School Psychology International 33(1) 93–111 ! The Author(s) 2011 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0143034311403036 spi.sagepub.com Article Testing a multi-stage screening system: Predicting performance on Australia’s national achievement test using teachers’ ratings of academic and social behaviors Ryan J. Kettler Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, USA Stephen N. Elliott Arizona State University, USA Michael Davies Griffith University, Australia Patrick Griffin University of Melbourne, Australia Abstract This study addresses the predictive validity of results from a screening system of aca- demic enablers, with a sample of Australian elementary school students, when the criterion variable is end-of-year achievement. The investigation included (a) comparing the predictive validity of a brief criterion-referenced nomination system with more comprehensive behavior ratings, and (b) determining the optimal combination of scores to gather from this system for identifying academic difficulties. Students (n ¼ 360) were rated using both the Performance Screening Guides (PSGs; Elliott & Gresham, 2007) and the Rating Scales (Gresham & Elliott, 2008) of the Social Skills Improvement System. The PSGs were highly sensitive (0.95) predictors of below min- imum standard performance on the national test. The Rating Scales, including the brief Corresponding author: Ryan J. Kettler, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 152 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA Email: r.j.kettler@rutgers.edu