Guidelines for Conducting Ratings

Overview

This article includes the recommended guidelines to achieve the best results for conducting student ratings in the DESSA System.

General Administration Guidelines 

• The rater should complete DESSA ratings during a quiet time when there are few distractions. 
• The rater should base the ratings on direct observations of the student, considering only behaviors that he/she has actually seen. The rater should not consider behaviors that were reported to occur in other classrooms or settings. 
• The rater should consider only those behaviors that have occurred in the past 4 weeks. 
• When completing a DESSA rating, the rater should avoid comparing the student being rated to other children. 
• The rating should be based solely on the number of times the student being rated exhibited the behaviors, not how frequently the student exhibits the behavior in comparison to other students in the classroom. 
• The rater should answer every item. An inability to complete the items indicates that the rater does not know the student well, and another rater should be used.