School Social Behavior Scales User's Guide

Catching "red flag" behaviors early is the key to helping children and adolescents before social-emotional difficulties become major roadblocks to academic success and personal adjustment. Now there are two easy, reliable tools that give K–12 education professionals the complete picture of a child's social-emotional strengths and risk behaviors' in school (SSBS-2) and at home and in the community (HCSBS). Used in tandem, these two tools are the perfect way to

• identify children with problem behaviors
• target classroom interventions and develop IEPs
• measure the effectiveness of interventions over time
• remove barriers to learning and help children reach their goals
• bring families into the process to provide the best support for children

Teachers or other school personnel complete SSBS-2, a simple 2-page rating scale that looks at both Social Competence and Antisocial Behavior. Specific items on both positive and negative behaviors give users accurate results and provide direction for intervention and support in school.

To ensure that screening doesn't stop with the school day, follow up with HCSBS—set up like SSBS-2 and completed by a parent or other person who knows the child well—to evaluate the child's behavior at home and in the community. Together, these easy-to-use tools provide the most complete information about a child's behavior, help families see where their children need the most support, and improve outcomes by extending behavior screening and intervention beyond the classroom.

Social Behavior Scales at a Glance

• Screens both positive and negative behaviors, so users get the big picture of a child's social and emotional development
• Norm-referenced and standardized—norming sample included children from diverse backgrounds and with a wide range of disabilities
• Highly reliable and valid (results of studies are included in the User's Guide) Completed by those who know the child best—teachers, parents, and community members
• Used for 15 years. Updated since the popular first edition with more research and a more teacher-friendly user's guide, SSBS-2 has been used by educators across the country
• No training and very little time required—easy to complete in minutes
• Screens behaviors inside and outside the classroom, so users get the full picture of the child's behavior and can target interventions
The SSBS-2 User's Guide is part of SSBS-2 and HCSBS, two easy, reliable tools used in tandem to determine a child’s social-emotional strengths and risk behaviors in school (SSBS-2) and at home and in the community (HCSBS). Norm-referenced and standardized, these K–12 screeners help educators identify children with problem behaviors, target classroom interventions, measure the effectiveness of interventions over time, remove barriers to learning, and bring families into the process to provide the best support for children.

Learn more about SSBS-2 and HCSBS.

Kenneth W. Merrell, Ph.D. was a professor of school psychology in the Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences at the University of Oregon. He served as School Psychology Program Director and Co-director as well as Department Head.

Paul Caldarella, Ph.D. is director of the Brigham Young University Positive Behavior Support Initiative and associate professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education. He completed an internship in clinical child psychology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a post-doctoral fellowship in adolescent clinical psychology at Brown University. He is a licensed psychologist and teaches graduate courses primarily in the area of school psychology. His research and scholarly activities have related mostly to the areas of positive behavior support and social-emotional learning interventions in public schools, as well as screening and targeted interventions for at-risk students.