Examination of Psychometric Evidence for Criterion-Referenced Scores from the SSIS SEL Brief Scales

Efficient and intuitive interpretive frameworks for social-emotional learning (SEL) measures are necessary for identifying student needs and informing programming decisions across multitiered systems of support in schools. Though familiar to educators and often used with standardized tests of academic achievement, criterion-referenced frameworks are less common in SEL assessment. As such, the current study examined the psychometric evidence for scores from one such framework, the Competency-Referenced Performance Framework, which was developed to inform universal screening decisions based on the SSIS SEL Brief Scales (Elliott et al., 2020). Specifically, we evaluated stability, test-criterion relationships with academic outcomes, and treatment sensitivity of the CRPF using data from an efficacy trial of a universal SEL program. Results provided preliminary supportive evidence for the CRPF.