Positive behavior support (PBS) has been advanced as a model for effectively managing behavior in school settings and facilitating inclusive education. Numerous systems adaptations and administrative supports, however, are necessary for the successful application of PBS in the schools. This article identifies diflculties in the application of best practices within current school systems, and considers federal and state laws, school system organization, the roles of teachers and administrators, and other factors that are relevant for inclusive education. Issues pertinent to the application of PBS are discussed, and practical steps for achievingprogress are recommended.

The published intervention research on the remediation of challenging behavior of persons with developmental disabilities was reviewed. A total of 179 studies over a recent 5-year period (1 988 through 1992) were reviewed for adherence to certain standards of practice, including the use of functional assessment, function-treatment matching, level of intervention intrusiveness, monitoring of collateral behaviors, follow-up, and generalization. Results are presented with regard to each standard of practice and the relations among practices. The results largely support meaningful improvements in the state of the intervention literature since the time of several previous reviews. Areas of progress are noted and continuing dejcits are discussed.DESCRIPTORS: applied behavior analysis, behavior management, challenging behavior, collateral effects, developmental disabilities, functional assessment, nonaversive procedures, punishment, research, standards of practice Certain methodological practices consistently have been described as being important in the implementation and evaluation of behavioral interventions. Foremost among these practices is the performance of a This research was funded by a grant to the first author from the West Virginia Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, which is gratefully acknowledged. Portions of this manuscript were presented at the 1994 (May) convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis, Atlanta, GA. A bibliography of the articles reviewed here is available from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC; Scotti et al., 1995). The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of Andrea Magruda, and the helpful comments of the reviewers.Correspondence should be directed to

Variables affecting ratings of intervention acceptability and effectiveness have been widely studied. In the literature, several variables have produced reliable results, such as type of intervention and severity of problem behavior. One variable that remains uninvestigated is the effect of providing functional analysis information on ratings of interventions. We analyzed the ratings of 55 teachers for both the effectiveness and acceptability of a range of interventions. We also evaluated the impact on those ratings of providing three levels of functional information about the targeted problem behavior: (a) structural (descriptive) information, (b) information describing an escape function (negative reinforcement), and (c) information describing an attention function (positive reinforcement). Sample demographics are reported, along with scores on an evaluation of knowledge of behavioral principles and causes of problem behavior. The teachers differentially rated brief interruption and differential reinforcement according to the functional information provided in the case vignettes. Severity of the problem behavior did not influence ratings. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of teacher training and support for intervention efforts that include functional assessment strategies.

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