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This week’s blog was contributed by Eric Culqui, MA, PPS, PAR’s educational assessments advisor–regional accounts. Eric is a licensed school psychologist with more than 14 years of experience. He’s a NASP-certified crisis response trainer and first responder. 

Across the nation, many schools have opened their doors to welcome students back for face-to-face instruction. After nearly two years of quarantines, remote learning, and potential health scares, many educators are concerned with the overall health of their students. It’s imperative for educational institutions to have a measurement tool to identify emotionally at-risk children as they transition back to the school environment. 

The Feifer Assessment of Childhood Trauma (FACT) Teacher Form is a multipurpose rating scale designed to convey how stress and trauma impact children (ages 4–18 years) in a school-based setting. This edition allows for immediate use of the instrument by educators while data collection and normative development of the full instrument, which will include a Parent Form and Self-Report Form, continues through the current school year. 

Designed for use by educational diagnosticians, school counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, community mental health providers, school administrators, and pediatricians, the FACT Teacher Form is completed by a classroom teacher or other educator familiar with the student’s typical behavior and day-to-day functioning. It’s designed to quantify the impact of traumatic experiences on school-based functioning to generate specific interventions, not to identify a particular source or subtype of trauma. 

The FACT Teacher Form consists of 79 items and is administered and scored on PARiConnect, PAR’s online assessment platform. It takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. Higher scores on the clinical scales indicate increasing symptoms of stress and trauma—information critical for triage and intervention. 

Items were written based on the behavioral, emotional, and academic difficulties that arise when students are in a state of physiological and/or psychological dysregulation due to trauma and stress. 

Understanding the struggles and trauma of our school-age children is critical to providing them appropriate supports and interventions. The FACT Teacher Form (and upcoming Parent Form and Self-Report Form) provide educators with the tools necessary to identify and assist students most in need. 

Learn more about the FACT Teacher Form.  

 

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Trauma is the leading cause of mortality in children. Adverse childhood experiences are occurring at a staggering frequency, and they have significant downstream effects on behavior and learning potential. But kids can’t thrive at school unless they feel safe, supported, and ready to learn.

As they return to school this year, it’s imperative to quickly assess how severely your students have been affected by trauma—including pandemic-related trauma—and how it’s impacting their behavior and performance at school.

Developed by noted school psychologist and educational neuropsychologist Steven G. Feifer, DEd, the FACT Teacher Form can help. It’s the first comprehensive instrument measuring the impact of stress and trauma on children’s (ages 4–18 years) behavior and performance in school from the teacher’s perspective. It’s being made available for immediate use now while the full FACT—which will include parent and self-reports—is being developed.

Armed with the information provided by the FACT Teacher Form, you can formulate targeted interventions that better meet your students’ needs. Learn more at parinc.com/FACT_Teacher

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