The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between indirect and direct assessments of language and cognitive skills using the PEAK Relational Training System (PEAK). 29 participants were administered the PEAK-Direct Training Pre-Assessment (PEAK-DT-PA) and the PEAK-Generalization Pre-Assessment (PEAK-G-PA). Of those 29 participants, 28 of their caregivers and 10 therapists completed an indirect assessment the 368 skills listed in the PEAK-DT and PEAK-G curricula. The results of the study suggest that there was a strong correlation between the pre-assessments and the indirect reports from both the parents and the therapists for both modules. Additional correlations and interrater reliability across factors and individual test items were also investigated. Finally, trends in interrater reliability between caregiver report and direct assessments suggest that caregivers reporting for participants with lower overall scores more reliably identified if their child had a deficit with an advanced skill, but could less reliably identify if their child had a more basic skill. The opposite trend was found for caregivers reporting on participants with greater overalls scores. Implications of these findings for clinicians and future research are discussed.

Because low rate, covert responses are hard to observe and measure (e.g., Azrin & Wesolowski, 1974; Henderson, 1981; Jeffery, 1969; Reid & Patterson, 1976; Seymour & Epston, 1989), well-controlled behavior analytic investigations of stealing have been rare. In fact, systematic investigations to experimentally determine stealing functions have been limited to two studies targeting food (Lambert et al., 2019; Simmons, Akers, & Fisher, 2019). The dearth of studies examining stealing functions, partly attributable to low rate and covertness, may be forestalling additional intervention studies. Given the likely futility of unsystematic attempts to observe naturally occurring instances of an infrequent, clandestine response, a possible role for indirect assessment emerges (Iwata & Dozier, 2008). This two-part study concerned an investigation into the reliability and predictive validity of the Functional Analysis Screening Tool (Iwata, DeLeon, & Roscoe, 2013) and a similarly constructed tool (The Stealing Inventory or TSI) with the latter having questions oriented towards likely stealing functions. In doing so, the comparative viability of two trial-based functional analysis (FA) models (Bloom, Iwata, Fritz, Roscoe, & Carreau, 2011; Lambert, Bloom, & Irvin, 2012) was also examined. Across 42 respondent pairs, overall tool reliability and outcome reliability for suggested functions favored the TSI (85% and 92.9%, respectively) over the FAST (80% and 73.8%, respectively). Three out of 6 participants stole during one of their two respective FAs, and the identified function matched the respective TSI outcomes for each case. FA model superiority was unclear.

This study assessed the convergent validity of the Functional Assessment Informant Record for Teachers (FAIR-T; Edwards, 2002) with analog functional analyses (FAs). Participants were five teachers and students located at a specialized school serving individuals with disabilities. Teachers had worked with the student for a minimum of 1 month, and students displayed a variety of behavioral topographies. The FAIR-T was conducted by the researcher using telephone or video conferencing technology, and analog functional analyses were conducted in a clinic setting by trained therapists within the course of the student’s typical treatment plan. Results of the FAIR-T were coded according to function, and the results of the analog FAs were graphed and analyzed visually. Results of the FAIR-T and FAs indicated limited convergence between the two assessment methods, though results were somewhat inconclusive. Results are discussed in relation to the utility of the FAIR-T, particularly in the school setting. Directions for future research are discussed in light of the need to delineate efficient means with which to conduct functional behavior assessments within the schools.

In this ubiquitous computing society, most students are required to be proficient in computer skills to compete in today’s global job market. These computer skills usually include skills in business productivity applications. Assessing those skills is normally accomplished by hands-on skills exams, which can become onerous and costly. This study explored whether a combination of a computer self-efficacy (CSE) survey, cognitive questions, and skill-based questions could indeed be a valid alternative to a hands-on skills exam. The findings of this study indicate some types of questions may be better predictors of performance on the hands-on skills exam, and some combinations of survey items and questions may be viable alternatives to hands-on skills exams. As a result of this research, schools and companies could adapt these indirect and direct assessments to their situation to perform their own study or assess the skills of their students/employees.

This study validated and evaluated the feasibility of a web-based electronic behavior assessment system, ‘eBA’, designed to facilitate collaboration between caregivers and service providers (behavior analysts) in conducting indirect functional behavior assessment (FBA). In Phase 1, the content and the web architecture of the eBA were validated and refined through a formative evaluation by five behavior analysts. In Phase 2, the eBA system was pilot tested with 10 service providers and 10 caregivers using a post-test only control group design to examine the efficiency and quality of the system and identify the levels of satisfaction with the system by the service providers and caregivers. The results indicated that the eBA system components were appropriate to conduct indirect FBA and useful for use by caregivers and service providers collaboratively, gathered quality information, and showed higher levels of caregiver and service provider satisfaction, compared to traditional paper-pencil format of assessment.

While descriptive assessment outcomes show limited correspondence with experimental analysis outcomes, they are still often used in the treatment of problem behavior. The most effective way of treating problem behavior is by manipulating its controlling variables; however, if descriptive analyses are not depicting accurate environment-behavior relations, then treatments based off of descriptive analysis results have a higher chance of failing. The current study looks to replicate and extend the literature on utility descriptive assessments by analyzing three different data analysis methods. Three children with a diagnosis of autism were exposed to two types of experimental analyses. Following experimental analyses, descriptive assessments were completed and analyzed to determine correlations between the behavior and environmental events. The results from the three investigated data analysis methods were then compared to the outcomes of the experimental analyses.

Practical work plays an important role in the teaching and learning of science. This study was conducted to determine whether the methods and practices employed by physics teachers in Zimbabwe as required by the Zimbabwe School Examination Council (Zimsec) ‘A’ Level Physics Syllabus (9188) on the assessment of practical work skills assist the students in developing other crucial practical skills like manipulation, observational, planning and designing apart from presentation and analysis skills. The convergent parallel mixed methods approach of Creswell (2014) was used to collect, present and analyse data. Quantitative data were collected using the structured observation schedule to get assessment marks for a student using both methods of indirect assessment of practical work skills (IAPS) and direct assessment of practical work skills DAPS for the same practical work activity. Qualitative data were obtained from interviews with the physics teachers and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with the ‘A’ level physics students. Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) of the percentage rating of marks obtained by the student as observed during practical work sessions compared to the obtained mark from the submitted practical work report for the same practical work activity was calculated and found to be 0.135 with a Pvalue of 0.432. Both the narrative approach (Creswell, 2007) and conservation analyses (Gray, 2011) were used to present and analyse data from focus group discussions with ‘A’ level physics students and interviews with the physics teachers. The major finding from the analysis of quantitative data was that there was no association between the grades obtained by the student from DAPS as compared to IAPS for the same practical work activity as the value of r was found to be very low. This implied that passing practical work through the assessment of practical work report did not necessarily mean that the student could have mastered the basic skills of manipulation, designing, observation and planning. The views of physics teachers and students who participated in the study were that, the current method of practical work assessment used by Zimsec is not relevant in encouraging students to develop a variety of practical work skills as students concentrated on mastering presentation and analysis skills in order to pass practical work examinations. The study recommends that an alternative model of practical work assessment that integrates both DAPS and IAPS should be used to ensure valid and reliable assessment of practical work skills of ‘A’ level physics students. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)