WWC review of this study

A state-wide quasi-experimental effectiveness study of the scale-up of school-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

Pas, E, Ryoo, J, Musci, R, & Bradshaw, C (2019). Journal of School Psychology .

  • Quasi-Experimental Design
     examining 
    1,159
     Schools
    , grades
    K-12

Reviewed: November 2019

No statistically significant positive
findings
Meets WWC standards with reservations
Secondary school attendance outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Truancy rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Aggregated sample: Elementary and Secondary 2011-12;
829,164 students

9.78

9.76

No

--
Show Supplemental Findings

Truancy rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Elementary - 2007-08;
390,588 students

6.15

6.20

No

--

Truancy rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Elementary - 2008-09;
395,994 students

6.12

6.26

No

--

Truancy rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Elementary - 2009-10;
406,502 students

6.81

7.33

No

--

Truancy rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Elementary - 2010-11;
414,284 students

8.00

8.25

No

--

Truancy rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Elementary - 2011-12;
419,991 students

7.46

7.31

No

--

Truancy rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Secondary - 2007-08;
416,305 students

12.49

14.01

No

--

Truancy rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Secondary - 2008-09;
413,774 students

13.47

13.73

No

--

Truancy rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Secondary - 2009-10;
414,509 students

12.77

13.09

No

--

Truancy rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Secondary - 2010-11;
412,484 students

13.22

13.67

No

--

Truancy rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Secondary - 2011-12;
409,173 students

14.15

14.53

No

--
Student engagement in school outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Suspension event rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Aggregated sample: Elementary and Secondary 2011-12;
829,164 students

8.72

7.99

No

--
Show Supplemental Findings

Suspension event rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Elementary - 2010-11;
414,284 students

4.33

4.72

No

--

Suspension event rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Elementary - 2011-12;
419,991 students

4.35

4.61

No

--

Suspension event rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Secondary - 2007-08;
416,305 students

22.24

23.28

No

--

Suspension event rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Secondary - 2008-09;
413,774 students

22.68

20.42

No

--

Suspension event rate

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Secondary - 2009-10;
414,509 students

18.97

17.07

No

--


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.


  • Rural, Suburban, Urban
    • B
    • A
    • C
    • D
    • E
    • F
    • G
    • I
    • H
    • J
    • K
    • L
    • P
    • M
    • N
    • O
    • Q
    • R
    • S
    • V
    • U
    • T
    • W
    • X
    • Z
    • Y
    • a
    • h
    • i
    • b
    • d
    • e
    • f
    • c
    • g
    • j
    • k
    • l
    • m
    • n
    • o
    • p
    • q
    • r
    • s
    • t
    • u
    • x
    • w
    • y

    Maryland
  • Race
    Asian
    5%
    Black
    39%
    Native American
    0%
    Other or unknown
    8%
    White
    48%
  • Ethnicity
    Hispanic    
    8%
    Not Hispanic or Latino    
    92%

Setting

The study takes place in elementary (grades K-5, K-6, and K-8 schools) and secondary schools (grades 6-8, 9-12, and 6-12 schools) in Maryland between the 2006-07 and 2011-12 school years.

Study sample

Students across the entire state of Maryland are included in the analysis. Across the intervention and comparison groups for elementary and secondary schools in the analytic sample, less than 0.5 percent were American Indian, 4.5 percent were Asian, 7.6 percent were Hispanic, 39 percent were African American, and 47.5 percent were White. Twelve percent of students were receiving special education services, and 38.5 percent were receiving free or reduced price meals (p. 45).

Intervention Group

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a school-wide intervention aimed at improving the school environment and promoting positive student behaviors. The PBIS framework is made up of three tiers: (1) a universal system of supports for students, (2) targeted preventative interventions for high-need students, and (3) intensive preventative interventions for high-need students. This study focuses primarily on implementation of the universal, school-wide tier given that there was limited training and support for tiers 2 and 3 available within the state of Maryland during the study period. The universal, school-wide component includes training of staff to set clear expectations for positive behaviors, establish a system to promote these behaviors,and develop and implement consistent plans to respond to behavioral infractions.

Comparison Group

The comparison condition consisted of schools that did not receive training in PBIS. The study does not describe what took place in comparison schools, so it will be assumed that the schools proceeded with their business as usual discipline systems.

Support for implementation

Staff at schools in the intervention condition received training and support through the PBIS Maryland Consortium, a collaborative of the Maryland State Department of Education, Sheppard Pratt Health System and Johns Hopkins University. The collaborative provided a two-day training for new teams and booster sessions for experienced teams. There were also quarterly full-day leadership meetings offered to district leaders, as well as quarterly trainings provided to school-wide PBIS coaches. Within school districts, the coaches and district leaders provided supports such as quarterly meetings or additional internal professional development (p. 44)

 

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