Classroom performance of students with serious emotional disturbance: A comparative study of evaluation methods for behavior management

The treatment effects of three types of behavior management evaluation methods-teacher evaluation, self-evaluation, and group evaluation-were investigated. Effects on both the academic and behavioral performance of students with serious emotional disturbance (SED) were examined using an alternating treatments design. Results differentiated among the three methods, indicating significantly improved academic performance when either the self- or group evaluation procedures were implemented. It could therefore be stated that students with SED can benefit from learning skills for managing their own behavior. Time spent actively engaged was found to be variable among treatments but to become consistent only during the optimal treatment phase (i.e., sell-evaluation). Teacher acceptability data supported the use of all procedures although the data favored sell-evaluation. The results of this initial comparative outcome study support the continued use of self and group evaluation behavior management procedures for students with SED.