Elementary School Success Profile (ESSP) – For Teachers

Abstract

The Elementary School Success Profile (ESSP), Teacher Report version, is a specialized psychological scale designed for use by school staff to assess the ecological factors influencing a student’s academic and social adjustment in grades 1 through 6. This instrument is part of a multi-informant assessment system, providing a structured means for teachers, counselors, and social workers to evaluate critical domains including the student’s academic performance, social behavior, and the degree of family involvement in their education. The ESSP employs a results management approach to assessment, aiming to identify specific areas of risk and protective factors to inform targeted intervention planning and enhance overall student success.

Keywords

Elementary School Success Profile, ESSP, teacher report, school success, social behavior, academic performance, family involvement, ecological assessment, intervention planning, student adjustment.

Authors

Natasha K. Bowen, Gary L. Bowen

Purpose

The primary purpose of the ESSP (Teacher version) is to facilitate a comprehensive, multi-systemic evaluation of elementary school children who may be experiencing academic or behavioral difficulties. It serves as a diagnostic tool that moves beyond simple identification of problems to provide a detailed profile of the student’s functioning within their immediate environments (school and family).

By gathering data from the perspective of school personnel—who are crucial ecological informants—the ESSP helps school-based practitioners develop evidence-based interventions. The structured format assists in monitoring progress over time (results management) and ensures that interventions address contextual factors, such as specific classroom behaviors or parental engagement, rather than focusing solely on individual deficits.

Construct

The ESSP is grounded in ecological systems theory, measuring a child’s adaptation and success across key domains that interact with the school environment. The core constructs measured by the teacher report include:

• School Performance: Measures objective academic metrics (grades, retention history, special program eligibility) and subjective teacher evaluations of current performance and perceived potential in core subjects (Reading/Language and Math).
• Social Behavior: Assesses interpersonal skills, prosocial behavior, emotional regulation (e.g., controlling temper, calming down), and problematic behaviors (e.g., aggression, breaking rules, stubbornness). This section specifically evaluates interaction with prosocial peers.
• Family Involvement: Captures the frequency and quality of parental engagement with the school (e.g., attendance at conferences, volunteering, contacting staff) and the educational expectations held by the adults in the child’s home.

Validity

Extensive research supports the validity of the ESSP. Studies have demonstrated strong evidence for the instrument’s utility in predicting important educational outcomes.

The ESSP has shown excellent concurrent and predictive validity, correlating significantly with student grades, attendance, and identification for special educational services such as services for children with learning disabilities (LD) and behavioral/emotional handicaps (BEH). The scale’s ecological framework allows it to capture variances in student outcomes attributable to neighborhood, school, peer, and family contexts, validating its multi-systemic approach.

Reliability

The psychometric properties of the ESSP have been rigorously tested, confirming its reliability across various subscales. Internal consistency, typically measured by Cronbach’s alpha, has been reported as acceptable to strong across the different domains of the scale (e.g., Social Behavior and Academic Performance).

The consistency of measurement ensures that the ESSP provides stable and trustworthy data for clinical decision-making and research. Specific studies detailing the reliability of the Elementary School Success Profile for Children and for Parents have been published, confirming its suitability for repeated use in school settings.

Factor Analysis

Studies involving Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) have been employed to validate the underlying structure of the ESSP, confirming that the scale items load onto the intended theoretical constructs (e.g., social behavior, academic performance, family environment).

For instance, research has specifically examined the factor structure of the home environment and home social behavior data collected via the ESSP for Families, confirming the fit of the proposed ecological model. These analyses support the dimensional structure of the ESSP and validate its use as a measure of multi-level influence on student outcomes.

Instrument

Test Type: Teacher-Report/Ecological Assessment Tool

Format: Structured questionnaire with multiple-choice and Likert-type rating scales (e.g., Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Very Often, Always).

Language Available: English (Primary publication language)

Population Group: Elementary school students (assessed by school staff).

Age Group: Typically students in Grades 1 through 6.

Population Details: Used for assessing students in general education and those identified for special programs, focusing on behavioral and academic risk factors.

Test Methodology: Assesses student characteristics and contextual factors (school and family) over the past 30 days or based on current placement/performance records.

Keywords

Academic risk, behavioral assessment, prosocial behavior, special education, attendance, grading, school personnel report, parental expectations, emotional regulation.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Refer to institutional affiliations of N.K. Bowen and G.L. Bowen at the time of publication (e.g., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for N.K. Bowen).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The instrument is available through the School Success Online website. Permissions and fees for use are generally managed by the scale developers or their associated institutions. The scale development and initial validation research occurred in the early to mid-2000s (e.g., key publications dating from 2002 to 2011). The original PDF can be downloaded here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3120049/pdf/nihms297558.pdf.

The instrument can be found at: https://www.schoolsuccessonline.com/

Reference’s

The following references document the development, validation, and psychometric evaluation of the School Success Profile (SSP) family of instruments, including the ESSP:

