Claudia G. Vincent

Validity of Office Discipline Referral Measures as Indices of School-Wide Behavioral Status and Effects of School-Wide Behavioral Interventions

Office discipline referrals (ODRs) are widely used by school personnel to evaluate student behavior and the behavioral climate of schools. In this article, the authors report the results of a review of the relevant literature to evaluate the validity of ODR data as indices of school-wide behavioral climate, the effects of school-wide behavioral interventions, and differing behavior support needs across schools. They used Messicks unified approach to validity by focusing on examples of evidence for empirical and ethical foundations of interpretations, uses, and social consequences of ODR measures at the school-wide level. The authors also discuss ongoing issues, study limitations, and related recommendations for interpretations and uses of ODR measures as school-wide indices, based on the existing literature.

Response to Intervention for Social Behavior Challenges and Opportunities

The goal of the three-tiered response-to-intervention (RtI) model is to catch students who are at risk early and to provide an appropriate level of intervention. Although RtI has been recommended for academic and social behavior, to date there has been little discussion about the differences associated with implementing RtI across these domains. The purpose of this article is to compare similarities and differences in RtI for academic and social behavior. In addition, some of the primary challenges associated with the implementation of RtI for social behavior are discussed. Examples of how RtI has been implemented with social behavior are provided along with recommendations for future research.

Toward a Conceptual Integration of Cultural Responsiveness and Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support

Within the context of widely documented racially disproportionate discipline outcomes, we describe schoolwide positive behavior support (SWPBS) as one approach that might provide a useful framework for culturally responsive behavior support delivery. We conceptualize cultural and linguistic diversity as the result of a divergence between individual students’ and entire schools’ cultural identities and identify culturally responsive educational practices that might facilitate greater continuity between students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and school environments. Based on practical recommendations derived from the literature, we propose an expansion of the key features of SWPBS implementation (practices, data, systems, and outcomes) to facilitate culturally responsive behavior support delivery. We propose (a) systemically promoting staff members’ cultural knowledge and self-awareness, (b) commitment to culturally relevant and validating student support practices, and (c) culturally valid decision making to enhance culturally equitable student outcomes. We provide recommendations for future research and present the efforts of one school district to blend SWPBS implementation with training in cultural responsiveness.

The Relationship between Implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) and Disciplinary Exclusion of Students from Various Ethnic Backgrounds with and without Disabilities.

This study examined disciplinary exclusion data from 77 schools implementing school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS). The authors examined (a) patterns of exclusion in schools implementing SWPBS; (b) associations between decreased exclusions and SWPBS implementation at the whole school level, the classroom level, the nonclassroom level, and the individual student level; (c) the extent to which students from varying ethnicities were equitably represented in overall exclusions as well as long-term exclusions; and (d) the extent to which students with a disability from varying ethnicities were equitably represented in long-term exclusions. Whereas SWPBS implementation in the classroom appeared to be associated with decreased exclusions in elementary schools, SWPBS implementation in nonclassroom settings appeared to be associated with decreased exclusions in high schools. Although overall exclusions decreased, White students appeared to benefit most from this decrease, whereas African American students remained overrepresented in exclusions, in particular long-term exclusions. Small sample sizes limited generalizability of outcomes.

Disciplinary Referrals for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students with and without Disabilities: Patterns Resulting from School-Wide Positive Behavior Support

The goal of our study was to examine if school-wide positive behavior support implementation was associated with reductions in the discipline gap. We provided outcomes from descriptive and preliminary statistical analyses of three years of office discipline referral data from elementary schools engaged in school-wide positive behavior support implementation and not engaged in school-wide positive behavior support implementation. The percent of students enrolled was compared to the percent of students with office discipline referrals within each racial-ethnic category. The percent of students with office discipline referrals and individualized education plans was compared across racial-ethnic categories. Outcomes indicated that the discipline gap was present in schools engaged in school-wide positive behavior support implementation as well as schools not engaged in implementation with African American students over-represented among students with office discipline referrals. In schools engaged in school-wide positive behavior support, the gap was statistically significantly smaller than in schools not involved in school-wide positive behavior support implementation. Suggestions for future research in culturally responsive school-wide positive behavior support implementation were offered.

