Kids these days and kids those days: Investigating perceptions of children's social skills from 1988 to 2007.

Behavior rating scales are frequently used assessment tools designed to measure social skills. Use of norm-referenced assessments such as behavior rating scales requires examiners and test publishers to consider when norms become obsolete and norm-referenced scores can no longer be validly interpreted. A fundamental factor influencing norm obsolescence regards changes in baseline levels of targeted traits within the population. Yet, limited research exists regarding how social skills may change at a population level over time as measured by established assessment tools. Thus, the present study investigates population trends in social skills of K-12 children as rated by parents, teachers, and students by concordantly linking the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS; nparent = 833, nteacher = 1215, nstudent = 4105) and the Social Skills Improvement System-Rating Scales (SSIS-RS; nparent = 2400, nteacher = 750, nstudent = 800) using validity samples collected during the development of the SSIS-RS (nparent = 240, nteacher = 221, nstudent = 224). Analyses evaluated differences between ratings on the standardization data from 1988 and 2007 by informant, sex, grade level, and sex by grade level. After applying linear linking techniques, we conducted a series of statistical comparisons that revealed a general upward trend of ratings for the 2007 sample compared to the 1988 sample, with important differences across sex, grade level, and informant. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings for consideration and assessment of children's social skills.

Evaluating the factor structure and measurement invariance of the Academic Competence Evaluation Scales-Short Form.

The Academic Competence Evaluation Scales-Short Form (ACES-SF) is a brief measure of students' academic skills and academic enablers that is completed by K-12 teachers for screening and intervention planning purposes. This study examined the factor structure and measurement invariance of the ACES-SF using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to support cross-group comparisons of students' academic competence across grade level, gender, and race/ethnicity. The sample included 512 certified K-8 teachers from across the United States who provided demographic information and ACES-SF ratings for 1,024 students (50% female). Results indicated good fit of a seven-factor structure and full scalar invariance across gender, grade level, and race/ethnicity. Implications and future directions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).