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Prevalence estimates suggest that up to 20% of students in schools experience significant internalizing behaviors that impact behavioral, social, or academic functioning. School-based interventions have great potential to promote student mental health; however, validated and feasible brief assessments are needed to progress monitor students' responses to these supports. The purpose of the current study was twofold: to (a) develop and validate teacher-completed brief rating scales for progress monitoring internalizing concerns in elementary-age students and (b) determine the reliability of the resultant measures. First, item content was generated and subjected to evaluation by two panels of school-based consumers and researchers. Within the second phase of development, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to reduce the initial number of items and ensure that the items were indicators of one latent factor. Teachers in Grades K–3 (N = 307) each completed ratings for one randomly selected student in their classroom. Results of factor analysis for each scale indicated one-factor solutions for the 4-item Anxious/Depressed (ω =.88) and 4-item Socially Withdrawn (ω =.87) scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct Behavior Rating (DBR) is an efficient method for monitoring changes in student behavior in response to intervention. Emerging research on DBR Multi-Item Scales (DBR-MIS) indicates that DBR-MIS has promising characteristics as a progress-monitoring assessment. Specifically, the multiple items within DBR-MIS allow stakeholders to measure specific behaviors at the item level, as well as global constructs at the scale level. In addition, studies have shown that fewer rating occasions are necessary to reach acceptable levels of dependability when using DBR-MIS as opposed to single-item scales (DBR-SIS). The purpose of the study was to develop and validate DBR-MIS problem behavior scales (Disruptive, Oppositional, Interpersonal Conflict, and Conduct Problems) that may be used to evaluate students' response to social-emotional or behavioral intervention. Within the first phase of development, item content was generated and subjected to evaluation by panels of researchers and school-based consumers. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was then used in the second phase to identify items that represented the strongest indicators of each construct. Teachers (N = 307) in Grades K–3, from 35 school districts across 13 states in the Northeastern, Midwestern, Southern, and Southwestern United States each completed ratings for one randomly selected student (N = 307). Results of the EFA using a starting pool of nine to 11 items for each DBR-MIS initially indicated one-factor solutions for the Disruptive and Oppositional scales and a two-factor solution for the Interpersonal Conflict scale. Consequently, a new Conduct Problems scale was created from items loading on the second factor. Implications for progress monitoring and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct Behavior Rating (DBR) has been proposed as a promising approach to assess student behavioral progress in classroom settings. The current study examines raters and occasions as well as their interactions as sources of error in the use of DBR–Multi-Item Scales (DBR-MIS) and DBR–Single-Item Scales (DBR-SIS) for academically engaged (AE) and disruptive behavior (DB). Furthermore, the stability of scores across two school subjects (i.e., German language, mathematics) was examined. A total of 20 students and two teachers in an inclusive elementary school classroom participated in the study. Generalizability study results suggest that little variance in DBR scores was attributable to the facets of raters or occasions, but the interactions between persons with raters and occasions accounted for a large portion of variance. Variance attributable to these interactions was slightly higher for DBR-MIS than for DBR-SIS ratings. Decision studies revealed that dependable measurements of AE could be achieved within 1.5 weeks of daily ratings for absolute decision-making. Findings regarding DB were mixed. Differences across both school subjects were found indicating that DBR ratings that are obtained in one academic setting may not necessarily be exchangeable with ratings obtained in another. Overall, the results demonstrate the utility of DBR for behavioral progress-monitoring purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This meta-analysis examined group-design studies investigating the effectiveness of Daily Behavior Report Cards (DBRC) as a school-based intervention to manage the classroom behavior of students with ADHD. Methods: A search of three article databases (PsycINFO, ERIC and Medline) identified seven group design evaluations of DBRC interventions. This meta-analysis included a total of 272 participants, with an average age of 7.9 years old. Three of the studies compared a control group to a treatment group with randomized group assignment, one study compared a control group to three treatment groups, two studies compared pre-and post-treatment scores in the same group, and one study compared pre-and post-treatment results of two intervention groups without random assignment. Dependent measures for these studies were teacher