A Reexamination of the Psychometric Properties of the School-Wide Evaluation Tool (SET)

As a follow-up to Horner et al., this study focuses on the internal consistency and validity of the School-wide Evaluation Tool (SET) at all school levels. Analyzing SET data from 833 elementary, 264 middle, and 93 high schools, the authors focused on (a) describing commonalities and differences in SET data across the school levels, (b) assessing the SETs internal consistency at all school levels, and (c) examining the SETs validity as the extent to which SET scores collected by external observers correlated with Team Implementation Checklist (TIC) scores reflecting internal self-assessments. Results indicated that overall, the SET performs best in elementary schools, shows less cohesion in middle and high schools, and highly correlates with TIC scores. Based on these results, the authors formulated a number of recommendations to improve the utility of SET data for research and implementation decisions across school levels and implementation phases.

Development and Initial Validation of a Measure to Assess Factors Related to Sustainability of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support.

Sustainability of effective practices in schools is a critical area for research in any domain. The purpose of this article is to describe and evaluate the validity and reliability of a recently developed research instrument designed to evaluate schools’ capacity to sustain school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) efforts at the universal tier. The School-Wide Universal Behavior Sustainability Index–School Teams (SUBSIST) was created to assess factors (of the context, implementer practices, and outcomes) that enhance or prevent sustainability of SWPBS. Content of the web-based survey was identified through literature review, and initial validation analyses included ratings of content validity by an expert panel (n = 21) and assessment of internal consistency, test–retest reliability, interrater reliability, and concurrent validity (with SWPBS fidelity of implementation data) through a pilot study (n = 25). Results indicated strong psychometric properties for assessing sustainability. The authors discuss the results in terms of future research in enhancing SWPBS sustainability.

Importance of Student Social Behavior in the Mission Statements, Personnel Preparation Standards, and Innovation Efforts of State Departments of Education

We examined the extent to which state departments of education are including (a) goals for student social behavior in their mission statements; (b) criteria for individual student, classroom, and schoolwide behavior support in certification standards for general education teachers, special education teachers, and principals; and (c) state initiatives focused on improving student social behavior. Web-based information from state departments of education from all 50 states and from the District of Columbia were reviewed in the fall of 2004. Results indicated that only 16 states (31%) include a focus on student social behavior in their mission statements. Individual student behavior support practices were identified in the curriculum for general educators in 30 (59%) states and for special educators in 39 (76%) states. Classroom behavior support practices were required for general education teachers in 39 (76%) states and for special educators in 40 (78%) states. Schoolwide behavior support practices were most likely to be required for principal certification, and they were formally identified in 20 (39%) of the states surveyed. Character education was the most common state initiative cited for improving social behavior in schools.

Strategies for Preventing Disproportionate Exclusions of African American Students

The authors studied changes in disproportionate exclusion of African American students, compared with their White peers, in relation to implementation of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support using data from 46 schools. They measured (a) exclusion through suspension and expulsion data collected with the Schoolwide Information System; (b) Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support implementation through the Effective Behavior Support Survey completed by staff members; and (c) disproportionality with the relative rate index. Standard linear multiple regression analyses with the relative rate index as the outcome variable and Effective Behavior Support Survey items as predictors indicated specific Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support strategies, such as praise and positive reinforcement, were associated with reductions in disproportionate exclusions. Follow-up analyses with a subsample of eight schools that increased their Effective Behavior Support average score while decreasing their relative rate index identified additional strategies that hold promise for reducing disproportionate exclusion of African American students.

Discipline Referrals and Access to Secondary Level Support in Elementary and Middle Schools: Patterns Across African-American, Hispanic-American, and White Students

Given documented racial/ethnic disproportionality in disciplinary referrals and strong recommendations to base provision of secondary level supports on data, we explored whether students from various racial/ethnic groups have equitable access to secondary supports. We disaggregated discipline data from 155 elementary and 46 middle schools by student race/ethnicity and behavioral risk level to assess the extent to which different racial/ethnic groups were disproportionately represented among students at each risk level and students receiving secondary support. Outcomes indicated that Hispanic-American and White students were underrepresented among students with multiple disciplinary referrals, while African-American students were over-represented. African-American students were over-represented among students receiving secondary support in elementary schools but were less likely to receive this support in middle schools. Across all schools, number of referrals as well as race/ethnicity emerged as statistically significant predictors of access to secondary level support. Limitations to the current investigation and recommendations for future research are provided.