A Taxometric Analysis and External Validation of the Latent Structure of Student Risks and Needs

The present study applied taxometric analyses to the Washington Assessment of Risks and Needs of Students (WARNS)-an instrument designed to assess multiple domains of functioning related to justice system involvement arising from school disengagement-a trajectory referred to as the school to prison pipeline. Previous taxometric studies of constructs related to juvenile justice system involvement found dimensional rather than taxonic (dichotomous) latent structures. Participants were 5008 students from 89 Washington school districts who completed the WARNS as part of standard educational practices. The results were uniformly consistent with a dimensional latent structure. Also supporting a dimensional latent structure, dichotomized WARNS scores were significantly less strongly associated with student arrests, school suspensions, and school skip days than continuous WARNS scores. These findings support the dimensionality of risk and needs and have implications for assessments undertaken to improve school and social outcomes for at-risk youth.