Emotional and behavioral screener: Test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, and convergent validity

The Emotional and Behavioral Screener (EBS) is a universal screening instrument designed to identify students whose excessive problem behaviors put them at risk of the education disability category of emotional disturbance (ED). This article reports findings from three studies that address the reliability and validity of the EBS. Studies 1 and 2 examined the test-retest and inter-rater reliability of the EBS. Study 3 investigated the convergent validity of the EBS by comparing it to the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System. The results from these studies support the reliability and validity of the EBS as a universal screening instrument for identifying students who may be at risk of ED or those who may require a greater degree of monitoring, decision-making, formal assessment, or intervention to restore normal behavior functioning and prevent identification as ED. Implications, research limitations, and future research needs are discussed.