Academic Achievement and School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports

Abstract

School-wide positive behavior supports (SWPBS) is designed to improve learning environments by increasing the (a) amount of time students are in school (e.g., decreased out-of-school suspensions), (b) proportion of minutes students are engaged in instruction, and (c) level of academic engagement of students during instruction. The underlying assumption is that by improving social behavior, schools have more time to deliver effective instruction. However, to date, this assumption has not been fully investigated. The goal of this study was to explicitly examine the impact of SWPBS on school-wide academic achievement. First, a comprehensive review of the SWPBS literature was conducted to determine the impact of SWPBS on academic achievement. Then, a longitudinal state-level analysis of schools implementing SWPBS and propensity score-matched control schools was conducted to identify differential effects. Results indicated little to no relationship between SWPBS alone and school-level academic achievement. Implications, considerations, and future directions are discussed.