Second Step® Assessment

How to choose the right assessment tools, based on your goals and priorities

Understanding the Options

We’re often asked by schools and districts for advice on how to assess their students’ social-emotional competencies. Assessment of social-emotional learning (SEL) can be as formal and rigorous as a multi-site, randomized control trial (RCT) or as casual as asking teachers and students for feedback. Most commonly, schools and districts choose to do something that falls between these two.

A good general approach is choosing an assessment tool that can help you gather data points that relate meaningfully to your strategic goals, which may include increasing students’ sense of belonging or improving academic engagement.

Where to Start

As with measuring academic competencies, there are many possible metrics and tools to measure social-emotional competencies and the overall impact of your SEL implementation.¹ Finding the right strategy depends on your goals. To plan thoughtfully, start by asking a few guiding questions.

Is assessment a requirement?

Sometimes a grant or official mandate requires assessment of students’ social-emotional competencies. If so, be sure to read the requirements for choosing an assessment tool carefully to make sure you gather and report the requisite information. The assessment tools and guidelines included with Second Step® programs (e.g., the program evaluation guide) work well for schools that want to make sure teachers and students are benefiting from the program and determine if additional support or training is needed.

What specific information are you hoping to learn?

If you primarily want to identify general areas for continuous improvement or gauge where students might need more instructional support, then the Second Step® tools will likely suffice. If instead you want to gather specific data to help evaluate the effectiveness of your implementation or map out individual plans for social-emotional and academic growth, then it may be worth your while to invest in an assessment tool designed to capture very specific metrics.

How much time and money do you plan to allocate to the process?

Investing in assessment might improve accountability and continuous improvement, but keep in mind that the cost of the tool does not necessarily reflect its usefulness. A good general approach to selecting the right tool is to make sure you can gather data points that relate meaningfully to your strategic goals, such as decreasing bullying behaviors or more positive student-teacher relationships.

Assessment Options by Goal

Once you’ve clearly identified your purpose for assessment, the data you need, and how much you can spend, you’re ready to choose a tool. We evaluated a few reliable options from trustworthy providers to help you select the best fit for your needs. As you review these options, keep in mind that students’ social-emotional skills and knowledge continuously evolve as they grow and develop. SEL competency assessments are a snapshot of one period of time in a lifelong journey.

Please note that the DESSA-SSE listed below is only intended for use with Second Step® Elementary kits and not Second Step® Elementary digital program.

Grayed-out boxes do not meet the requirements for the specified assessment goal.

Assessment Goal

Tool

Needs Assessment
What are your school’s SEL needs? Understand your students’ SEL strengths and areas for growth.

Included in Second Step® programs
DESSA–SSE
Panorama
SDQ
DECA
SELweb

PreK–Grade 8
K–5
PreK–Grade 8
PreK–Grade 8
PreK
K–6

Implementation Fidelity
How effectively is the program being used? Where can improvements be made?

Included in Second Step programs
DESSA–SSE
Panorama
SDQ
DECA
SELweb

PreK–Grade 8
K–5
PreK–Grade 8
PreK–Grade 8
PreK
K–6

Formative Assessment
How are students progressing toward SEL goals? What areas or topics need further instruction?

Included in Second Step programs*
DESSA–SSE
Panorama
SDQ
DECA
SELweb

K–8 Performance Tasks
*Second Step Elementary digital program and Second Step® Middle School only.
K–5
PreK–Grade 8
PreK–Grade 8
PreK
K–6

Summative Assessment
Best for Program Evaluation
What knowledge have students acquired about social-emotional skills and concepts taught in the program?

Is the program having the intended impact on our school and students?

Included in Second Step programs
DESSA–SSE
Panorama
SDQ
DECA
SELweb

PreK–Grade 8
K–5
PreK–Grade 8
PreK–Grade 8
PreK
K–6

Assessment Options by Provider

The Second Step® Elementary digital program and Second Step® Middle School include formative assessments in the form of performance tasks at the end of each unit. Performance tasks are fun, engaging activities that allow students to demonstrate skills and knowledge acquired in the program and provide educators an opportunity to monitor progress toward SEL goals. They are not designed to evaluate students’ social-emotional competencies. If your aim is to delve deeper and thoroughly evaluate students’ individual social-emotional competencies, then investing in an assessment-specific tool, such as those mentioned below, is suggested.

