We report a randomized, wait-list controlled trial assessing the effects of school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS). An effectiveness analysis was conducted with elementary schools in Hawaii and Illinois where training and technical assistance in SWPBS was provided by regular state personnel over a 3-year period. Results document that the training and technical assistance were functionally related to improved implementation of universal-level SWPBS practices. Improved use of SWPBS was functionally related to improvements in the perceived safety of the school setting and the proportion of third graders meeting or exceeding state reading assessment standards. Results also document that levels of office discipline referrals were comparatively low, but the absence of experimental control for this variable precludes inference about the impact of SWPBS. Implications for future research directions are offered.

Behavior support in schools is increasingly viewed as a three-tier prevention effort in which universal interventions are used for primary prevention, targeted interventions are used for secondary prevention, and intensive interventions are used for tertiary prevention. A growing body of research has demonstrated the effectiveness of targeted interventions in decreasing the frequency of problem behaviors. The Check In—Check Out Program (CICO) is becoming a recognized targeted intervention. The present study examines if there is a functional relation between the implementation of CICO and a reduction in problem behaviors. Results indicate that implementation of CICO with four elementary school—age boys was functionally related to a reduction in problem behavior. Clinical and conceptual implications of these results, methodological limitations, and future research directions are reviewed.

This paper provides a summary of research on behavioral interventions for children with autism 8 years of age or younger published between 1996 and 2000. The analysis is divided into four sections: (1) emerging themes in the technology of behavior support, (2) a review of existing research syntheses focusing on behavioral interventions, (3) a new literature review of current pertinent research, and (4) an evaluative discussion of the synthesis results and the field's future needs to develop effective behavioral interventions for young children with autism. The authors offer recommendations for strengthening the existing research base and advancing behavioral technology to meet the needs of the defined target population.

Schools throughout the country are now encouraged to implement school-wide positive behavior support (PBS) procedures as a way to improve their behavioral climate, safety, and social culture. Research is needed to determine (a) the extent to which schools already use school-wide PBS, (b) if training and technical assistance efforts result in change in the use of school-wide PBS procedures, and (c) if use of these procedures is related to valued change in safety, social culture, and behavior within schools. To address these questions, researchers need a metric for assessing implementation of school-wide PBS practices. The School-Wide Evaluation Tool (SET; Sugai, Lewis-Palmer, Todd, & Horner, 2001) was created to provide a rigorous measure of primary prevention practices within school-wide behavior support. In this article, the authors describe the SET and document its psychometric characteristics. The results of their study suggest that the SET is a valid, reliable measure that can be used to assess the impact of school-wide training and technical assistance efforts. The SET should also be useful in formal analyses of the relationship between use of school-wide PBS and changes in social and academic outcomes.

The Check in/ Check out (CICO) program was developed as a secondarylevel, targeted behavioral intervention in a three-tier preventative model of behavior support and has received empirical support as an effective way to reduce problem behaviors (Hawken & Horner, 2003; March & Horner, 2002). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate, post-implementation, the fidelity of implementation and effectiveness of the CICO program to reduce problem behavior when program training and implementation was managed by typical district personnel. Results indicate that the critical components of the program were implemented with fidelity across three elementary schools and that the program was effective in reducing the number of office discipline referrals for students who entered the program. Further, the program was perceived as being effective and efficient by district personnel. It is argued that the CICO program should be considered a viable targeted behavioral intervention with students for whom primary-level preventative measures are insufficient.