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Effective classroom management is of critical importance to the success of universal, Tier I supports and services. Unfortunately, teacher-reported deficits in classroom management training are wel...

Growing centralisation in the tech sector is raising global governmental concern, and the winds of change are blowing. Interoperability – in this context, the ability of internet-connected technolo...

In 1929 Sir William Holdsworth argued that Jeremy Bentham wrote ‘the best criticism’ of Lord Mansfield’s attempts to ‘fuse’ law and equity that has ever been made. As the present article will show,...

Recent studies have suggested single case design (SCD) intervention research is subject to publication bias, wherein studies are more likely to be published if they possess large or statistically significant effects and use rigorous experimental methods. The nature of SCD and the purposes for which it might be used could suggest that large effects and rigorous methods should not always be expected. The purpose of the current paper is to propose and describe a theory-driven cycle of SCD intervention research. The proposed SCD-specific cycle serves several purposes including (a) defining the purposes for which SCD research might be adopted, (b) specifying the types of evidence to be collected in establishing an intervention for applied use, and (c) illustrating the phases of SCD-based intervention research (i.e., development, efficacy, effectiveness, contextualization, and implementation). The proposed model is intended to serve as an intermediary between theory and research, facilitating the consi...

The articles in this Special Topic issue present a range of assessment models and challenges for improving the identification and early intervention of students in need of additional supports. Although each article targets a unique aspect of student learning (learning behaviors, math skills, reading comprehension, behavioral functioning, and ratings of engaged and disruptive behavior), collectively they highlight the importance of assessment practices in effective problem solving. In our commentary, we use prevention science as a framework for considering the contributions of the articles in this special topic with a particular focus on the role of assessment. A recent report from the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine (2009) attributed much of the progress in advancing knowledge about prevention of emotional and behavior problems over the past 2 decades to the relatively young field of prevention science. As an interdisciplinary field, prevention science provides a step-by-step model for solving public health problems, including educational underachievement. Specifically, prevention science is a systematic method for identifying, monitoring, and altering meaningful targets that have been demonstrated to be associated with critical youth outcomes. Accurate and efficient assessment tools are essential at each step of the prevention science research cycle. Core Elements of Prevention Science In their seminal article, Kellam, Koretz, and Moscicki (1999) traced the development of prevention science to the integration of three related fields: epidemiology, life course development, and intervention trials technology. Epidemiology is the foundation for prevention science. It refers to the study of the distribution of disease or health-related behaviors/events and is a core element of any public health approach, like prevention science. The purpose of epidemiology is to provide real-time data about health events so as to identify intervention targets and inform intervention policies and practices. Within the field of epidemiology, surveillance is the strategy for continuous, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health-related processes over time to guide planning, implementation, and evaluation of practices (World Health Organization, 2012). Surveillance practices can help identify emerging public health crises, determine the effect of public health interventions, and provide ongoing information about population health. In the following, we discuss epidemiology and surveillance, life course development, and intervention trial technology as the bases for prevention science. Epidemiology and Surveillance Public health officials use surveillance data to monitor the prevalence and incidence of diseases across world populations. Surveillance is most widely understood as an element of public health approaches to somatic disease prevention. For instance, the general public may be aware that public health officials have ongoing surveillance systems for tracking infectious diseases such as the flu. These systems allow officials to monitor outbreaks, identity causes, and prevent the spread of diseases, but they can also be applied to select appropriate response strategies and then monitor the effects of interventions. Surveillance methods have been extended to include public health approaches to preventing emotional and behavior problems. For instance, surveillance systems have been established for monitoring the prevalence and incidence of crimes, substance abuse, and mental disorders (Biglan, Mrazek, Carnine, & Flay, 2003). Although behavioral surveillance systems have tended to lag behind systems for more traditional somatic diseases, emerging technology has led to exciting advances in many of these systems (Biglan et al., 2003; Wagner, Whitehill, Vernick, & Parker, 2012). For instance, community-level violence prevention scientists now are able to use real-time crime reports to assess both the need for intervention and the effect of tried interventions (Wagner et al. …

This invited commentary includes observations about the article “Building Local Capacity for Training and Coaching Data-Based Problem Solving with Positive Behavior Interventions and Support Teams,” published in the July 2011 issue of the Journal of Applied School Psychology. In this article Newton and colleagues present an interesting field based case study of the Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) model in relation to training school based teams to increase problem solving practices. In this invited commentary our goal is to consider the usefulness of the TIPS model for educational professionals. To accomplish this goal our thoughts are organized in a series of application questions.

