Middle level school teachers commonly measure and monitor students' academic performance, but such is not the case for students' classroom behavior. This is unfortunate, given the rise in students' classroom behavior problems in middle school, especially for students who experience emotional or behavioral disorders. The Classroom Performance…

Classroom management practices are critical to the success of teachers and students, and a growing number of programs have been developed to improve these practices. However, there has been less investigation into observational tools to assess classroom management and exploration of whether it can be measured consistently by observers across…

Classroom management practices are critical to the success of teachers and students, and a growing number of programs have been developed to improve these practices. However, there has been less investigation into observational tools to assess classroom management and explore whether it can be measured consistently by observers across elementary,…

The comprehensive assessment of middle school student bonding is important for basic research and to evaluate interventions. In this study, the psychometric properties of three assessment tools found in the literature were examined individually and then combined to create a shorter survey. With minor modifications, the tools were found to be…

Universal screening is a promising approach for identifying students at risk for behavioral and emotional problems. Due to the frequent adolescent onset of behavioral and emotional problems, middle school is an important time for early identification. This study explored the ability of the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS) to…

This study uses ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to simultaneously capture youths' perceptions of peer affiliates and social contexts to determine their association with youths' current and future mood states. A sample of 82 seventh grade students (36 at risk for developing or escalating rule breaking and substance use and 46 randomly…

An increasing number of U.S. children are living with interethnic parents, yet we know relatively little about how they are faring. Using data from the first wave (1987-1988) of the National Survey of Families and Households, this study examines differences in child well-being between children living with interethnic parents and those living with…

In a dual-factor model of mental health (cf. Greenspoon & Saklofske, 2001), assessments of positive indicators of wellness (i.e., subjective well-being--SWB) are coupled with traditional negative indicators of illness (i.e., psychopathology) to comprehensively measure mental health. The current study examined the existence and utility of a…

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) was developed and researched in clinical settings as an effective strategy to identify interventions that both manage inappropriate behavior and teach appropriate replacement behavior, but is it equally effective in school settings, which typically involve much less structure and much greater social…

This study addresses the questions that arise when collecting, describing, and analyzing information from multiple informants regarding attributes of individual students. Using data from the Fast Track study, we evaluate alternative measurement strategies for using multiple teacher ratings of student adjustment to middle school among a sample of…

Sixteen seventh and eighth graders previously identified as having behavioral problems earned significantly higher post-test scores on a test of REBT concepts immediately after participation in a Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) training program, and this knowledge was retained after an 8-week follow-up period (p less than 0.01).…

The failure to consider factors that make a key contribution to violence and its prevention may create serious problems of construct validity for school violence surveys. Further, few studies have assessed the relative importance of variables contributing to perceptions of safety by examining correlations between survey items and overall feelings…

This document was prepared to serve as an aid in the planning, design, implementation, and ongoing evaluation of Alternative Education for Disruptive Youth Programs in Pennsylvania. School Codes and Public Laws are cited for guidance on mandatory issues. The suggestions and implementation strategies provided in this document are not requirements…