Screening Tests

Screening is an efficient procedure used to identify potential problems or risks for future problems. In this case, a problem is a discrepancy between what is expected and what occurs. Thus, effective screening tests accurately identify those who are likely to not reach critical future outcomes, so that their problems can be remediated through prevention or intervention efforts. Screening tests are common in many disciplines and are used for numerous purposes. This entry discusses the basic principles and technical considerations of screening tests.

In education, screening is the systematic assessment of all students within a classroom, grade, school, or school district. Screening is often done in academic, behavioral, or social–emotional domains. If all of the students within a targeted population are evaluated, then the screening is universal. Screening tests may assume many formats, such as brief timed batteries of key academic competencies, computer adaptive tests of broad scholastic achievement, teacher ratings of student behavior, self-report measures of psychological symptoms, or many additional forms. Regardless of the test format, screening informs teachers and other educators in the process of data-based decision making. Their purpose, then, is not just to identify problems but also to provide structured guidance for altering service delivery and resource allocation within schools and school systems.

Historically, screening has been used to highlight existing skill deficits or other shortcomings inherent to individuals (e.g., learning disabilities, mental health issues, behavior problems). However, the current perspective proposes screening as a method to determine the extent to which general school services, such as core academic curricula or behavior intervention systems, are meeting the needs of all students in addition to identifying individual students not on track for success. In this context, screening tests can be compared to thermometers, in that they are holistic indicators of the “health” or “wellness” of an educational system, and those individuals who comprise that system.

In contemporary education, universal screening and effective screening tests are an essential component of multitiered systems of support, wherein intervention services of varying intensity are allocated based on needs that are often identified by screening. Multitiered systems of support are based on the assumption that core preventive services and the early identification of educational problems help educators to address student needs, so that their struggles are not later exacerbated. Effective screening tests permit this early identification and intervention, which subsequently improves the efficiency of service delivery and resource allocation for schools and school systems.