Description
Ages: 3-0 through 6-11
Testing Time: 12 minutes
Administration: Individual
Scoring: Online only
The Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales–Third Edition (PKBS-3) is a behavior rating scale designed for use with children ages 3 through 6 years. Home-, school-, or daycare-based raters can use this unique behavior rating scale to provide an integrated and functional appraisal of young children’s social skills and problem behaviors.
The Social Skills scale includes 34 items on three subscales:
- Social Cooperation
- Social Interaction
- Social Independence
The Problem Behavior scale includes 42 items on two subscales:
- Externalizing Problems
- Internalizing Problems
Five supplementary problem behavior subscales are also available for optional use. The test yields standard scores and percentile ranks for the scales and subscales.
Technical and Statistical Characteristics
Eight hundred fifty parents and 752 teachers rated representative samples of students with and without disabilities. Demographics of the standardization samples are reported in the manual by age, geographic region, race, Hispanic status, gender, household income, and parent educational level.
PKBS-3 has excellent reliability. Internal consistency reliability coefficients range from .82 to .95 (very large to nearly perfect) for the subscales and .94 to .97 (nearly perfect) for the composites. Interrater reliabilities range from .53 to .65 (large) for the subscales and from .73 to .85 (very large to nearly perfect) for the composites. Diagnostic accuracy analyses for the PKBS-3 resulted in sensitivities and specificities greater than .80, and ROC/AUCs that range from .87 to .97.
The PKBS-3 Online Administration, Scoring, and Report System (provided as part of the PKBS-3 Complete Kit and replacement packs of forms) is used for entering test session results; generating subscale and composite scores, percentile ranks, and upper and lower confidence intervals; and obtaining a summary report. The software can also be used as a stand-alone product, eliminating the need to purchase paper materials. The Response Form can be delivered electronically in English or Spanish directly to the rater for completion.
COMPLETE PKBS-3 KIT INCLUDES: Examiner’s Manual, 50 Response Forms, and access to the Online Administration, Scoring, and Report System, all in a sturdy storage box. (©2026)