ratings (n = 5) and systematic direct observation of student academic and social behaviour (n = 2). Standardized mean differences (Hedge's g) were calculated to obtain a pooled effect size using fixed effects. Results: DBRCs were associated with reductions teacher-rated ADHD symptoms, with a Hedge's g of 0.36 (95% CI: 0.12-0.60, z=2.93, p ≤ .005) with low heterogeneity (Q-value: 2.40, I2 = 0.00). This result excluded two studies that used observational coding instead of standardized tests to evaluate the effects of the intervention. A moderator analysis indicated that the effect size for systematic direct observation was large (Hedge's G = 1.05[95% CI: 0.66-1.44, z=5.25, p ≤ .00]), with very high heterogeneity (Q-value: 46.34, I2: 93.53). A second moderator analysis found differences in the effects of DBRCs for comorbid externalizing symptoms with an overall effect size of 0.34 (95%CI: -0.04-0.72, z=1.76 p =0.08) with high heterogeneity (Q-value: 3.98, I2: 74.85). Conclusions: DBRCs effectively reduce the frequency and severity of ADHD symptoms in classroom settings. Additionally, they have a significant effect on co-occuring externalizing behaviors. It appears that systematic direct observation may be a more sensitive measure of treatment effects compared to teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary goal of this study was to assess the treatment sensitivity of four newly developed Direct Behavior Rating–Multi-Item Scales (DBR-MIS) that assess the domains of academic engagement, disruptive behavior, organizational skills, and oppositional behavior in the context of a Daily Report Card (DRC) intervention. To achieve this goal, we first evaluated the integrity and effectiveness of the DRC intervention in this sample. Participants included six elementary school teachers, each of whom delivered a DRC intervention with one student from their classroom, while completing DBR-MIS ratings on a daily basis for 2 months. Results confirmed the effectiveness of the DRC intervention (all DRC target behaviors demonstrated improvement, with at least half demonstrating improvement that was moderate to large in magnitude) and revealed a positive relationship between DRC implementation integrity and student outcomes. We found strong evidence for the treatment sensitivity of the DBR-MIS assessing academic engagement, disruptive behavior, and organizational skills. Results for the treatment sensitivity of the DBR-MIS oppositional scale were inconclusive. Implications for progress monitoring using the recently developed DBR-MIS are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-sampling techniques are popular among school practitioners and researchers alike when conducting observations of student behavior. Despite their popularity, the psychometric properties of such observation data have not received much attention, likely given that both procedures and targets vary widely across individual coding systems. A systematic literature review was therefore conducted to provide insight into how various procedural aspects may influence the psychometric properties of time-sampling data. Specifically, the influences of the number of target behaviors, time-sampling method, interval length, observation length, and number of observations on the psychometric properties of time-sampling data are explored. Both implications for practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct behavior rating (DBR) represents a feasible method for monitoring student behavior in the classroom; however, limited work to date has focused on the use of multi-item scales. The purposes of the study were to examine the (a) dependability of data obtained from a multi-item DBR designed to assess peer conflict and (b) treatment sensitivity of Direct Behavior Rating Multi-Item Scales (DBR-MIS) constructed using factor-derived and individualized methods. Analyses were performed using teacher ratings of 65 students (53 boys, 12 girls) between 6 and 12 years old. Results of decision studies indicated that an acceptable criterion of dependability (ϕ > .70) for low-stakes, intraindividual decision making could be achieved using a three-item scale across eight occasions, a four- or five-item scale across four occasions, or a six-item scale across three occasions. Subsequent analyses verified that a six-item DBR demonstrated acceptable treatment sensitivity when ratings were conducted on 3 days during baseline and 3 days during treatment with methylphenidate. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kindergarten Peer Assisted Learning Strategies and directly teaching and reinforcing behavioral expectations are empirically supported interventions for building early literacy skills and increasing on-task behavior, respectively. Previous research has not investigated the application of both academic and behavior interventions simultaneously to prevent reading failure. