Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale

The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale, Third Edition (BERS-3) is strength-based: it asks what a child does well, rather than focusing on problems. It gathers three perspectives on the same child — a Youth Rating Scale the student completes, a Parent Rating Scale, and a Teacher Rating Scale — so a team can see where those views agree and where they diverge.

Five areas are rated: interpersonal strength (getting along with others), family involvement, intrapersonal strength (how a child views their own competence), school functioning, and affective strength (accepting affection and expressing feelings). Subscale scores combine into an overall Strengths Index compared against norms. The results are built to feed goal-writing for behavior intervention plans, IEPs, and transition plans.

• Ed Instrument's Overview

Licensing Notes: Rating scales are consumables sold in packs of 25. The complete kit includes an Online Scoring and Report System that converts raw scores, compares within-form scores, and generates a narrative report. Reproduction requires publisher permission.

Learn More: The kit also includes a Strength-Based Interview form and a picture book, and the narrative report generates suggested goals, which is helpful for use in an IEP.