Preventing School Violence: A Review of School Threat Assessment Models

Several experts and states have developed school threat assessment models to guide schools through the process of identifying, assessing, and managing threats of violence. This article reviews all widely discussed, well-known models and the research on their (a) reliability and validity, (b) implementation in schools, and (c) impact on school outcomes. Despite several similarities, the models show some differences in their general approach, such as addressing threats through a school-based team versus a community-based team. The models also have differing degrees of research supporting their effectiveness, with the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines model having the strongest research support. Public Significance Statement In preventing school violence, school threat assessment provides an alternative approach to ineffective and counterproductive zero-tolerance and profiling approaches. This article reviews the current state of research on well-known school threat assessment models and identifies differences in their general approach and differing degrees of research support. This review supports schools in determining which model best meets their needs and researchers in filling gaps in the literature.