Karen E. Childs

Measuring School-wide Positive Behavior Support Implementation Development and Validation of the Benchmarks of Quality

School-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) has been implemented in more than 4,000 schools as a means of addressing problem behavior in a systemic fashion. Preliminary outcomes (e.g., office discipline referrals, suspensions) indicate the effectiveness of SWPBS in decreasing school-wide behavior problems and creating a positive school climate. Although the results of a majority of the program evaluations yielded significant findings, there has been a lack of measurement of treatment fidelity, possibly due to the absence of expedient, effective assessment tools. This article describes the theoretical background and development, including a qualitative pilot study and psychometric properties, of the School-wide Benchmarks of Quality (BoQ; Kincaid, Childs, & George, 2005), a tool intended to measure the implementation of SWPBS. Descriptive data on the instrument, including internal consistency, test—retest reliability, interrater reliability, and concurrent validity, were collected and analyzed. Results indicate that the BoQ for SWPBS is a reliable, valid, efficient, and useful instrument for measuring the fidelity of implementation of the primary or universal level of PBS application in individual schools. Future considerations for evaluating the psychometric properties of the BoQ include extending the data collection and analysis to many more schools across multiple states.

Student-Assisted Functional Assessment Interview:

Functional assessment procedures have emerged as an important tool for understanding challenging behaviors in classrooms and other settings. A variety of methodologies are currently available for conducting a functional assessment. In this article, we describe the Student-Assisted Functional Assessment Interview. The purpose of this interview is to solicit information directly from students about their preferences and their appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. The results of the interview can be used to assist in developing hypotheses regarding the function of a target behavior.

Identifying Barriers and Facilitators in Implementing Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support

As the number of schools implementing systemic, schoolwide positive behavior support (PBS) processes expands (nationally, at least 5,000 schools are participating), increasing attention is being paid to the efficacy of implementation. This article describes a case study of the experiences of Floridas Positive Behavior Support Project, which used a systematic process to understand barriers and facilitators to the successful implementation of schoolwide positive behavior support by schools implementing at high and low levels of fidelity, and the degree to which the project could impact barriers and facilitators. Results indicate that schools implementing with low fidelity tend to identify practical, operational barriers, whereas schools implementing with high fidelity struggle with systems issues. Both high-implementing and low-implementing schools identified the same facilitators to implementation; however, they differed in their views of which facilitators the project could impact. Implications for state PBS project activities are discussed, along with suggestions for future data collection and providing a model of data-based decision making at a macro level.

Improving the Conduct of Students with Behavioral Disorders by Incorporating Student Interests into Curricular Activities.

This investigation explored the effects of individualized, curricular accommodations that were developed to reduce the problem behaviors of four students who exhibited behavioral challenges. First, assessments were conducted to identify curricular assignments associated with high levels of problem behavior and to determine the students’ individual preferences and interests. This information was then used to modify the assignments in accordance with the students’ interests while maintaining the integrity of the instructional objectives. These modifications resulted in reduced levels of problem behavior and elevated rates of desirable behavior for each student. Data on response rate and work completion also favored the interesting assignments. The effects were demonstrated within ongoing academic activities and were replicated through the use of reversal designs. These data contribute to a growing recognition that curricular adaptations which incorporate student interests can exert significant influences on the behavior of students in classroom environments.

Improving the Classroom Behavior of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Using Individualized Curricular Modifications

In this article, we describe analyses of assessment-based curricular modifications designed to improve the classroom behavior of elementary school students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Functional assessments were conducted to identify instructional and curricular variables associated with undesirable behavior during problematic academic assignments.The assessment data led to individualized modifications of assignment features. Experimental analyses verified that the modifications resulted in reduced problem behavior and increased task engagement for each of the participants.The results are related to previous research on functional assessment, positive behavioral support, and the new requirements for behavioral interventions under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997.

