Preliminary Validation of the Teacher-Rated DESSA in a Low-Income, Kindergarten Sample

This study investigated the measurement of social emotional competence in low-income youth by assessing the validity of responses derived from the widely used, teacher-rated Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA). Based on the five-component social emotional learning model proposed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, the teacher-rated DESSA shows promise as an easy-to-administer, strengths-based assessment tool for teachers from low-income communities. In a sample of 313 kindergarten students from a southeastern city, three competing measurement models were tested (one-factor, correlated five-factor, and higher order five-factor) using confirmatory factor analyses. Results revealed that, relative to the one-factor model, the higher order five-factor framework had the best model-data fit, although the first-order factors were highly correlated with the second-order factor. Furthermore, zero-order correlations showed that the DESSA was associated with both direct and teacher-reported measures of school-related outcomes. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.