Although substantial attention has been directed toward building the psychometric evidence base for academic assessment methods (e.g., state mastery tests, curriculum-based measurement), similar ex...

Although over 15 years have passed since Witt (1990) noted that no empirical evidence exists to support the contention that a collaborative approach to consultation leads to more positive outcomes than a hierarchical or expert driven approach, this issue generally remains unaddressed (Schulte & Osborne, 2003). While the literature documenting the benefits of consultation has continued to grow, a true head-to-head comparison has not been conducted. The purpose of the present study was to directly address Witt's call by empirically examining the impact of two consultation styles on a critical variable, practitioner treatment integrity. It was hypothesized that the involvement of practitioners in all aspects of intervention design would increase their level of treatment integrity. Two single-subject experiments using multiple baseline across subjects designs were used to examine the difference in level of treatment integrity for an imported, expert-driven intervention and a partnership-designed intervention....

Reinforcement-based interventions, the most frequently used treatments for school-age children, rely on accurately identifying stimuli that will serve to reinforce appropriate classroom behavior. Research has consistently demonstrated that the results from a forced-choice pairing procedure are the best predictors of reinforcing stimuli. Interestingly, systematic evaluation of potential reinforcers is rarely implemented in the school consultation setting. Considering the importance of the reinforcer on reinforcement-based interventions, and the literature focusing on the significance of the selection procedure on accurately identifying a reinforcer, this is concerning. The purpose of these two studies was to examine the effectiveness of identifying reinforcing stimuli for students in the consultation setting using two different methods: stimulus forced-choice and asking the teacher to identify potential reinforcers. The effectiveness of the selected stimuli as reinforcers was studied on two student outcome...

One potentially feasible tool for use in the formative assessment of social behavior is the direct behavior rating, yet empirical support for the reliability of its use is limited. In this study, generalizability theory was used to provide preliminary psychometric data regarding the generalizability and dependability of the direct behavior rating to measure the social behavior of preschoolers. Two typical preschool behaviors (works to resolve conflicts, interacts cooperatively with peers) were selected for investigation within the direct behavior rating created for this study. Overall, results varied depending on which behavior was rated and the number of raters whose ratings were considered. The results suggested that a fairly substantial proportion of measurement variance was attributable to the different raters, and that the four raters varied in their mean level of ratings within and across the 15 students. In addition, although the actual number of days was dependent on the number of ratings collected per day, results suggested direct behavior ratings are likely to approximate or exceed reliability-like coefficients of .70 after 7 ratings are collected across 4-7 days, and .90 after 10 ratings. Limitations, future directions, and implications are discussed. ********** In applied settings, both effective and efficient assessment procedures are needed to facilitate good decision-making about the academic and social behavior of students (Chafouleas, Riley-Tillman, & Sugai, in press). Although reliable and valid tools readily exist for accomplishing this task (e.g., curriculum-based assessment, systematic direct observation), existing measures are not without flaws. First, feasibility of use, particularly in a formative fashion, can be an issue in settings often faced with limited resources. Second, to date, greater attention has been directed toward the study of tools for assessing academic behavior (e.g., curriculum-based assessment) than for assessing social behavior. This is unfortunate given increasing evidence suggesting a strong reciprocal connection between problem behavior and academic difficulties (e.g., Lane, O'Shaughnessy, Lambros, Gresham, & Beebe-Frankenberger, 2002; Nelson, Benner, & Gonzalez, 2003; Torgesen et al., 1999). Thus, greater attention should be directed to the study of effective and efficient methods for assessing social behavior. The purpose of this study was to provide preliminary psychometric data regarding the generalizability and dependability of a direct behavior rating (DBR) for assessing social behavior of preschoolers. Defining a Need to Develop Formative Measures of Social Behavior Historically, systematic direct observation procedures have served as the primary data source to assess social behavior within the classroom setting. Direct observation procedures typically record the frequency, rate, duration, and/or latency of behavior using time sampling procedures that are specified before the observation period (Hintze & Matthews, 2004; Salvia & Ysseldyke, 2004; Shapiro & Kratochwill, 1988). Systematic direct observation is often preferable to other behavioral assessment procedures (e.g., behavior rating scales, teacher interviews) because the data are collected at the time that the behavior occurs (Cone, 1978). In addition, systematic direct observation procedures are sufficiently flexible to be applied across a variety of situations (i.e., type of behavior, type of observation system). Despite these advantages, the time commitment required to collect an adequate data set can strain available resources. In one recent examination of systematic direct observation to assess on-task behavior, the researchers concluded that sufficient reliability was not obtained to support high-stakes decisions until more than 20 data points were collected over a 2-week period on a schedule of two observations per day (Hintze & Matthews, 2004). …

