| If antisocial behavior is not addressed by third grade, intervention efforts are aimed at maintenance rather than amelioration (Sugai & Horner, 1998). Effective prevention must not only recognize negative behavior but also identify the necessary prosocial skills leading to social competence. Current identification procedures may be costly (naturalistic observations) and often rely almost exclusively on summative results (standardized, norm-referenced behavior rating scales) that, at best, identify children who are already performing significantly below their peers. The purpose of this project is to evaluate an assessment tool designed to: (a) identify the social functioning of all students, (b) assist in planning support for students at-risk, and (c) evaluate the effectiveness of individual and system-wide interventions.;Eighteen, first-grade students were monitored over an 8-week period using the Initiation-Response Assessment (IRA). The IRA consists of a 10-minute observation of social behavior within a standardized, analog activity. Two criterion measures were also included: (a) the School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS) and (b) an informal teacher ranking procedure. Estimates of reliability as well as estimates of criterion-related validity were calculated for the IRA. The measure's sensitivity to growth over time and the difference in status and/or growth rates between males and females was also assessed using hierarchical linear modeling procedures. Results indicate that scores on the IRA are stable over time, across settings and observers, and are sufficient to make individual screening decisions. The data also suggest that the IRA taps similar constructs of social behavior as assessed by teacher ratings. Finally, the measure did indicate student improvement over time; however these differences did not vary significantly across individual students.;In order for schools to operate within a response-to-intervention model, effective tools must be provided. The IRA shows promise as a measure that can be used to identify key outcomes for all students, assess observable change in a student's progress, and encourage a system of accountability that links assessment results to intervention strategies. Future research is needed to examine the effectiveness of the IRA with a more diverse sample of students, and to further simplify the coding procedure for more efficient use within educational settings. |
