Universal screening is one strategy to enhance the early identification of behavioral and emotional problems among youth. Although conceptually sound, it is unclear if universal screening is more or less effective than current teacher referral and school identification practices. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to compare the effectiveness of a teacher-rated, universal screener and typical school identification methods in identifying youth at risk for behavioral and emotional problems across a sample of elementary aged students. Results indicated that of the 160 students identified as at-risk by a universal screening measure, only 61 were previously identified through current teacher referral practices—highlighting the potential benefit of universal screening to enhance early identification. Results also demonstrated gender, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and adaptive skills were significantly correlated with at-risk status by identification method. Furthermore, students identified as at-risk by both methods had significantly lower academic achievement. The strengths and limitations of this study, as well as implications for practice, are discussed.