The Research-Backed Imperative for SEB Screening in Schools
10 MIN READAuthor: Steven Dahl, M.Ed.
Director of Professional Learning & Content Development
The Center for Educational Effectiveness
Author: David Tudor
Director of K-12 Systems Change & Implementation
The Center for Educational Effectiveness
In today's educational climate, the mental and social-emotional health and behavioral patterns of students have come to the forefront of district-level discussions. Superintendents and the departments that implement student support services are now tasked with integrating strategies that address the complexity of student wellness beyond only academic performance. Social Emotional Behavioral (SEB) screenings are pivotal in this holistic educational approach, where the focus expands from academic achievement to encompass the entire student well-being spectrum. To meet this need in districts, CEE researched and designed the Student Universal Wellness Screener (SUWS). In this 4-part blog series, you will learn the rationale, realities, results, and roadmap of best SEB screening practices available when implementing the SUWS.
The Science of Early Intervention
Compelling research underscores the significance of early and proactive identification of students' SEB needs. A comprehensive review by Dowdy et al. (2019) demonstrates that early SEB screenings can significantly impact students' long-term educational and social outcomes. Romer et al. (2020) emphasizes the link between early intervention and long-term academic and social success. By implementing SEB screenings, educators can detect potential challenges before they escalate, allowing for timely and effective intervention strategies.
SEB screenings are more than just preventive measures; they are transformative tools that can reshape the educational journey. According to the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, schools that incorporate these screenings report better student engagement, reduced disciplinary incidents, and improved academic performance. District leaders leveraging these tools can foster environments where students are not just educated but truly understood and supported. Moreover, ‘early’ doesn’t equate to implementation in earliest grades only. Rather, SEB screening practices at the secondary levels have profound impact on provision of supports for grades, groups and individual students that may not have been detected previously.
Strategic SEB Screenings for Holistic Development
For Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents, SEB screenings represent an opportunity to lead with insight and compassion. The strategic integration of these screenings into the educational framework necessitates thoughtful planning and resource allocation. Without specific SEB screening tools and resources, holistic and proactive insights are simply unavailable. As a result, the system has a high degree of empathy for its students but lacks the actionable insights needed to ensure an effective response is provided for every student. Aligning the screenings with district-wide goals ensures that they complement existing support systems and provides metrics of success.
Maximizing the Efficacy of SEB Screenings
For SEB screenings to be truly effective, they must be integrated into the school's ecosystem seamlessly and ethically. This involves careful selection of screening instruments, ensuring that they are culturally responsive and aligned with the community's values. Moreover, it is imperative to maintain the confidentiality and dignity of every student throughout the screening process. The role of SEB screenings in creating a nurturing learning environment cannot be overstated. They provide a foundation for cultivating empathy, resilience, and a sense of community within schools. As noted by Kilgus et al. (2021), schools that prioritize SEB well-being contribute to a positive school climate that echoes throughout the community, promoting a culture of inclusivity and respect.
This finding echoes the findings of CEE’s own Outlier Study (2021) conducted with generous funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation surfaced the common conditions in schools successfully serving all students to high levels of achievement across the 5 years included in the study. Titled ‘Characteristics of Positive Outlier Schools: Illuminating the Strengths of American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, Latino/a, and Students Experiencing Poverty’, the study identified the core practices observed in the 38 ‘positive outlier schools’ among Washington State’s 2,100 schools included in the study. These common conditions include data-driven decision making, frequent school collaboration, and a framework to support equitable outcomes that all help contribute to a ‘family-like atmosphere’ where a shared understanding for each student’s needs leads to a shared response to those needs.
Schools lacking an effective SEB Screening process and tools risk investing resources and expertise in disjointed and ineffective ways. Professionals who have made it a priority to create the common conditions evidenced in the Outlier Study have cleared a major hurdle – a shared commitment to making a systemic change.
SEB Screenings and Educational Leadership
As district leaders, embracing SEB screenings is about fostering an educational culture that values the whole child. It's a commitment to creating a nurturing environment where every student is seen, understood, and supported. This ethos is at the heart of educational leadership, driving policies that honor the diverse needs of the student body. But, is having ‘a SEB Screener’ enough?
Implementing SEB screenings is not merely an administrative decision; it is a visionary step toward transformative education. According to the NEEDs2 Project, “Fewer than one-in-ten districts (6%) complete brief SEB screeners for all students: universal school-based SEB screening is the exception, not the norm.” Superintendents and educational leaders MUST review the research, engage with stakeholders, and chart a path forward that embraces the comprehensive well-being of every student. The future of education is one where emotional, social, and behavioral health is not ancillary to education—it is a fundamental part of it.
It must be recognized that while implementing a SEB Screener is a necessary condition for systemic transformation, by itself, it is insufficient. There are many challenges associated with effective decision-making, collaboration, and implementation of supports that stem from best practice use of a SEB Screener. To address those challenges, it is important to leverage internal and external expertise, foster conditions for transformation, and perpetuate structures for sustainability so that equity and excellence are the twin aims of the organization. As noted by Rosner et al (2020), use of a SEB Screener should not be only to detect ‘psychological problems’ but to direct (pg. 7) ‘attention to student competencies, assets, and positive emotions that are also highly relevant to a complete mental health status.’ Additional insights on student perceptions of social supports from peers, parents, and school professionals illuminate leadership actions and move away from a historical bias toward deficit-based thinking and labeling of students.
In summary, every educational leader should know the research-based rationale for implementing a SEB Screener includes:
Early Intervention: Identify SEB needs early, improving long-term outcomes for students.
Holistic Development: Enhance student engagement and improve academic performance.
Strategic Integration: Align SEB screenings with district goals and tailor supports to individuals, groups, grade-levels, and schools.
Educational Leadership: Embrace SEB screenings to create safe and supportive learning environments valuing the whole child.
Regardless of the size of a district, the chief aim of educational systems is to create the learning conditions needed for each and every learner to thrive. Whether your system has 1,800 students or 180,000 – the need for an effective SEB Screener is well-documented. In the next blog in this series, we will consider the most common barriers to screening implementation and provide specific, actionable steps you can take to overcome such challenges.
Learn more about CEE’s Student Universal Wellness Screener (SUWS).
With content that is relevant to the work you do, be sure to check out the Outliers in Education podcast.
Learn more about CEE Solutions