Can the DESSA-mini/DESSA-HSE mini be used to track progress in the DESSA Competencies?

Overview

This article will answer the frequently asked question: Can the DESSA-mini/DESSA-HSE mini be used to track progress in the DESSA Competencies?

No. This is not a valid practice. The purpose of the DESSA-mini and DESSA-HSE mini is to provide an overall estimation of the student’s social and emotional competence. The items on the DESSA-mini/DESSA-HSE minis are not intended to represent the DESSA constructs; they were selected to predict the Social-Emotional Composite score on the full DESSA/DESSA-HSE assessment. There is not a sufficient number of items on either the DESSA-mini or DESSA-HSE mini to accurately provide scores in the DESSA competencies.