Establishing normative benchmarks for on-task, off-task, and disruptive behaviors in early elementary classrooms

Systematic direct observations of on-task, off-task, and disruptive behaviors were conducted in Kindergarten, First, and Second grade classrooms in order to establish normative benchmarks for academic engaged time for early elementary students at the individual, school, and district level. Descriptive statistics of the participating students (n=6,592) indicated the overall mean academic engaged time in early elementary classrooms is approximately 80%. Visual analysis of the variability of academic engagement within schools and districts participating in the study suggested that there is variability evident within districts and schools. Finally, multiple linear and logistic regressions were performed to determine associations between school-level variables and two outcome variables: Academic Engaged Time and Disruptive Behavior. Results indicated that the school-level demographic variables of Free and Reduced Lunch Status (a school-level socioeconomic measure) and school percentage of white/non-Hispanic students were significantly associated with school-wide academic engagement. The second outcome variable of disruptive behavior was significantly associated with school academic achievement as measured by reading and math curriculum-based measurements. Future implications about data based decision-making, intervention planning, and monitoring of school and classroom wide behavioral management using the systematic observational data is discussed.