Curriculum-Based Assessment Procedures Embedded within Functional Behavioral Assessments: Identifying Escape-Motivated Behaviors in a General Education Classroom

Accuracy of student performance while reading leveled books rated at their instructional level by a reading inventory

Identifying a student's instructional level is necessary to ensure that students are appropriately challenged in reading. Informal reading inventories (IRIs) purport to assess the highest reading level at which a student can accurately decode and comprehend text. However, the use of IRIs in determining a student's instructional level has been questioned because of a lack of research. The current study examined the percentage of words read correctly with 64 second- and third-grade students while reading from texts at their instructional level as determined by an IRI. Students read for 1 min from three leveled texts that corresponded to their instructional level as measured by an IRI, and the percentage of words read correctly was recorded. The percentage read correctly correlated across the three books from r=.47 to r=.68 and instructional level categories correlated from tau=.59 to tau=.65. Percent agreement calculations showed that the categorical scores (frustration, instructional, and independent) for the three readings agreed approximately 67% to 70% of the time, which resulted in a kappa estimate of less than .50. Kappa coefficients of .70 are considered strong indicators of agreement. Moreover, more than half of the students with the lowest reading skills read at a frustration level when attempting to read books rated at their instructional level by an IRI. The current study questions how reliably and accurately IRIs identify students' instructional level for reading.

Function-based treatments for escape-maintained problem behavior: a treatment-selection model for practicing behavior analysts

Escape from instructional activities is a common maintaining variable for problem behavior and a number of effective treatments have been developed for this function. Each of these treatments has characteristics that make them optimal for certain environments and clients, but less optimal for others. We summarize the most commonly researched function-based treatments for escape-maintained behavior, describe the contexts for which they are most appropriate, and provide a clinical model for selecting treatments based on client characteristics and the constraints of the therapeutic environment.

Brief antecedent assessment and treatment of tics in the general education classroom: a preliminary investigation

The purpose of this study was to determine if specific classroom antecedents were associated with motor and vocal tics in two males diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome. A functional assessment consisting of teacher and student interviews, direct observations, brief functional analysis, and confirmatory naturalistic observations indicated that specific antecedents could be identified for each participant. Simplified habit reversal was then implemented only under the antecedent condition that resulted in the highest rate of tics. The rate of tics decreased under the specific antecedent condition as well as at other times as validated by behavioral observations conducted at random times. The discussion focuses on the utility of conducting such assessments, the methodological and applied limitations of the current study, and avenues for further research.