Tools

Provider
Target
Format
Reports Available
On-Demand Reports
Time Per Student

Aperture
K–5
Online
Teacher
Yes
3–5 minutes

Aperture’s DESSA-SSE (Second Step Edition) is an online version of the well-known Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA). It has been customized for Second Step Elementary to score and track changes in social-emotional competencies quickly and easily.

Panorama Education
PreK–8 (teachers); Grades 3–5 (students)
Online
Student; Teacher
Yes
Varies; Typically 15–30 minutes

Panorama Education’s SEL measurement platform aligns well with the Second Step® family of programs. Customizable reports make it easy to analyze data by subgroups—such as race or ethnicity, gender, and Title I status—at the individual, class, grade, school, and district levels. Teacher surveys can be used for PreK–Grade 8. Student self-reports are available for Grades 3–8.

Youth in Mind
Ages 2–17
Paper/Pencil
Student; Teacher
No
3–10 minutes

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a self-inventory behavioral screening questionnaire developed by psychiatrist Robert N. Goodman. Several versions are available, of different lengths and for different ages, to meet the needs of researchers, clinicians, and educators.

Devereux
PreK
Online; Paper/Pencil
Teacher
Yes
5–10 minutes

Devereux Center for Resilient Children develops a variety of strength-based assessments and resources. Its DECA Preschool Program, used in conjunction with Second Step® Early Learning, is a highly effective way to assess, build, and strengthen social-emotional skills, protective factors, and resilience in children ages 3–5.

xSEL Labs
K–6
Online
Student
Yes
20–30 minutes total (can be done in multiple sessions)

Developed by xSEL Labs, SELweb is a web-based system designed to assess key social-emotional skills that are associated with success in school and life and that are the targets of evidence-based social-emotional learning programs. SELweb directly assesses children’s understanding of others’ emotions and perspectives, their social problem-solving skills, and their self-control.

Illuminate Education
Grades K–12 SAEBRS; Grades 2–12 mySAEBRS
Online
Teacher; School District
Yes
SAEBRS: 5 minutes; mySAEBRS: 10 minutes

The Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS) is a brief and efficient tool for universal screening of Grades K–12 students’ risk for social-emotional and behavioral problems. mySAEBRS is a 20-item self-report measure for students in Grades 2–12 that corresponds with SAEBRS items. SAEBRS may be used to evaluate students’ overall behavior, as well as determine if programs and practices in schools are effectively meeting student needs.

Addressing Common Challenges with SEL Assessment

Findings from a 2011 broadly publicized study of universal SEL programs found that SEL works best when it’s part of a larger, coordinated effort to create a positive learning environment.² Regardless of how rigorous your chosen assessment strategy is, it can be tricky to isolate and assess the factors contributing to or detracting from student success. We know from years of working with top-performing schools and from numerous studies that there are some key features to successful SEL implementation, including: whole-school adoption, well-trained staff, sequenced lessons that explicitly teach skills in age-appropriate ways, varied instructional strategies to engage diverse learning styles, and a focus on culturally relevant SEL, with tiered levels of intervention and support.

Learn more on our blog about common assessment challenges and practical tips for creating a positive impact.

Explore More Resources

Second Step® Assessment Guides

The guides below provide more detailed information about the different ways evaluations can be designed, how to match evaluation strategies to program goals, how to implement Second Step® programs with fidelity, and how to use findings to improve outcomes.

Second Step Early Learning Program Evaluation Guide (PDF)

Second Step Elementary Program Evaluation Guide (PDF)

Second Step Middle School Program Evaluation Guide (PDF)

Second Step Middle School 2008 Edition Evaluation Guide (PDF)

SEL Assessments Aligned to Second Step Programs

To learn how the skills taught in Second Step programs link to assessments and strategies in other programs, use the alignment charts below.

Second Step Early Learning and DECA Alignment Chart (PDF)

Second Step Program and Panorama Alignment Chart (PDF)

¹ Schools and districts are investing significantly in SEL programs because research shows that social-emotional competencies, such as critical thinking and problem-solving, contribute to academic and career success. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) led a multidisciplinary work group to better understand best practices for choosing and implementing SEL assessments. To learn more, visit: https://measuringsel.casel.org/

² Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. (2011). “The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions.” Child Development, 82, 405–432.