Intervention fidelity is the extent to which an individual- or systems-level student intervention is delivered comprehensively in a manner aligned with the initial plan. This first installment in a three-part series on intervention fidelity highlights the importance of ensuring classroom supports are implemented as intended and introduces…

Treatment fidelity refers to the extent to which an intervention is implemented as planned. If researchers do not assess and report treatment fidelity, or if treatment fidelity is shown to be low, findings from intervention studies are difficult to interpret, because the intervention may not have been implemented as planned. In this article, our…

Promoting self-determination has been shown to enhance outcomes for students with and without disabilities. The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) is an evidence-based instructional model designed to promote self-determination in diverse contexts, including inclusive general education classrooms. SDLMI delivery requires training…

Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) are considered one of the best practices for autistic children and their families. Most NDBIs include a component of providing training and/or coaching to caregivers to enhance skill acquisition and generalization. The procedures to implement these NDBIs are often clearly delineated in…

Even when schools are implementing Tier 1 systems and practices with high fidelity, some students need more targeted and systematic support. Tier 2 practices provide students with an additional layer of rapid and efficient behavior support. However, school teams will need to regularly measure the fidelity of both core features of these Tier 2…

Even when schools are implementing Tier 1 systems and practices with high fidelity, some students need more targeted and systematic support. Tier 2 practices provide students with an additional layer of rapid and efficient behavior support. However, school teams will need to regularly measure the fidelity of both core features of these Tier 2…

Students cannot experience the full potential benefits of an intervention unless they are receiving the intervention. This is the second installment in a three-part series on intervention fidelity designed to highlight the importance of ensuring classroom supports are implemented as intended. This article provides guidance related to measuring and…

Fidelity is defined as doing what is intended. The purpose of measuring fidelity is to assist with supporting implementation. Collecting fidelity data provides an opportunity to problem-solve throughout the process versus waiting for outcome data. More often than not, purchased programs and curriculum materials are missing a research-validated…

The success of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) in typical schools has led to interest in PBIS for alternative programs, including residential programs. In this brief, we describe PBIS as implemented in a therapeutic treatment home for adolescents with mental health needs. The PBIS framework enabled the program to add Tier 1…

Educational reforms fail again and again. One reason for the failure is that educational reform stops just outside the classroom door. During the last 25 years, the dominant educational reform initiatives in the US have operated under the misguided conventional wisdom that the educational system is loosely coupled. With this model in mind, decades…

This article posits that high-performance implementation teams are a powerful resource for administrators when supporting the effective use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) among teachers. Yearly, administrators purchase EBPs with the expectation that positive results found in research will be reproduced in their school settings. Unfortunately,…

This evaluation brief describes how a district in receivership (state takeover) invested in PBIS to (a) enhance their systems to support staff, (b) implement evidence-based practices to support students, (c) use data to guide their implementation, and (d) ensure equitable supports for all students, including students with disabilities, to…

This brief describes why it is critical to continue to prioritize behavior support in addition to academic, social, and emotional supports. Without effective behavior support, research has documented that students and educators experience negative outcomes. With effective behavior support implemented within a PBIS framework, rigorous research has…

The success of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) frameworks relies upon educators supporting and implementing PBIS plans. However, common staff-level perceptions exist that may interfere with successful implementation, which we refer to as misses. In this article, three types of misses representing common sets of staff concerns…

Though there is widespread recognition of the importance of implementation research, evaluators often face intense logistical, budgetary, and methodological challenges in their efforts to assess intervention implementation in the field. This article proposes a set of natural language processing techniques called semantic similarity as an…