Strengthening School Connectedness to Increase Student Success
Category: Student Well-Being
Instrument Overview
The Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) is a behavior rating scale that assess eight social-emotional competencies in children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Additionally, a new high school assessment is also available.DESSA is completed by parents/guardians, teachers, or staff members at schools and similar institutions such as after-school, social service and mental health programs. The assessment can be administered via computer or paper and pencil and is available in both English and Spanish.
Note: The overview provided for this instrument includes content that may have been sourced from the instrument publisher's or author’s website (or other site providing information about the instrument). This information is presented for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the content or its permitted uses, please contact annenberg@brown.edu.
Organization
Topic
Student Well-Being Category
American Institutes for Research® partnered with the Annenberg Institute at Brown University to collect instruments related to student well-being.
Content
Grades
Kindergarten,
1st Grade,
2nd Grade,
3rd Grade,
4th Grade,
5th Grade,
6th Grade,
7th Grade,
8th Grade,
9th Grade,
10th Grade,
11th Grade,
12th Grade
Keywords
Student Well-Being ; Social-Emotional Competence ; Self Awareness ; Self Management ; Social Awareness ; Relationship Skills ; Responsible Decision Making
Languages
English,
Spanish
Respondent
Student,
Teacher,
Parent,
Examiner
Administration Information
Length
72 items
Administration
Computer,
Paper
Access and Use
Contact
Email: plebuffe@Devereux.org
Phone: 866-872-4687
Open Access
No
Setting
Classroom
Psychometrics (additional guidance)
Psychometric References
Doromal, J. B., Cottone, E. A., & Kim H. (2019). Preliminary validation of the teacher-rated DESSA in a low-income, kindergarten sample. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment 37(1), 40-54. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282917731460
LeBuffe, P. A., Shapiro, V. B., & Robitaille, J. L. (2018). The Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) comprehensive system: Screening, assessing, planning, and monitoring. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 55, 62-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2017.05.002
LeBuffe, P.A., Shapiro, V.B., & Naglieri, J.A. (2012/2014). The Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA): Assessment, technical manual, and user‘s guide. Aperture Education.
Nickerson, A. B., & Fishman, C. (2009). Convergent and divergent validity of the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment. School Psychology Quarterly, 24(1), 48. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015147
