Behavior rating scales represent one of the most commonly used types of assessments in school psychology. Yet, they suffer from a fundamental limitation: They are an indirect methodology influenced partially by student behavior and partially by rater perspectives. Thus, the current study utilized advanced analytic approaches to evaluate rater…

Day treatment teachers (N=5), day treatment social workers (N=6), and district teachers (N=7) were asked to rate each of 83 behaviors on a five-point scale indicating the degree to which that behavior would impair a severely behavior disordered child's ability to function in a special education classroom within the district. (SBH)

Students with school problems responded to questions related to their school performances, attitudes, and behavior. Their parents and teachers responded to comparable questions. The student reports were consistently more positive than those of their parents, and the parents were consistently more positive than the students' teachers. (Author/RD)