Intervention Research in Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: An Analysis of Studies from 1980-1993.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the status of experimental research on interventions designed to modify behaviors of children and youth with emotional and/or behavioral disorders (EBD). Twelve journals published between 1980 and 1993 were surveyed to explore possible trends in five descriptive dimensions of the research, including subject characteristics, settings, research design, dependent variables, and independent variables (interventions). In addition, the database was examined to determine whether interventions were based on individualized processes of assessment. The results showed negligible trends, and very few studies reported interventions that were individualized on the basis of assessment data. The discussion addresses the general status of intervention research and the need for applied research.

A Model for Statewide Evaluation of a Universal Positive Behavior Support Initiative

Several statewide evaluations of Tier 1/Universal Level Positive Behavior Support (PBS) implementation efforts have been conducted, adhering to the evaluation template developed by Horner, Sugai, and Lewis-Palmer in 2005. Building on these examples, Florida’s Positive Behavior Support Project developed a comprehensive evaluation system that sought to answer critical questions about building a scalable and sustainable PBS system at the state level that also provides data for decision making at the school and district levels. This article describes Florida’s evaluation system as a model driven by 12 questions, including topics of implementation fidelity as both a dependent and independent variable, and expanding traditional questions of statewide evaluations to include consumer satisfaction, team processes, barriers and facilitators to implementation, and attrition. The data indicated that implementing Tier 1/Universal Level PBS with fidelity was associated with improved student outcomes. Additional findings are described as are considerations for future directions.

The Relationship between School-Wide Implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports and Student Discipline Outcomes.

School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is a systems approach to supporting the social and emotional needs of all children utilized by more than 21,000 schools across the nation. Data from numerous studies and state projects’ evaluation reports point to the impact of SWPBIS on student outcomes (office discipline referrals [ODRs], in-school suspensions [ISSs], out-of-school suspensions [OSSs]) and the possible relationship between implementation fidelity and those student outcomes. With data from 1,122 Florida schools, this study used a longitudinal design to examine the associations between the total score and 10 subscale scores on the Benchmarks of Quality (BoQ), a validated SWPBIS implementation fidelity measure, and school-level behavioral outcomes: ODRs, ISSs, and OSSs. Results of these analyses found a decreasing trend across all three behavioral outcomes, and schools having higher BoQ total scores realized lower ODRs and had corresponding fewer ISSs and OSSs. Of the 10 subscales, the Classroom was negatively and significantly associated with ODRs and OSSs, whereas the BoQ Data Entry Plan was positively and significantly associated with ODRs at initial status and across time after controlling for school-level characteristics (e.g., size, number of years of implementation). The implications of the findings for SWPBIS assessment and intervention in the classroom are discussed.

Review of the Positive Behavior Support Training Curriculum: Supervisory and Direct Support Editions.

In the past several years, the values and practices of positive behavior support (PBS) have had a significant impact on services provided to adults and children with disabilities. Evidence of this impact can be seen in federal grants and laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 (IDEA, 1997), a professional journal (the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions), and an established organization (the Association for Positive Behavior Support). With this emergence comes a continued need for clearly defining PBS, identifying the skills evident in a competent practitioner, and effectively teaching those skills to supervisors, teachers, direct support staff, and other professionals. It is with these concerns in mind that we will review the training materials Positive Behavior Support Training Curriculum: Supervisory and Direct Support Editions (PBS-TC).

Evaluating Implementation of Schoolwide Behavior Support: Are We Doing It Well?

This article describes the procedures and utility of the Benchmarks of Quality as part of a comprehensive evaluation plan to assess the universal level of implementation fidelity of behavior support for a school. However, results can also be examined to determine the level of implementation fidelity across a district or state for ongoing behavioral training and technical assistance planning. A recent factor analysis and validation of various administration techniques has changed the content of the instrument and are discussed. The purpose of this article is to describe how practitioners can use the Benchmarks of Quality from administration to analysis and eventually to corrective action planning in addressing behavior successfully across individual schools and districts.