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The validity of selecting treatment contingencies on the basis of the results obtained through functional analysis is well documented. However, a number of second-generation questions have emerged: For example, what are the parameters required to achieve desired treatment outcomes? More specifically, what is the degree of treatment integrity needed for the successful reduction of problem behavior? This study had two purposes: to describe the relationship between treatment integrity levels and treatment effectiveness and to highlight the importance of reporting the treatment integrity in outcome-based research. The results indicate that a high level of treatment integrity is required for treatment success. Furthermore, the authors found that very low levels of integrity may be required for behavioral reduction procedures (i.e., extinction) if high levels of reinforcement are provided.

In the current investigation, a concurrent operant paradigm was used with 3 young children who displayed severe problem behaviors to identify behavioral function. The children were given a series of choice options varying the availability of parent attention, access to preferred toys, and level of demand. The results showed that all children displayed differential patterns of behavior that appeared to be influenced by the presence or absence of attention and demands, suggesting a behavioral function. The results extended previous applications of reinforcer assessment procedures by using choice to identify antecedent conditions that set the occasion for problem behavior.

Forced-choice preference assessments have been found to identify reinforcers. However, the utility of this procedure to identify similar reinforcers when conducted by different individuals is unknown. This investigation sought to determine whether a child's parent and a novel individual delivering the stimuli would yield the same results within forced-choice preference and subsequent reinforcer assessment procedures. During the forced-choice preference assessments, the child chose the same items. However, when the utility of these items as reinforcers was evaluated, different outcomes were found. The child chose to work for immediate reinforcers when the parent served as the therapist and to work for delayed rewards when a novel therapist was employed. The clinical significance of these outcomes is discussed.

This article reviews the literature with regard to firearms accidents among low-income, urban children younger than 13. The tendency of low-income families to keep unsecured protection guns may contribute to the higher rate of firearms accidents among low-income children. The evidence suggests that the decision to keep a gun for protection is largely a practical response to the conditions a person perceives in his or her neighborhood. Reducing the consequences of risky gun behavior among low-income families requires policies and programs that eliminate experiences associated with such behavior and that train children to recognize and avoid risky gun situations.

A practical, hands-on method teachers can use in spelling, math, and geography

The following review summarizes the research concerning the characteristics of at-risk students. Surprisingly, at-risk students have not been extensively studied. However, as the discussion of social structure will document, the available research clearly demonstrates that the single most consistent factor characterizing at-risk students is social class. Social class is a powerful determinant of school success, and, as a consequence, at-risk students are disproportionately drawn from families with low socioeconomic status. Fortunately, researchers, especially sociologists, have devoted considerable energy to studying the impact of social class on educational success. While these researchers have not singled out at-risk students for special study, their findings on why students from lower-socioeconomicstatus families do less well in school than children from middle-class families can be extrapolated to the at-risk population. The relatively few studies focusing exclusively on at-risk students support this link. They suggest that the factors underlying the poorer school performance of students from lower-socioeconomic-status families also account for much of the variance between students who are at-risk and those who are not. Accordingly, in this report we will discuss, not only studies of students identified as being at-risk, but also studies investigating the impact of social class on school success.

