Precision teaching emerged from O.R. Lindsley's pristine application of Skinner's natural science of behavior, with a focus on response rate measurement and free operant procedures. When applied with human learners in instructional settings, these first principles led to a series of developments framed in this paper as four kinds of ceilings that…

A continuous and curriculum-based assessment method, Precision Learning Assessment (PLA), which integrates precision teaching and norm-referenced techniques, was applied to a math computation curriculum for 214 third graders. The resulting districtwide learning curves defining average annual progress through the computation curriculum provided…

Guiding principles of precision teaching are reviewed, the use of the Standard 'celeration chart illustrated, and implementation aspects involved in pinpointing, counting, charting, and evaluating are described. The article concludes with a brief summary of effectiveness research. (CL)

Precision teaching is introduced as a method of helping students develop fluency or automaticity in the performance of academic skills. Precision teaching involves being aware of the relationship between teaching and learning, measuring student performance regularly and frequently, and analyzing the measurements to develop instructional and…

Precision teaching techniques can be used to chart students' attention span or endurance. Individual differences in attention span can then be better understood and dealt with effectively. The effects of performance duration on performance level, on error rates, and on learning rates are discussed. Implications for classroom practice are noted.…

Selecting student performance aims (proficiency levels stated in terms of rate of correct and incorrect responding) is an integral feature of the precision teaching and learning process. Descriptive and developmental research on appropriate aims is summarized, and methods for determining appropriate aims for students are described. (JDD)

The authors describe a precision teaching screening procedure used in a public school setting. Screening material is based upon the basic skills that were taught during the previous year and consists of one-minute performance samples taken on 10 consecutive school days. (Author)

The use of rate data in precision teaching, to improve fluency of student response, is discussed. Noted are its advantages, the demands it places on teachers and students, the impact on measurement procedures, and guidelines for determining when to shift from acquisition to fluency instruction. (JDD)

This article presents a reply to the response made by Carl Binder that was critical of the authors' review of rate-building procedures. For the most part, the authors were disappointed in Binder's reply because they believe it muddied the focus of their review: an examination of the "experimental" evidence for the procedures used and suggested by…

The founding policies of precision teaching are discussed: monitor frequency daily, use self-recording, use standard charts to display major changes, and accept that the child knows best how he or she learns. Contributions of teachers that have furthered the development of precision teaching are documented. (JDD)

The Precise Identification and Remediation for Learning project identifies kindergarten pupils at risk for serious learning problems. The project involves identifying target skills, developing assessment materials, conducting initial assessments, identifying children with performance deficits, providing small-group remedial instruction,…

This critique discusses conceptual and practical issues raised in a paper by D. Marston (EC 210 837) on choosing the most technically adequate graph for measuring progress on individual education plans. The critique argues that the Standard Behavior Chart is a technically adequate and useful measurement tool. (JDD)

This article responds to a criticism (EC 231 964) of a paper that discusses graphs for measuring progress on individual education plans (EC 210 837). It notes that the type of chart used is not a major issue; the important point is that teachers repeatedly gather data on educationally relevant tasks and evaluate intervention effectiveness. (JDD)

Precision teaching can accelerate basic skills progress of special needs children. Issues discussed include using probes as performance tests, charting daily progress, using the charted data to modify teaching methods, determining appropriate age levels, assessing the number of students to be precision taught, and carefully allocating time. (JDD)