ABSTRACT
In school psychology, variables possibly related to constructs of interest often include gender, ethnicity, language, socio-economic status, maternal educational level, geographic region, and disability status. The history of measure development within school psychology is rich. Rating scales are continua on which entities are ordered based on some construct. A typical rating scale item might be a behavioral statement such as the following from the Preschool Behavior Screening System: Has temper tantrums. The initial phase of creating a measurement tool, regardless of type, is planning the development process, which necessarily includes envisioning the outcome of one’s work. Kilgus et al. developed the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener to be a usable, contextually appropriate, psychometrically strong rating scale measure of risk for academic, social, and emotional behavioral difficulties. Once the process of developing and validating a measure has been planned, the next step is developing items.
