Effectiveness of Student Versus Teacher Monitoring During Prereferral Intervention

We explored the efficacy of student versus teacher monitoring within the context of prereferral intervention. Each of 43 classroom teachers identified a most difficult- to-teach (DTT), nonhandicapped pupil at risk for referral to special education. We randomly assigned teachers and their DTT students to a student-monitoring plus teacher-student contracts, teacher-monitoring plus teacher-student contracts, or control condition. Observations of DTT pupils' classroom behavior and teacher responses to various rating scales indicated that student monitoring with the contracts was as effective, if not more so, than teacher monitoring with the contracts. We discuss implications regarding future use of student monitoring as prereferral intervention.