Children and youth with deficits in social competence present substantial challenges for schools, teachers, parents and peers. These challenges cut across disciplinary, instructional and interpersonal domains and they frequently create chaotic home, school and classroom environments. Schools are charged with teaching an increasingly diverse…

One of the most consistent findings in rating scale research with children and adolescents is the modest agreement among different informants' ratings. The present study systematically explored patterns of agreement among teachers, parents/caregivers, and students in domains of social skills and problem behaviors using the Social Skills…

The term "intervention validity" refers to the extent to which assessment results can be used to guide the selection of interventions and evaluation of outcomes. In this article, the authors review the defining attributes of rating scales that distinguish them from other assessment tools, assumptions regarding the use of rating scales to…

We reviewed all school-based experimental studies with individuals 0 to 18 years published in the "Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis" (JABA) between 1991 and 2005. A total of 142 articles (152 studies) that met review criteria were included. Nearly all (95%) of these experiments provided an operational definition of the independent variable,…

This article provides an analysis of the current knowledge base of social skills training (SST) with students with, or at risk for, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD). This knowledge base is evaluated with respect to issues regarding construct, internal, external, and social validity of the SST literature. Research syntheses investigating…

A survey of intervention articles published in major learning disabilities journals over the past 5 years found only 18.5 percent of these studies measured the integrity with which treatments were implemented, thus casting doubt on treatment effectiveness. This article discusses treatment integrity logic, threats to experimental validity without…

The multitrait multimethod model of test validation is a conceptual approach for collecting, organizing, and integrating this information in making classification and intervention decisions for handicapped children. Typical problems with assessment practice are discussed with suggestions for overcoming these difficulties using the…

Evaluates claims of the Early Intervention Project, an intensive behavioral intervention program for young children with autism. Claims include recovery from autism in 47% of cases and substantial improvement in an additional 42%. The article finds methodological problems affecting internal and external validity of the project's reported results.…

School psychologists have experienced difficulties in assessing students' behavior disorders, because of lack of training and problems associated with the traditional medical model of abnormal behavior. An alternative assessment model is described in terms of its five principles: problem solving; functional analysis; multiple operationalism;…