The effects of a personalized system of instruction (PSI) with and without a same day retake contingency on the spelling performance of 10 behaviorally disordered students were evaluated. The results indicate more spelling lessons were passed with 100% accuracy when the PSI program was in effect. A further increase in the number of lessons passed occurred when retakes were allowed each day. Individual data for three selected students indicate that their performance in creased with PSI and PSI with retakes. From items on a questionnaire adminis tered to students, it was found that the students felt their spelling test performance was higher during the PSI program. The students preferred the PSI spelling pro gram to that of the traditional preand posttest spelling procedure (Baseline 1 and 2). The class also preferred the retake component over the non-retake component in the PSI spelling program. Recommendations for classroom use of personalized systems of instruction (PSI) are made. The use of personalized systems of instruction (PSI) at the college or university level has been well documented in the literature (Hursh, 1976; Johnson, 1975; Semb, 1974, 1975; Williams, 1976). There has also been evidence that PSI has benefited student achievement in courses ranging from biology to law (Johnson, 1975). According to Williams (1976) there are several components in a personalized system of instruction. These include (a) written study objectives, (b) division of the course content into small units of material, (c) use of the written word, (d) student self-pacing through the curricula, (e) a high mastery criteria to ad vance to the next unit of material, (f) immediate feedback as to performance on exams or quizzes, and (g) the use of student proctors or tutors. The data from the college instruction literature have indicated that allowing students the opportunity to retake exams until a high mastery level of performance improved course grades, and the students preferred such a procedure (Bostow & Blumenfeld, 1972; Malott, 1984). College students will also complete remedial quizzes when minimal course credit is given for less than A level performance (Bostow & Blumenfeld, 1972; Malott, 1984). There is ample evidence as to the effectiveness of PSI at the college and university level, but minimal evidence for the effects of PSI with respect to quiz frequency, same-day re takes, mastery criteria, pacing of instruction, and so forth at the elementary grade school level. McLaughlin and Malaby (1975) reported that students in the sixth grade could improve their grades in a social studies course taught by a PSI format. Also, the students preferred PSI to that of the more traditional teaching in social studies. McLaughlin and Malaby (1974) also found that student performance in a commercially available map reading skills program could be improved with the use of teacher pacing procedures. In a related study, Lovitt and his co-workers have presented data that indicate that one component of PSI, written study objectives, is helpful to middle school mildly handicapped students in science and social studies (Horton & Lovitt, in press; Horton, Lovitt, Givens, Nelson, 1989; Lovitt & Horton, 1987; Lovitt, Rudsit, Jenkins, Pious, & Benedetti, 1985). While PSI has been shown to be Portions of this data were presented at the Northern California Association for Behavior Analysis, San Francisco, March 1989. Requests for reprints should be addressed to the author. A special note of thanks is offered to Florence Orvik for allowing this research in her school, and to Mary Dolliver for all of her assistance. Behavioral Disorders February 1991 [Vol. 16 No. 2 127-132] 127 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.111 on Sun, 22 May 2016 05:23:55 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms effective in various classroom settings, there is scant evidence available with respect to its effectiveness with elementary special education children. The present study examines the use of PSI with behaviorally disordered students. The purpose of the study was threefold: (a) to compare the effectiveness of the frequency of available quizzes component of PSI (Retakes versus No Same-Day Retakes), (b) to con trast PSI to the more traditional manner of teaching spelling at the elementary school level (Monday Pretest and Friday Posttest), and (c) to examine student perceptions and prefer ences for the various experimental manipulations at the end of the study.

The present analysis examined grade point averages (GPA), subject-matter test scores, and attendance for 274 students enrolled in a high school at the beginning of the 1992–1993 school year by the number of hours worked per week in the previous year (1991–92) and in the current school year (1992–1993). The over-all outcomes indicated that working fewer than 10 hours per week had small adverse effects on each measure. Students working from 10 to 20 hours per week had lower grade point averages and attendance. Students working over 20 hours per week had depressed test scores and grade point averages and more absences than other students who worked less or did not work.

The purpose of the present case study was to evaluate use of a timeout ribbon with and without student-selected consequences on the compliance of a pre-school student with disabilities. An ABACBC single-subject replication design was used. Compliance was low during the first baseline condition. When the timeout ribbon procedure was implemented in the classroom, compliance increased, but a return to baseline produced low compliance. When consequences were added to the timeout ribbon procedure, the child's compliance improved further. Additional replications of timeout ribbon and the timeout ribbon plus consequences generated less and less compliance. Possible reasons for the lack of robust findings were discussed.

