Measurement limitations have hindered research on learned helplessness (LH) and mastery orientation (MO) in the classroom. We reduced the 24-item Student Behavior Checklist to a 6-item scale and tested the abbreviated measure for evidence of reliability and validity in a sample of 5th and 6th graders (N = 299). We then replicated findings in an…

The present study reports on an investigation of the generalizability of the technical adequacy of the Positive Experience at School Scale (PEASS) with a sample of students (N = 1,002) who differed substantially in age/grade level (i.e., adolescents in middle school as opposed to children in elementary school) and ethnic identity (i.e., majority…

Numerous studies have identified differences between males and females in academic performance across the areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. The current study examined whether or not gender differences exist when math curriculum-based measures (M-CBMs) are used to assess basic math computation skills in a sample of third- through…

Behavioral and emotional problems among children and adolescents can lead to numerous negative outcomes without intervention. From a prevention standpoint, screening for behavioral and emotional risk is an important step toward identifying such problems before the point of diagnosis or referral. The present study conducted a k-means cluster…

This study sought to better understand the prevalence of concurrent and specific difficulties in reading fluency and vocabulary among adolescents with low reading comprehension. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify a sample of 180 students in sixth through eighth grades with reading comprehension difficulties. A subsequent LCA…

The present study examines the psychometric properties of the Social and Emotional Health Survey (SEHS), which is a 32-item self-report behavior rating scale for assessing youths' social-emotional competencies, with a small sample (N = 77) of academically at-risk students attending a limited-residency charter school. This study is the first to…

Emotional intelligence (EI) theory provides a framework to study the role of emotion skills in social, personal, and academic functioning. Reporting data validating the importance of EI among youth have been limited due to a dearth of measurement instruments. In two studies, the authors examined the reliability and validity of the…