TRI-CITIES, Wash. – The “Washington Assessment of the Risks and Needs of Students” (WARNS) is a program created by Washington State University to assist schools in identifying factors that influence students’ performance.
Dr. Paul Strand, a WSU psychology professor, helped develop the program. The 40-question assessment aims to uncover various aspects of students’ lives that may affect their schooling.
“Students can learn about themselves, which I think is one of the most exciting parts of it. They can learn sort of where they fall in terms of these different domains,” Strand said.
The assessment focuses on six key areas: aggression-defiance, depression-anxiety, substance abuse, peer deviance, family environment, and school engagement. These factors help counselors quickly understand a student’s experiences and behaviors.
“You could start to be able to assess the barriers that are keeping these kids from being able to achieve the kind of success that they would like and the kind of success that schools would like to see their students achieve,” Strand said.
Once students complete the assessment, the program provides results to both the counselor and student about the students’ risk levels. This process helps initiate important conversations between students and schools.
“The goal is to be able to have an instrument that very quickly allows both students and schools to have some information that allows them to be able to have conversations that might turn around a student who is struggling in school,” Strand said.
WARNS is currently used in over 140 school districts in Washington. Schools in Virginia, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are also beginning to use the program. Each district implements the program differently, with some assessing all students and others focusing only on struggling students.
Strand emphasized that WARNS promotes open dialogue and supports students in getting the help they might need.
“It oftentimes gets students to start asking questions. And that’s really the best thing that can happen in a conversation is that both people are asking questions, not just one person,” said Strand.
WARNS recently received a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to continue improving the tool for future use.