A common purpose of classroom-based consultation is to solve an identified problem through modification of the existing classroom system. Traditionally, the development of these alterations has been left largely to the consultant. Throughout the article, we propose that the magnitude of alterations should be given greater consideration when selecting an intervention. Significant changes to the existing (and functional) system are more likely to be rejected than small adaptations that utilize existing practices. Whenever possible, small changes should be made, as they may be the only changes that are actually implemented and have greater potential to endure. Suggestions to incorporate this perspective within the classroom-based consultation process, with a particular focus on the problem-solving and social influence tasks (Erchul & Martens, 2002), are offered along with acknowledgment of potential limitations.

This investigation compared the acceptability of three methods for assessing reading (i.e., norm-referenced assessment, curriculum-based assessment, brief experimental analysis), and explored how a new assessment methodology can gain acceptance as a useful and appropriate approach. Given that brief experimental analysis is a relatively new methodology, it is important to understand not only how it compares to other assessment methods, but also how level of training and use are related to acceptability of assessment methods. A total of 188 members of the National Association of School Psychologists participated, and were randomly assigned to one of the three assessment conditions. Participants read the case description for their assigned condition, and completed the Assessment Rating Profile-Revised (ARP-R; Eckert, Hintze, & Shapiro, 1999). Overall, the results of the study indicated that participating school psychologists rated curriculum-based assessment as more acceptable that either brief experimental analysis or norm-referenced assessment. In particular, participants highly endorsed curriculum-based assessment as helpful in the development of intervention strategies. Although acceptability ratings for brief experimental analysis and norm-referenced were lower and were not significantly different from each other, it should be noted that participants reported significantly less training in brief experimental analysis. For all conditions, reported training and use were significantly correlated. Implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed. ********** Given the high percentage of students with inadequate reading skills, school psychologists are frequently requested to assess why students are having difficulty learning to read. However, a number of obstacles may potentially impede the school psychologist's ability to make helpful decisions. For example, effective decisions are dependent upon assessment methodology that can aid in the development of appropriate interventions. One technology that can do this is direct academic assessment. Data collected from direct academic assessment provide valuable information regarding student fluency in basic skills within curricular materials. One group of direct academic assessment techniques that has a substantial literature base is curriculum-based assessment. Although a number of specific models of curriculum-based assessment exist, the term generally refers to evaluation of student performance using material taken from the students' curriculum (Shapiro & Eckert, 1994). Previous research has documented that practitioners are willing to use curriculum-based assessment procedures (McCloskey & Schicke-Athanasiou, 2000; Shapiro & Eckert, 1993), and that teachers prefer curriculum-based over traditional norm-referenced assessment methods (Eckert & Shapiro, 1999; Eckert, Shapiro, & Lutz, 1995). Despite many appealing features of curriculum-based assessment, it does not automatically ensure selection of an effective intervention. A recent extension of one type of curriculum-based assessment combines curriculum-based measurement with an experimental form of functional assessment called brief experimental analysis of academic performance. It has been suggested that brief experimental analysis may be an effective way to simplify the task of choosing among multiple or competing interventions (Martens, Eckert, Bradley, & Ardoin, 1999). The foundation of brief experimental analysis comes from a behavioral analytic framework in which functional analysis is used to identify sources of intrasubject variability (Daly, Martens, Dool, & Hintze, 1998). In brief experimental analysis of academic performance, curriculum-based measurement data are used to observe the effects of the manipulation of an independent variable. That is, brief experimental analysis is a procedure used in conjunction with curriculum-based assessment data to increase the likelihood of determining a functionally relevant intervention. …

One of the highlighted benefits of school-based consultation is that it has the potential to be preventive. Unfortunately, many of the preventive advantages of consultation have yet to be fully evaluated. The purpose of this study was to first examine the extent to which teachers generalize consultation-related skills in the classroom. A second purpose was to examine the extent to which teachers generalize consultation-related skills in the classroom following a generalization prompt and a generalization-training program. A multiple baseline across subjects design was used to examine generalization of school-based consultation and the effects of a generalization prompt and a generalization training condition. In general, 2 of the 3 participants demonstrated at least some increase in generalization behaviors following the generalization prompt and generalization training program. Overall, the results suggest that providing a specific generalization prompt and participating in a generalization training prog...