While noncompliance is a concerning challenging behavior and commonly reported by educators, its measurement is likely to be invalid and inaccurate given the subjectivity of the operational definition. Engagement is offered as a more valid, accurate measurement that may provide data regarding the amount of instruction accessed by the student. In…

In this retrospective commentary on "Acceptability of Behavioral Interventions Used in Classrooms: The Influence of Amount of Teacher Time, Severity of Behavior Problem, and Type of Intervention," I first examine the concept of social validity and related measurement challenges per Wolf's concerns about consumers' subjective reactions to…

Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit chronic behavior difficulties that deleteriously impact their academic and social functioning in school settings. These difficulties not only impair student performance, but also present significant challenges to teachers, school psychologists, and other school professionals…

A screening tool (in Chinese) for maladaptive internet use was developed in two stages. Thirty-five factors were first extracted from data obtained from 378 adolescents with a 179-item questionnaire. Nine higher-order factors were then obtained from 35 factors. A 26-item screen that measures both endogenous and exogenous factors was constructed on…

Family members and educational teams frequently participate in planning, implementing, and evaluating programs for young children with disabilities and those at risk for academic and behavior difficulties. Decision making should incorporate an integration of best available research evidence along with practitioners' and families' beliefs and…

Positive behavior support (PBS) emerged in the mid-1980s as an approach for understanding and addressing problem behaviors. PBS was derived primarily from applied behavior analysis (ABA). Over time, however, PBS research and practice has incorporated evaluative methods, assessment and intervention procedures, and conceptual perspectives associated…

This article describes the journey toward evidence-based transport and implementation in usual care settings of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for youth with drug abuse and behavioral problems (Henggeler, Schoenwald, Borduin, Rowland, & Cunningham, 1998). Research and experience informing the design of the MST transport strategy, progress in…

The purpose of this article is to explain how a means/ends test can be adapted for the school environment. Public school officials can use a means/ends test to document an analysis of whether dress-code policies will be effective in diminishing risks to the health, safety, or morality of the school population. Elements of policy evaluation--ends,…

The 3-year project developed self-instructional programs and evaluated parent use of these programs (approximately 185 families) to improve behavior problems of their handicapped children, aged 3 to 9. The project's format included five goals (e.g., determination of the degree to which parents can treat behavioral problems without professional…