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of KPALS with and without a classroom management strategy (CMS) consisting of posting and teaching classroom expectations and reinforcing them via a token economy for 20 kindergarten students from an urban elementary school in the northeastern United States. Results indicated an increase in the level of active engagement and teacher-directed instruction with the implementation of KPALS and CMS. Moreover, a clear improvement in students’ academic skills occurred with the addition of the CMS. Future research and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The majority of the literature on universal screening in education is devoted to academic screeners. However, research clearly indicates that other aspects of student functioning are closely associated with outcomes inside and outside of school. As a result, there are gaps in the current literature that call for additional research extending beyond academics to explore the development and use of other screening tools to better detect students who are at risk for difficulties. Consistent with the purpose of this special series, the aim of this article is to establish a roadmap for future research on universal screening efforts beyond academic domains. The following six themes were integrated into a roadmap that will serve as a guide for future research directed at improving the accuracy, feasibility, effectiveness, and breadth of screening practices in education: (a) universal screening research across multiple domains; (b) determination of the optimal informant; (c) linking screening results to problem-solving efforts; (d) moderators of universal screening outcomes; (e) cost-benefit analyses involving technical adequacy, classification accuracy, and feasibility; and (f) the application of advanced measurement and statistical procedures. These themes represent the foci of the current special issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses several objectives of the special issue on universal screening by addressing gaps in the current research base concerning universal screening for mental, emotional, and behavioral health and by providing a framework for addressing the limitations of extant approaches. Specifically, an adaptive model of behavioral assessment (AMBA) is proposed as a conceptual framework for linking screening and progress monitoring and designing tier 2 interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies were performed to examine a factor-analytic and an individualized approach to creating short progressmonitoring measures from the longer ADHD-Symptom Checklist-4 (ADHD-SC4). In Study 1, teacher ratings on items of the ADHD:Inattentive (IA) and ADHD:Hyperactive-Impulsive (HI) scales of the ADHD-SC4 were factor analyzed in a normative data sample of 493 students aged 5 to 12 years. Items with the highest factor loadings were then selected to create abbreviated IA and HI scales for Study 2. In Study 2, the psychometric characteristics of two shortened progress-monitoring measures (factor derived and individualized) and the original IA and HI scales of the ADHD-SC4 were examined in a sample of 26 students aged 4 to 17 years in a medication titration study involving baseline and three doses of methylphenidate. The results indicated comparable psychometric properties across the original and abbreviated versions of the IA and HI scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates how children who identified themselves as having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) via a child interview would differ from children who were so identified by an adult only on a commonly used parent/teacher rating scale. Indication that children who self-identify as having ADHD may also show higher levels of internalizing symptoms.

Investigates age, gender, and comorbidity differences in subtypes of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Use of screening checklist based on `Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition' criteria; Few youngsters' exhibition of symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity in the absence of inattention; Oppositional and conduct disorder behaviors.

Class-wide behavioral interventions are a feasible and effective method to support the behavior of all students. In six peer-reviewed studies, Tootling, a class-wide intervention that combines positive peer reporting with an interdependent group contingency, has increased positive peer reports and academically engaged behavior (AEB), and decreased disruptive behavior (DB). However, no prior studies have been conducted with middle school students, and none have employed strategies to promote enduring behavior change. A withdrawal design with maintenance phase, implemented across two middle school classrooms, found moderate effects (nonoverlap of all pairs [NAP] = 0.74, Tau-U = −0.48) of Tootling on decreasing DB and moderate to large effects (NAP = 0.76, Tau-U = 0.68) on increasing AEB, although internal threats to validity prevented the demonstration of a clear functional relationship across both classrooms. Results from the maintenance phase, in which the group contingency reward was removed, suggest promising strategies to support durable behavioral change. Limitations of the present study, directions for future research, social validity, and implications for practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to reports discussed within the issue is presented, including an article offering an approach for researchers to follow when conducting future universal screening research, an editorial on the need for universal screening instruments that possess treatment validity and an article on the ethical and policy issues surrounding universal screening in education.