Primary and secondary prevention of behavior difficulties: Developing a data‐informed problem‐solving model to guide decision making at a school‐wide level

This article focuses on the development and implementation of primary and secondary behavior supports at a schoolwide level. The approach described is consistent with previous efforts to address behavior at a systems level (e.g., G. Sugai, R.H. Horner, & F.M. Gresham, 2002). In this article, we illustrate this process through a school‐based example. This example is drawn from a larger project in which area regional school‐district consultants and university researchers partnered with four elementary schools in an effort to enhance each school's capacity to implement evidence‐based practice and decisions at primary (i.e., universal or school‐wide), secondary (i.e., targeted efforts for selected groups of students and/or settings), and tertiary (i.e., individual‐student) levels to promote behavioral competence. The project incorporated promising strategies and tools designed to promote and sustain the use of evidence‐based practices and data‐driven problem solving. Continuous progress monitoring of systemic variables and student behavioral outcomes (e.g., office‐referral data) helped to guide systemic reform efforts. Reductions were noted in the number of student discipline problems, and improvements were noted in critical features of school‐wide effective behavior support at a systems level. Results are discussed with an emphasis on implications for practice, lessons learned from this project, and directions for additional research.