Home      Login

Abstract: 

Teachers, school psychologists, counselors, social workers, and others are charged with implementing evidence-based practices with the goal of achieving positive student outcomes, particularly for students who have the most persistent and challenging social, emotional, or behavioral (SEB) needs. If evidence-based practices are not implemented with integrity, however, it is likely that students will not meet the intended goals. Although treatment integrity does not guarantee positive outcomes, it does help to ensure appropriate decision making and practice adjustments to maximize positive student responses to the instructional or SEB intervention. This article describes the dimensions of treatment integrity and the ways it is assessed, the importance of treatment integrity in data-based decision making, and suggestions for troubleshooting when implementation is less than optimal.

Keywords: SEB needs, data-based decision making, treatment implementation, school interventions, treatment integrity

Affiliations:  1: University of Iowa; 2: Clemson University.