Interrater agreement and discrepancy when assessing problem behaviors, social-emotional skills, and developmental status of kindergarten children.

Abstract

The present study examined parent-teacher agreement and discrepancy when assessing kindergarten children's behavioral and emotional problems, social-emotional skills, and developmental status. Parents and teachers of overall n = 922 kindergarten children (M age = 3.99; 449 girls) rated the children using the Conners Early Childhood, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Questionnaire for Assessing Preschool Children's Behavior. Agreement was moderate for problem behaviors and social-emotional skills and substantial for developmental status. Agreement was stronger for externalizing than for internalizing problems. Agreement on the clinical relevance of problem behaviors and of social-emotional skills was stronger for children with a clinical diagnosis than for those without. Parents tended to report more problems, but also greater social-emotional skills and developmental status, than teachers. The findings corroborate the importance of situational specificity for understanding interrater agreement and discrepancy. Future teacher questionnaires should more specifically assess children's functioning in kindergarten.