Overview of the DESSA Screeners and Assessments

Overview

The DESSA suite of screeners and assessments are nationally standardized, norm-referenced, strength-based measures of the social and emotional competencies of students in grades K-12. They include both universal screeners of social and emotional competence (the DESSA-mini) and assessments of specific social and emotional competencies (the DESSA).

What is the DESSA-mini?

The DESSA-mini is an 8-item screener of overall social and emotional competence for students in grades K-12. It is typically completed by educators (teachers and out-of-school time staff) and takes one minute to complete per student. There are two versions of the DESSA-mini: the DESSA 2 mini is used for students in grades K-8 and the DESSA-HSE mini is used for students in grades 9-12.

The DESSA-mini can be used to quickly and accurately screen the social and emotional competence of all students at the beginning of the school year. It can also be used to monitor student progress in acquiring social and emotional competence throughout the school year, which can inform instruction. Additionally, the DESSA-mini can be used to evaluate growth in overall social and emotional competence across a school year, which can help districts and schools to understand the impact of social and emotional skill instruction and intervention programs.

What is the DESSA?

The DESSA is an assessment of specific social and emotional competencies for students in grades K-12. It is typically completed by educators (teachers and out-of-school time staff) and takes five minutes or less to complete per student. There are two versions of the DESSA: the DESSA 2 is used for students in grades K-8 and the DESSA-HSE is used for students in grades 9-12. A parent/guardian completed version of the DESSA for students in grades K-8 is also available.

The DESSA Student Self-Reports are student-completed assessments of specific social and emotional competencies. The DESSA Middle School Student Self-Report can be completed by students in grades 6-8, while the DESSA High School Student Self-Report can be completed by students in grades 9-12.

Each of the DESSA assessments have been developed to measure specific social and emotional competencies known to be essential to success in school and in life. Although the specific competencies measured differ slightly by version, the DESSA assessments generally measure the following CASEL-aligned competencies: Optimistic Thinking, Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision Making.

There are also versions of the DESSA that align to the Second Step elementary and middle school social and emotional learning programs. The DESSA Second Step Assessments measure the specific social and emotional competencies developed in these programs.

In typical practice, the DESSA is used to better understand the specific social-emotional strengths and needs of students who were rated in the need for instruction range with the DESSA-mini. That is, the DESSA is the follow-up assessment to the DESSA-mini universal screener. The DESSA provides specific information which can be used to guide Tier 2 or targeted instruction resulting in a differentiated, data-driven approach to address students’ unique needs. The DESSA can also be used universally to inform universal social and emotional instruction for all students. Typically, the DESSA Student Self-Reports are used universally with all students in grades 6-12.

The table below summarizes each of the DESSA screeners and assessments. For more detailed information about each version, please refer to the specific technical manuals.

Table 1

Version	Typical Use	Grades	Items	Average Time	Reported Scores
DESSA 2 mini	Universal Screener; Progress Monitoring	K-8	Four forms each with 8 items	1 minute	Social-Emotional Total (SET)
DESSA-HSE mini	Universal Screener; Progress Monitoring	9-12	Four forms each with 8 items	1 minute	Social-Emotional Total (SET)
DESSA 2	Detailed Assessment	K-8	40	Less than 5 minutes	Social-Emotional Composite (SEC), Optimistic Thinking, Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision Making
DESSA-HSE	Detailed Assessment	9-12	43	Less than 5 minutes	Social-Emotional Composite (SEC), Optimistic Thinking, Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Personal Responsibility, Goal-Directed Behavior, Decision Making
DESSA Middle School Student Self-Report	Detailed Assessment	6-8	50	5-10 minutes	Social-Emotional Composite (SEC), Optimistic Thinking, Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision Making
DESSA High School Student Self-Report	Detailed Assessment	9-12	55	5-10 minutes	Social-Emotional Composite (SEC), Optimistic Thinking/ Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Personal Responsibility, Goal-Directed Behavior, Decision Making
DESSA-Second Step Edition (aligns with Second Step Elementary Classroom Kits)	Detailed Assessment	K-5	36	Less than 5 minutes	Social-Emotional Composite (SEC), Skills for Learning, Emotion Management, Empathy, Problem-Solving
DESSA-Second Step Elementary School Edition (aligns with Second Step Elementary Digital program)	Detailed Assessment	K-5	26	3-5 minutes	Social-Emotional Composite (SEC), Growth Mindset and Goal-Setting, Emotion Management, Empathy and Kindness, Problem-Solving
DESSA-Second Step Middle School Edition (aligns with Second Step Middle School Digital program)	Detailed Assessment	6-8	33	3-5 minutes	Social-Emotional Composite (SEC); Mindsets and Goals; Developing a Positive Sense of Self; Thoughts, Emotions, and Decisions; Managing Relationships and Social Conflict
DESSA-Second Step Middle School Edition Student Self-Report (aligns with Second Step Middle School Digital program)	Detailed Assessment	6-8	37	5-7 minutes	Social-Emotional Composite (SEC); Mindsets and Goals; Developing a Positive Sense of Self; Thoughts, Emotions, and Decisions; Managing Relationships and Social Conflict