Abstract:
Schools across the United States are constantly looking for ways to improve student achievement and behavioral outcomes since student achievement scores continue to remain low and behavioral incidences continue to rise. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an implementation framework with the purpose of improving academic and social behavior outcomes for all students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact that PBIS has on student reading achievement and student discipline and to reflect on whether the Georgia PBIS model builds capacity as schools’ progress from installing status to operational status. The study used a mixed methods approach with a sequential explanatory design. A sample of 661 schools in Georgia were selected for the study. The quantitative portion examined discipline and Georgia Milestones Assessment System data (GMAS) from the 2016-2017 school year. The qualitative aspect of this study examined responses from 12 principal interviews regarding their perception of PBIS, and the results from the quantitative portion of the study. Results indicated a significant difference in the number of referrals as schools move from an installing PBIS school to an operational PBIS school. Results did not find any significant differences between PBIS status and percentage of students reading at or above their Lexile level and PBIS status and percentage of students scoring either a Level II, Level III, or Level IV on the GMAS in third grade. However, the findings for fourth and fifth grade did support that the overall Georgia PBIS framework builds capacity as school’s progress toward the operational status. Overall, the results revealed a school must reach the operational status to achieve the best results.
Keywords:
Keyword 1: PBIS
Keyword 2: LEXILE
Keyword 3: Reading Achievement
Keyword 4: Discipline