A "big idea" is a concept that gives meaning to discrete facts. In this article, the author proposes a small number of big ideas, as well as his own views on where he thinks the field needs to move to achieve its full promise in school-based behavioral and social-emotional assessment. The three big ideas he has selected include: (1) universal…

This highly engaging, eminently practical book provides essential resources for implementing social and emotional learning (SEL) in any K-12 setting. Numerous vivid examples illustrate the nuts and bolts of this increasingly influential approach to supporting students' mental health, behavior, and academic performance. Helpful reproducibles are…

Generally recognized as the standard work in its field, "Behavioral, Social, and Emotional Assessment of Children and Adolescents" provides a comprehensive foundation and guide for conducting conceptually sound, culturally responsive, and ecologically oriented assessments of student social and emotional behavior. It is aimed at graduate…

This guide provides expert information and clear-cut strategies for assessing and treating internalizing problems in school settings. More than 40 specific psychoeducational and psychosocial intervention techniques are detailed, with a focus on approaches that are evidence based, broadly applicable, and easy to implement. Including 26…

This study describes the initial validation of an innovative social-behavioral observational assessment tool that is designed to be used on a repeated basis to assess growth and development of social competence over time to: (a) identify the social functioning of all students, (b) assist in planning support for students at risk, and (c) evaluate…

Details the development of a new objective self-report instrument--the Internalizing Symptoms Scale for Children (ISSC)--for assessing the broad domain of internalizing symptomatology in children. Discusses results of a factor analysis and describes potential uses of the ISSC. Implications for future assessment in child psychopathology are…

Addresses the conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of social-emotional problems in preschool children. Promising findings, materials, and techniques are reviewed, such as the internalizing-externalizing dichotomy, developmental pathways, the Early Screening Project, the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales, behavioral momentum to…

This article provides an overview of some of the recent developments in assessing social skills of children, as well as best practices in conducting assessment and linking assessment to effective intervention. Naturalistic behavioral observation and behavior rating scales are proposed as first-line choices for social skills assessment. (Contains…

In this article we discuss the definition of emotionally disturbed (ED) from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, with a specific focus on the clause contained in this definition, which is designed to exclude from special education services students who are considered to be socially maladjusted (SM). The history of the SM exclusionary…

This article provides an overview of the literature on relational aggression of school-aged children and adolescents, with the specific aim of making this information relevant to school settings and education professionals. Relational aggression is discussed in terms of definitions, terms, and the importance of the school context. The literature…