Extending Use of Direct Behavior Rating Beyond Student Assessment

Abstract

To make valid decisions about intervention effectiveness in a tiered intervention system, it is essential to formatively assess treatment integrity along with student outcomes. Despite significant advances in technologies for ongoing assessment of student outcomes, research regarding treatment integrity assessment has not shared the same progress in that most available methods lack adequate psychometric evidence and require significant resources. Direct behavior rating has been discussed and evaluated as a tool for assessing student behavior, yet the technology could be extended to result in an efficient treatment integrity assessment method with utility in a multi-tiered model of school-based intervention delivery. This article reviews options in treatment integrity assessment, with emphasis on how direct behavior rating technology might be incorporated within a multi-tiered model of intervention delivery. Implications for both practice and research are addressed.