AbstractThis paper reports the results of two screening studies using the AML, a brief teacher rating scale, to detect school maladjustment in primary grade children. Identical experimental procedures were used in each study. Teachers in grades 1–3 in two public schools rated children using the AML. The classroom behavior of children identified by the AML as having school adjustment problems was then independently assessed. Data from well– adjusting peers were used to determine the range of normal behavior in each classroom. In Study 1 the AML successfully identified children whose classroom behavior was beyond normal limits. These findings were replicated in Study 2. Across both studies, the AML had a true‐positive hit rate of 93% and a false‐positive rate of only 7% in identifying school maladj