Summary.-The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects for three famiLies, each with a fifth-gade child at risk, of training in skills such as communicating with teachers and administrators, providing a quiet place for their child to work, and praising their child's appropriate changes in academic and social behaviors. The caregivers were trained by a university smdent in these skills and evaluated in an AB time series design. All three families showed increased involvement in the school. Two of the three children improved performance both at school and at home. Schools and persons in the community may assist students at risk by training parents in educational skds designed to help children complete work at school and at home and to increase the parents' contacts with the schools (Vacha & McLaughlin, 1992, 1993). The present study evaluated the effectiveness of training families with fifth-grade children who were at risk for school failure. Three 10-yt-old children, two mothers, and one grandmother participated. Each child had been identified by the fifth grade teacher as being at risk for school failure on the basis of classroom behavior, academic performance, and home environment. In two families on public assistance, fathers were terminally ill and not at home. In the third family a grandmother was raising a child with fetal alcohol syndrome. Weekly home and school visits were made to follow-up each week's activities. The objectives of home visits were to help caregivers learn to seek answers concerning the children's school performance and to help design home programs to aid parents in establishing control of children's behaviors. Target behaviors selected by these caregivers included homework completion, chore completion, showing consideration for other students, and helping each other in the classroom. Each task was individualized and consequences (books and materials that could be used to reward the children) were provided caregivers. At the end of each day, the student and caregiver and the student and teacher reviewed and graphed each child's perfoi-ma~ce. During baseline, Child 1 completed 50.0% of the homework and Children 2 and 3 0.0%. After two visits, Child 1 completed 96.4% of his homework, and Child 2 completed 71.0% of his homework. After Week 3, Child 3 completed no homework assignments. Baseline data for completion

The effectiveness of contingency contracting to improve the on-task behavior of 3 primary-age students was evaluated using an ABABA single-subject replication design. The contract was developed by the teacher and the consequences were selected by the students. Increases in on-task behavior were observed each time that the contingency contracts were in effect. This study has important implications for the use of contracting with primary school children.

18 students were taught Grade 9 mathematics in a Glasser approach in which need-satisyfing strategies were used. 16 control students were traditionally taught the regular program. Pre- and posttest scores on an Alberta Education Achievement examination and a teacher-designed questionnaire showed groups scored similarly on achievement but the Glasser group had a significantly more positive mean on attitude at posttest, supporting Glasser's position for attitude only.

The present research evaluated the effects of contingent access to music on the academic performance of two junior high school students with disabilities. The use of response contingent music increased the number of correct problems completed in mathematics. A replication of baseline conditions resulted in a decrease in performance. Practical applications of the procedure were discussed.

The present report compared the achievement of children (K to Grade 3) who had been continuously enrolled in the Behavior Analysis Model of Follow-through to that of poverty and minority children in urban areas without the Follow-through experience. The over-all scores on the Wide Range Achievement Test indicated that the Native American children in the program scored at or above grade level most of the time. The comparison children were below grade level in reading and arithmetic. Positive aspects of the program in the early school years were presented. Other benefits of the program as parental and relative's involvement in the classroom and decision-making were examined.

The present investigation sought to determine the effectiveness of self-recording as the only intervention component within the self-control paradigm for increasing on-task behavior of behaviorally handicapped students and to devise a simple and inexpensive self-recording system for pupil use. Follow-up data were also collected to determine if the behavior changes would maintain over time after the self-recording was discontinued. The effects of self-recording were examined in a multiple-baseline design. The results indicated that more of the intervals were scored on-task when self-recording was in effect than during the baseline conditions for each student. Follow-up data indicated that the procedure could be withdrawn without decrement in performance for the special education students.

The effects of modeling vocabulary words using a tape recorder on six high-school learning disabled boys' sight-word reading were examined in a multiple-baseline design. Response rates were first scored during the Baseline condition when no tape recorder was used. No teacher modeling was given. Later response rates were measured during the Taped-Words condition after a tape recording only provided a model for correctly pronounced words. Results indicated an increase in correct oral response rates of isolated word lists and a sharp decrease in each student's oral error rates. Implications of the findings are drawn both for practitioners working with learning disabled students and for others involved with reading tasks. The results indicate that the students were able independently to improve their response rates through the use of the tape recorder alone, thus freeing the teacher for other kinds of instruction.

