The authors evaluated the effects of response cards on the disruptive behavior and academic responding of students in two urban fourth-grade classrooms. Two conditions, single-student responding and write-on response cards, were alternated in an ABAB design. During single-student responding, the teacher called on one student who had raised his or her hand to answer the question. During the response-card condition, each student was provided with a white laminated board on which he or she could write a response to every question posed by the teacher. Nine students were targeted for data collection because of their history of disciplinary issues in school and frequent disruptive behavior in the classroom. Data revealed substantial reductions in disruptive behavior and increases in academic responding during the response card condition compared to single-student responding. The findings are discussed in terms of the beneficial effects of direct, high-response strategies for urban, low-achieving learners.

S tudents in America's schools represent a mosaic of ethnicities and cultures. Current demographic changes include the growth of an increasingly diverse student population with greater academic, economic, and social needs. A recent report about the Columbus, Ohio, city schools, for example, reveals that during the past decade, the number of English language learners (ELLs) has quadrupled and the number of students from low-income families has increased by 19%, so that two thirds of the entire student body is at or below the poverty level (Candisky, 2007). Despite a series of laws attempting to equalize educational opportunities for minority and high-risk stu-dents, such efforts continue to be unfulfilled dreams (Utley & Obiakor, 2001). National data for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students (i.e., African, Hispanic, and Native American) reveal high rates of dropping out of school, disproportionate special education placement, greater failure in meeting the state and national standards across basic subjects, and the poorest outcomes of all students in our schools (National Research Council, NRC, 2002;Wagner & Cameto, 2004).Challenges facing educators in meeting the needs of CLD students include but are not limited to developing cultural awareness, identifying pedagogical approaches, and adjusting curriculum content (Banks et al., 2005). Consider the

Within the context of widely documented racially disproportionate discipline outcomes, we describe schoolwide positive behavior support (SWPBS) as one approach that might provide a useful framework for culturally responsive behavior support delivery. We conceptualize cultural and linguistic diversity as the result of a divergence between individual students’ and entire schools’ cultural identities and identify culturally responsive educational practices that might facilitate greater continuity between students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and school environments. Based on practical recommendations derived from the literature, we propose an expansion of the key features of SWPBS implementation (practices, data, systems, and outcomes) to facilitate culturally responsive behavior support delivery. We propose (a) systemically promoting staff members’ cultural knowledge and self-awareness, (b) commitment to culturally relevant and validating student support practices, and (c) culturally valid decision making to enhance culturally equitable student outcomes. We provide recommendations for future research and present the efforts of one school district to blend SWPBS implementation with training in cultural responsiveness.

In two related studies middle school students with serious emotional disturbances (SED) served as student trainers to teach social interaction skills to peers with SED. Researchers in both studies taught middle school boys to use a formal social skills curriculum in order to teach more positive peer interactions. Study results indicate the desired effects of the peer-based social skills instruction, with some evidence of behavior maintenance and transfer. The findings point to beneficial effects for both peer trainers and student trainees.

This study evaluated the effects of a repeated reading (RR) intervention on the oral reading fluency and comprehension of six urban fourth and fifth-grade students with and at risk for emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD). A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to study RR effects according to gains in reading fluency, comprehension, and generalization to unpracticed passages under covert and overt timing conditions. Results indicated that all students improved both reading fluency (i.e., speed and accuracy) and comprehension when participating in RR. Improvements were also observed on the unpracticed generalization passages; the addition of overt timing and charting produced the greatest improvements. These gains were confirmed through administration of standardized tests in reading. Findings are described according to the beneficial effects of RR and the relative advantages of peer-mediated interventions with students with EBD.