• Bowen, G. L., Richman, J. M., & Bowen, N. K. (2002). The School Success Profile: A results management approach to assessment and intervention planning. In: Roberts, A. R., & Greene, G. J. (Eds.), Social workers’ desk reference. New York: Oxford University Press, 787-793.
• Bowen, N. K., Bowen, G. L., & Woolley, M. E. (2004). Constructing and validating assessment tools for school based practitioners: The Elementary School Success Profile. In: Roberts, A. R., & Yeager, K. R. (Eds.), Evidence-based practice manual: Research and outcome measures in health and human services. New York: Oxford University Press, 509-517.
• Bowen, G. L., Rose, R. A., & Bowen, N. K. (2005). The reliability and validity of the School Success Profile. Philadelphia: Xlibris.
• Bowen, N. K., & Powers, J. D. (2005). Knowledge gaps among school staff and the role of high quality ecological assessments in schools. Research on Social Work Practice, 15, 491–500.
• Bowen, N. K. (2006). Psychometric properties of the Elementary School Success Profile for Children. Social Work Research, 30(1), 51–63.
• Fischer, Joel, & Corcoran, Kevin J. (2007). Measures for Clinical Practice and research: A sourcebook. (4th ed.). NY: Oxford University Pr. Vol. 1, Page(s): 510-528.
• Bowen, G. L., Rose, R. A., Powers, J. D., & Glennie, E. J. (2008). The joint effects of neighborhoods, schools, peers, and families on changes in the school success of middle school students. Family Relations, 57, 504–516.
• Bowen, N. K. (2008). Psychometric properties of the Elementary School Success Profile for Parents. Unpublished paper presented at the Society for Social Work Research; Washington, DC. January 2008.
• Bowen, N. K. (2008). Cognitive Testing and the Validity of Child-Report Data from the Elementary School Success Profile. Social Work Research, 32(1): 18.
• Wegmann, Kate M., Thompson, Aaron M., & Bowen, Natasha K. (2011). A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Home Environment and Home Social Behavior Data from the Elementary School Success Profile for Families. Social Work Research, 35(2), 117-127.

Items of the Elementary School Success Profile (ESSP)- For teachers

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

About You

I am the child’s:

• Regular classroom teacher
• Other teacher
• CIS worker
• Social worker
• Counselor
• Other student services staff
• Other school staff

School Performance

1. What grade is the student currently in?

• 1st grade
• 2nd grade
• 3rd grade
• 4th grade
• 5th grade
• 6th grade

2. How many grades has the child repeated in school?

• None
• 1 grade
• 2 grades
• 3 or more grades

3. How would you describe the student’s current academic performance in each subject area? (If the student has been retained, answer in relation to his/her current grade placement.)

Below grade level, At grade level, Above grade level

a. Reading/Language

b. Math

4. What grade did the student receive in each subject on his/her last report card? If It Is the beginning of the school year and no report cards have gone out yet, what grade is the student currently earning? if letter grades are not used to evaluate children in your school, choose the response that is closest to the grading scheme used.

a. Reading/Language: A, B, C, D, F

b. Math: A, B, C, D, F

5. What is the highest level of work you believe the student is capable of In each Subject area? (If the student has been retained, answer in relation to his/her current grade placement.)

Below grade level, At grade level, Above grade level

a. Reading/language

b. Math

6. Indicate If the student has been identified as eligible for any of the following special programs this school year.

NO, YES

a. Services for children with learning disabilities (LD)

b. Services for children with behavioral/emotional handicaps (BEH)

c. Services for children with other health impairments (OHI) [includes Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)]

d. Gifted or talented program

School Performance

7. In a typical month, how many days is the child absent from school?

• 0 days
• 1-2days
• 3-4 days
• 5 or more days

8. In the past 30 days, how often has the child’s parent(s) received a warning from school staff about the child’s attendance?

• Never
• Once
• Twice
• More than twice

9. In the past 30 days, how often has the child’s parent(s) received a warning from school staff about the child’s grades or academic performance?

• Never
• Once
• Twice
• More than twice

10. In the past 30 days, how often has the child’s parent(s) received a warning from school staff about the child’s behavior at school?

• Never
• Once
• Twice
• More than twice

Social Behavior

11. For the following statements, choose the response that best describes the student in the past 30 days.

Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Very Often, Always

The Student:

a. Is liked by classmates.

b. Is friendly.

c. Initiates interactions with others.

d. Plays with others.

e. Plays with prosocial peers.

f. Is accepted by prosocial peers.

12. For the following statements, choose the response that best describes the student in the past 30 days.

a. Thinks before acting.

b. Can give suggestions and opinions without being bossy.

c. Can calm down When excited or all wound up.

d. Is helpful to others

e. Controls temper when there is a disagreement.

f. Has trouble accepting authority.

g. Is very good at understanding other people’s feelings.

h. Breaks rules.

i. Is stubborn.

13. For the following statements, choose the response that best describes the student in the past 30 days.

a. Completes assignments.

b. Learns up to ability.

c. Is eager to learn.

d. Stays on task

e. Concentrates.

f. Works hard

g. Pays attention.

h. Is self-reliant.

14. For the following statements, choose the response that best describes the student in the past 30 days.

a. Physically fights

b. Harms others.

a. C. Plays aggressively (rough).

c. Hits others on purpose

Family

Never, Sometimes, Often, Always

15.How often do the adults the child lives with:

a. Have transportation to get to the school when needed

b. Go to the school for parent-teacher conferences

c. Volunteer at the school or in the classroom

d. Go to the school when parents are invited to fun events

e. e, Contact you or other school staff about the child’s school progress or behavior

f. Go to the school for information sessions for parents (such as workshops on behavior, testing special programs, or homework help)

g. Go to parent-teacher association (PTA) meetings.

16. How would you describe the educational expectations of the adults the child lives with (answer for the adult with the highest expectations)?

• Low expectations
• Average expectations
• High expectations
• Don`t know

17. How would you describe how involved the adults in the child’s home are In the child’s education and learning at home?

• Not involved
• Low level of involvement
• Average level of involvement
• High level of involvement
• More About You

18. What is your race/ethnicity?

• Native American or Alaskan Native
• Asian
• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
• Black/African American
• Hispanic/Latino
• White
• Multiracial
• Other

19. How many years have you been teaching elementary school?