Psychometric Properties of the Behavior Assessment System for Children Student Observation System (BASC-3 SOS) with Young Children in Special Education

Ellyn M Schmidt; W Andrew Rothenberg; Bridget C Davidson; Miya Barnett; Jason Jent; Heleny Cadenas; Corina Fernandez; Eileen Davis

doi:10.1007/s10864-021-09458-x

Psychometric Properties of the Behavior Assessment System for Children Student Observation System (BASC-3 SOS) with Young Children in Special Education

J Behav Educ. 2021 Nov 1:1-22. doi: 10.1007/s10864-021-09458-x. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Ellyn M Schmidt¹, W Andrew Rothenberg^{1

2}, Bridget C Davidson^{1

3}, Miya Barnett⁴, Jason Jent¹, Heleny Cadenas¹, Corina Fernandez¹, Eileen Davis¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Mailman Center for Child Development, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1601 NW 12th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136 USA.
² Duke University Center for Child and Family Policy, Durham, NC 27708 USA.
³ Pediatric Psychology Associates, Aventura, FL USA.
⁴ University of California, Santa Barbara, CA USA.

Abstract

Measuring classroom behavior among young children is important to guide assessment and intervention decisions, yet there is limited literature on appropriate direct observation tools for this purpose. This article describes the psychometric properties of the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Student Observation System (BASC-3 SOS) with 135 children ages 20 to 67 months (M = 35 months, 64% Latinx, 78% with an established developmental disability) and their teachers (N = 36) as part of a larger randomized control trial of a teacher training intervention. Inter-rater reliability on individual BASC-3 SOS behaviors ranged from poor to good. Correlations between BASC-3 SOS scores across time indicated low to moderate developmental test-retest reliability. Significant correlations between BASC-3 SOS scores and teacher ratings provided evidence for convergent, divergent, and predictive validity. Differences between BASC-3 SOS scores for children with versus without disabilities supported the tool's discriminant validity. There were no significant pre- to post-treatment changes in BASC-3 SOS scores. Overall, results provide mixed evidence for the psychometric properties of the BASC-3 SOS when used with young, diverse children with and without disabilities. Implications for clinical and research purposes are discussed.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10864-021-09458-x.

Keywords: Classroom observation tool; Developmental disabilities; Early special education; Systematic direct observation; Teacher–Child Interaction Training.