On-Task Behavior, Academic Performance, and Classroom Disruptions: Untangling the Target Selection Problem in Classroom Interventions

At a minimum, research can indirectly affect the practice of school psychology. In the area of classroom management, practitioners perceive a lack of skills and a need for relevant research while researchers have created a large knowledge base around classroom interventions. However, practitioners and researchers need to fully understand the literature that is relevant to selection of target variables as they plan both research and classroom intervention activities. Measurement problems with such outcome variables as student on-task, classroom disruption, and academic performance are examined as they relate to understanding the interrelationships among these common intervention targets. The literature related to functional relationships among these variables provides some general conclusions, although failure of researchers to report data on classroom ecologies prevents firm conclusions. Implications for helping teachers identify appropriate intervention targets are drawn from the review of literature.