The effects of a peer-tutoring procedure on the spelling behavior of a mainstreamed elementary-school learning disabled student were investigated in an AB single-subject design. Overall results indicated that the subject obtained greater accuracy on the spelling tests during the peer-tutoring condition than during the baseline condition. Self-reports and ratings on the treatment indicated that both the peer tutor and the tutored student felt they had improved their spelling performance.

The increasing popularity of behavior modification techniques has led to the development of contingencies applied on a group-wide basis. The use of group contingencies in regular school classroom research is reviewed and specific studies discussed. A comparison between the effectiveness of group and individual contingencies is made. The positive and negative features of group contingencies are presented. Questions for future research are posed. Finally, recommendations are presented for the practitioner in the school.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the immediate and long term effects of self-recording for on-task responding. Data were taken for both on-task and accuracy of performance in handwriting, spelling, and math with three behaviorally disordered elementary school students. The effects of self-recording were evaluated in a multiple-baseline design across subject-matter areas. The overall results revealed an increase in both on-task and academic performance when the students self-recorded their own on-task behavior. Only one pupil decreased his academic performance over that noted in baseline. Follow-up data taken during the first, second, and third school years yielded rates of on-task behavior over that of baseline, but not at the levels found in the self-recording condition. The practical aspects of the self-recording procedure were discussed.

In a token program the use of back-up reinforcers which are natural to the classroom environment is increasing. Several studies have reported the successful use of such natural (intrinsic) back-up reinforcers to control a wide variety of behaviors (McLaughlin, 1975 ) . However, a recent study by Evans, Horvath, Sanders, and Dolan (1974) found that having a teacher's assistant was more effective than a token reinforcement program for increasing academic achievement and attention in a special education classroom. The purpose of the present study was ro examine the effectiveness of token reinforcement on the rate of correct tracing of the letter g on dittoed sheets in a daily 4-min. session. The ages of the nine special education students, enrolled in a classroom for the emotionally and neurologically handicapped, ranged from 9 yr., 4 mo. to 10 yr., 9 mo. The classroom was managed by a token program which utilized natural school activities such as recess as back-up reinforcers. The effects of awarding tokens (points) were examined in a multiple-baseline design across subjects and introduced at random for each pupil. A Rn test (Revusky, 1967) was employed to determine the significance of the intervention. The over-all results indicated that, when token reinforcement was introduced, the frequency of correct letters traced increased. This effect was significant (R. = 16, p = .02). The findings were in conflict with those reported by Evans, et al. (1974), but this may be related to the choice of dependent variable, or back-up reinforcers. Additional research may have to determine which types of intrinsic reinforcers are the most effecrive with children in special education.

In early token economy programs (e.g., Ayllon & Azrin, 1968), accepmble behavior was reinforced while inappropriate behavior was ignored. Recently, researchers have implemented token programs which awarded tokens for appropriate behavior and removed them (response cost) for undesirable behavior (McLaughlin & Malaby, 1972; Phillips, Phillips, Fixsen, & Wolf, 1971). The purpose of this srudy was to determine the effects of using a combination of token reinforcement and response cost procedures, as well as each procedure alone. An entire fifthand sixth-grade class served as Ss. The percentage of the class who completed assignments in handwriting was recorded for an entire school year (104 assignments). If a pupil made up his work he was awarded the points he had lost. The effects of employing both token reinforcement (awarding 1 to 7 points for completed work) and response cost (removing 49 points for incomplete assignments) were examined three different times (assignments 1 to 45, 63 to 78, 88 to 104). On only three handwriting assignments was incompleted work recorded. When points were not awarded for completed work but could be lost for incomplete assignments, the percentage of the class who completed their work decreased on 12 of the 17 assignments (range 93 to 100%). When points were awarded for completed work and not lost for incomplete handwriting assignments, the percent of the class that completed their work decreased on 8 of the 9 assignments (range 88 to 100% ) . The data showed that a combination of token reinforcement and response cost was more effective than either procedure alone. The results of this report also confirm the work of Phillips, et al. ( 1971, Exp. N ) , which indicated response cost plus token reinforcement increased the number of correct responses made on a written quiz after a TV news program by pre-delinquent youths than did either procedure alone. None of the adverse side effect.. sometimes associated with response cost procedures, such as escape and failure of the behavior to recover, were observed.

