Overview
This article provides details and downloadable forms for the DESSA SEIR, a student-completed screener for grades 6-12.
Note: These forms are meant to be used for completing ratings and should not be used for informational purposes such as posting them on district websites or sharing them in parent letters. If you need to share out the DESSA assessment forms for informational purposes, please use the watermarked forms found in the "DESSA Forms for Parents" article.
DESSA SEIR
Versions: 1 form for students in grades 6-12
Items: 10
Time: Approximately 1 minute per student
Raters: Students
Grades: 6th-12th grades
Languages: English, Spanish, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, French, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Haitian Creole, Korean, Mongolian, Persian, Russian, Ukrainian, Urdu
Reported Scores:
- Internalizing Risks: Negative emotions and behaviors mostly directed inwardly involving feeling worried, anxious, sad, or lonely; exhibiting poor self-esteem; showing a lack of interest or limited engagement with others.
- Externalizing Risks: Negative emotions and behaviors mostly directed toward others involving verbal or psychological aggression, threatening and bullying others, poor control of temper, arguing with others, actively excluding others from activities.
Score Ranges: Raw scores and criterion-referenced concern levels are reported for the two risk domains.
Recommended Uses:
- Universal Screening: The DESSA SEIR complements the DESSA screeners and assessments by supporting a whole-student risk and resilience approach to assessment that provides a comprehensive picture of a student’s overall social and emotional well-being. The DESSA SEIR can be used to identify emotional and behavioral risk factors that may indicate the need for additional support. Two scores are provided: a score for Internalizing Risks and a score for Externalizing Risks. These scores are categorized into three concern levels: No Concern, Possible Concern, and Concern. It is recommended that school teams follow-up with students who score in the Concern or Possible Concern levels as soon as possible. It is recommended that all students complete a DESSA SEIR at the beginning of the school year.
- Progress Monitoring: The DESSA SEIR can also be used to monitor student risk factors across the school year. This information can be used to inform or adjust the ongoing supports being provided to students, and to identify any students who may develop emotional or behavioral concerns during the year. We generally recommend progress monitoring two or three times during the school year.
- Outcome Evaluation: The DESSA SEIR can also be used to assess the impact of programs and supports by evaluating changes in students’ risk factors over time. Typically, an end of year DESSA SEIR is completed by all students.
Administration Recommendations: Please refer to the DESSA SEIR Implementation Guide and DESSA SEIR Technical Manual for detailed information about administration.
The DESSA SEIR is typically completed by students in the DESSA Student Portal. In situations where students are not using the DESSA Student Portal, a printable PDF of the rating form is available. Please note that if students complete their rating on paper, additional steps will need to be taken in order to score the assessments.