District-Determined Measure Example
Social Emotional Learning in High School, Ages 14-22
Content Area and Grade Range: Social Communication, Self Advocacy, Self Regulation for
Grades 9-12+
DDM Summary: This common assessment measures student growth across the areas of social
communication, self-advocacy, and self-regulation. There are 3 core course objectives aligned to
each content area.
Developed by: Julie Garell, Assistant Director of Student Services, Swansea; Toni-Marie Kelly,
School Psychologist, Bellingham; Rachel Atwater-Rhodes, School Psychologist, Bellingham;
Suzanne Prall, Project Leader, BICO
Pilot Districts: Bellingham, Swansea
Date last updated: April 13, 2015
Table of Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 2
Instrument ........................................................................................................................................ 3
Administration Protocol .................................................................................................................. 4
Scoring Guide .................................................................................................................................. 5
Measuring Growth and Setting Parameters ................................................................................... X
Piloting .............................................................................................................................................. X
Assessment Blueprint ..................................................................................................................... X
Bi-County Collaborative – DDM – Social Emotional Learning in HS 1
Introduction
Working collaboratively, a group of related service providers from 10 school districts in MA
developed this measure of student growth in the area of social emotional learning. The developers
reviewed curriculum content used in their districts, along with the MA common core Speaking and
Listening Standards Pre-K -12 and MA Mental Health Standards Pre-K -12. The result was an
agreement on core course objectives for each area: social communication, self-regulation, and selfadvocacy. Different approaches to measuring student learning were reviewed and discussed, e.g.,
pre-post assessments, repeated measures, holistic approach, posttest only, portfolio, etc.
Performance assessment scored on a rubric made the most sense to measure student growth in
the area of social–emotional learning with demonstration and generalization in the classroom being
the ultimate goal.
The target audience for this common measure encompasses high school students aged 14-22 who
have been identified as needing small group or individual intervention in the area of social/emotional
skills, including students who have been identified with disabilities. The evaluator can modify the
instrument in one, two, or three of the content areas covered by the instrument – social
communication, self-regulation, and self-advocacy. This measure is intended to be used by
Specialized Instructional Support Personnel, such as School Psychologists, counselors, Special
Educators, etc., during counseling and/or social skills group interventions.
Bi-County Collaborative – DDM – Social Emotional Learning in HS 2
Content (Standard)
Social Communication:
 Perspective Taking – Student will be able to
demonstrate an understanding of the thoughts and
feelings of someone else.
 Understanding Norms – Student will be able to
understand and demonstrate expected behavior.
 Social Pragmatics – Student will be able to engage in
social interactions using expected verbal and nonverbal communication skills.
Self-Advocacy:
 Identifying Needs – Students will be able to accurately
self-assess their needs.
 Identifying Resources – Student will be able to identify
and access the person(s) and/or appropriate
resources or strategies to execute and/or implement
their plan.
 Communicating Need – Student will be able to
express need and evaluate options and take expected
action/develop a plan to address the need.
Self-Regulation:
 Self-awareness – Studentx will be able to identify
internal feelings and emotions and their physiological
responses.
 Self-Management – Student will evaluate and use
expected coping strategies.
 Problem Solving – Student will develop an action plan
in response to triggers or conflict.
Weight
33% of the
measure
33% of the
measure
33% of the
measure
100%
Instrument
The instrument consists of three rubrics, one for social communication, one for self-regulation, and
one self-advocacy. Each rubric addresses 3 core course objectives with four levels of performance
expectations ranging from low to high in cognitive complexity – remembering, understanding,
applying, and analyzing/evaluating/creating. This DDM suggests performance activities and tasks
for each level for each core course objective. Students will be asked by the evaluator to complete
various performance tasks and activities, including orally responding to visuals, listening to
Bi-County Collaborative – DDM – Social Emotional Learning in HS 3
stories/scenarios, and responding/ discussing, creating a drawing, and completing graphic
organizers, as well as worksheets to demonstrate knowledge and skills related to each core course
objective.
Educators will first select which skills area(s) – social communication, self-advocacy or selfregulation – is consistent with the needs areas of the student(s) in the group to be assessed. The
educator then selects the rubric for the identified skill area. The educator may use all or some of the
subsections for the identified skill area, for example, if the student’s area of concern is social
communication, the educator can use the rubric to evaluate perspective taking, social pragmatics
and understanding norms, or choose only some of these areas, depending on the student’s
identified need. The rubrics identify the tasks and activities provided for each core course objective
and for each level of the rubrics.
Administration Protocol
When is the measure administered?
A baseline measure will be given when initially beginning to work with a student. The measure will
be administered at the end of each marking period to determine progress on each objective. The
measure can be additionally administered as needed throughout the school year, e.g. before a
progress meeting, when determining continued need for services, as recommended by Tea.
How is the measure administered?
This measure is developed as a rubric for specialized instructional support personnel, and does not
include a time limit or time constraints. It is intended for use within counseling sessions. Students
will be allowed as much time as needed when completing specific tasks and activities. Based on the
rubric, the educator will use the scoring sheet for the identified course objective(s) to record the
student’s score for each activity assessed.
How will accommodations be documented?
This measure serves as a rubric for completion by specialized instructional support personnel; the
tool could therefore be modified to meet the support personnel’s needs. The specific tasks,
questions, or activities can be modified in any way to accommodate the student whom the support
personnel are trying to assess. For example, if a student is unable or unwilling to complete writing
tasks, the educator can allow the students to verbalize their answers while the educator scribes.
How are deviations to protocols addressed?
This assessment can be given to any student, regardless of time of year, dependent on when the
support personnel begin working with them.
Bi-County Collaborative – DDM – Social Emotional Learning in HS 4
Scoring Guide
Using the scoring guide and scoring sheet, the specialized instructional support personnel will meet
with the student over a few counseling sessions and go through the prescribed tasks. The support
personnel will score the student in each of the categories. The initial process will be deemed the
pre-test and used as the baseline for data and measuring growth.
Bi-County Collaborative – DDM – Social Emotional Learning in HS 5