The use of audio-visual materials has been well documented for elementary school classrooms. The effectiveness of such materials should increase to the extent that pupils actually work with and attend to such materials. Since token-reinforcement procedures have been shown ro be effective in dealing with a wide variety of classroom behaviors (O'Leary & Drabman, 1971), it was decided to employ such a procedure to increase class participation during films in science. Ss were members of a fifth- and a sixth-grade class. The classroom was managed by a token-reinforcement program to control a variety of classroom behaviors (McLaughlin & Malaby, 1972). The mean number of questions constructed over science films in each of four experimental conditions was the dependent variable. During baseline conditions (Films 1 to 6, 41 to 46) the class was asked to construct questions but did not receive points (tokens) for doing so. In the token-reinforcement conditions (Films 7 to 40, 47 to 60), pupils were awarded a point for each question constructed. For the first baseline condition, the mean number of questions constructed was 5.8 (range 3 to 7). An increase in construction of questions was recorded with the introduction of the tokenreinforcement procedure (M = 11.8; range 7 to 27 ). A return to baseline conditions decreased the mean number of questions constructed (M = 3; range 2 to 5). A replication of the token-reinforcement procedure increased the mean number of questions constructed (M = 12.86; range 7 to 22). These results suggest that the introduction of a contingency for constructing questions in an ongoing token program was effective in increasing such behavior. Results for three selected Ss further suggested that Ss with average or high rates of constructing questions during the first baseline condition were affected the most by the token procedures.

Many times contingency management procedures have been difficult to implement by a single teacher. In this report such procedures were used by a single teacher to increase the mean percent correct and decrease the time for the sixth-grade portion of a combination fifth/sixth grade class to complete sets of math problems. In Exp. I the pupils increased their accuracy of performance and maintained perfect scores as well as decreased the amount of time to complete math problems involving ratios when they were given token reinforcement points for doing so. Points could be used to purchase privileges in an ongoing token (point) economy ( McLaughlin & Malaby, 1971, 1972). When the class was given points for poor performance and more time to complete the problems, performance decreased and the time to complete the problems increased. A replication of each procedure of awarding points was accomplished with similar results. In Exp. I1 the results were also replicated with problems that required the pupils to multiply improper fractions. The pupils did not reach perfect performance, but the mean scores were quite high (range 96 to 99%). Time to complete the sets of problems decreased when the pupils were awarded points for such behavior. The results suggested that the procedures were effective, easy to implement, and involved little of the teacher's time. Pupils enjoyed the procedures and were active participants.

Previous research has shown that reinforcement procedures can be effective to increase the verbal behavior in certain special populations (Kerr, Meyerson, & Michael, 1965; Staats, Finley, Minke, & Wolf, 1964; Staats & Staats, 1962). The purpose of this paper was to develop a simple set of procedures to establish the alphabet and a sight vocabulary for a third-grade S. In Exp. I S was reinforced with candy for correctly naming the various upper and lower case letters of che alphabet presented in sequence and random. After S had mastered the individual letters of the alphabet, he could name the entire alphabet as fast as the letter cards could be presented by E. In Exp. I1 S was taught to name 22 reading vocabulary words. During the Baseline condition, S named a mean of 9 words in four presentations (trials) of all of the vocabulary words. With the introduction of only praise and not candy for the correct naming of words, S increased his performance to naming 22 out of the 25 vocabulary words. A two-tailed t test yielded a significant difference (P < .01) in favor of the Praise condition (Trials 5 to 13). The results of this effort suggest that with a little candy, praise and 150 min. of staff