children and that all three reports be used for students above age 9.

Parent and Student Reports

Completed in less than 15 minutes, the Parent and Student Reports are parallel in content, each composed of 96 true/false items covering 8 Adjustment Scales:

Impulsivity and Distractibility

Defiance

Family Problems

Atypical Behavior

Somatic Concern

Emotional Problems

Social Withdrawal

Social Skill Deficits

In addition, two validity scales—Inconsistency and Exaggeration—alert you to conflicting responses and overstated problems.

Teacher Report

The Teacher Report focuses on behavior that can be observed at school, with 11 scales addressing Academic Resources and Adjustment Problems and 3 measuring Disruptive Behavior:

Academic Resources and Adjustment Problems
Academic Performance
Academic Habits
Social Skills
Parent Participation
Health Concerns
Emotional Distress
Unusual Behavior
Social Problems
Verbal Aggression
Physical Aggression
Behavior Problems

Disruptive Behavior
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Oppositional Defiant
Conduct Problems

Completed in less than 20 minutes, the Teacher Report includes 102 items rated on a 4- to 5-point response scale. Although this response format minimizes the likelihood of extreme item endorsement, the Teacher Report also includes a validity scale measuring exaggeration.

Easy Hand or Computer Scoring

Convenient AutoScore™ Forms for the Parent, Student, and Teacher Reports include test items, scoring instructions, and profile forms. You can hand score the forms in just 5 minutes and profile results in only a few minutes more, producing an informative visual display of the findings. Easier still, an unlimited-use computer scoring CD gives you quick results and allows you to compare reports from various respondents, or the same respondent at two different times.    

T-scores are generated for all scales. In addition, 3 Composite Scores and a Total Score are available for the Parent and Student Forms: 

• Externalizing

Acting out, disruptive, or noncompliant behavior

• Internalizing

Internal concerns and emotional problems

• Social Adjustment

Social discomfort and conflict

• Total Score

A general index of behavioral adjustment 

These four scores are useful in documenting behavior change across repeated administrations—for example, before and after intervention—and in research applications that require only broad measures of adjustment.

Normative data, based on a sample of more than 7,000 nonreferred children (2,000+ for each form), reflect the U.S. population in regard to gender, ethnicity, and parent education. A clinical sample exceeding 4,000 was used in test development and validation.

A More Efficient Way to Assess Student Behavior

Based on decades of research, and supported by ample evidence of validity, the Behavioral Summary is an excellent way to evaluate children and teens for behavior and adjustment problems. Because it gathers information from multiple sources, you can be confident that you are getting a complete picture of the student being assessed. And you can quickly compare reported problems between classroom and home, across classrooms, or between parents.

The Behavioral Summary is easy to use, it covers a wide age range, and it focuses on issues that affect classroom performance. Why struggle with more cumbersome, time-consuming assessments when the Behavioral Summary gives you a comprehensive profile of student behavior?