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Daily Behavior Report Card
 

By Jaylin Soto

Edited by Claire Murphy, 9/2022

What is the Daily Behavior Report Card?                                                                                     

The Daily Behavior Report Card (DBRC) can be used as a Tier 2 or Tier 3 intervention with students to improve target behaviors. It can be used with school-aged students from pre-k-twelfth grade. It is a tailor-made rating form that is used to promote adaptive behaviors, provide feedback to students, and increase home-school communication. It is a valuable tool for progress monitoring and data collection. DBRCs can be used in addition to reinforcement techniques such as a response-cost system. Additionally, DBRCs can be used to monitor the effectiveness of an intervention and move students through the multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) accordingly. 

 

Target Population: School-aged children presenting with problem behaviors 


Cost: This intervention can be done for free! The behavior report cards to be used can be found online for no cost, or you can use a shared electronic document of your own design.

Components of the Daily Behavior Report Card 

  • This intervention can be used for as long as needed determined by parents, teachers, and student progress. 

  • The target behavior needs to be clearly identified. This behavior needs to be agreed upon and operationally defined. The more explicit the target behavior, the better the outcomes can be measured, and the more effective the intervention will be (Riden 2018). 

  • The student needs to be capable of the expected behavior. If there are skill deficits that make this unattainable, those need to be addressed prior to the intervention. 

  • A rating/scaling system must be chosen before the intervention begins. Interventionists should clearly define what each score looks like for the student. 

  •  The DBRC needs to be implemented daily with consistent feedback from the teacher to the parents and the student. 

  • When a substantial amount of data has been collected it can be shared with the team to discuss progress and potential modifications to the intervention. It may be helpful to provide weekly summaries about the student’s performance via email or a phone call home. 

  • Rewards should be established that are significant and motivating for the student.

Evidence of the Daily Behavior Report Card Effectiveness 

According to a meta-analysis of 17 studies measuring the effectiveness of DBRCs, there was an average of 61% improvement of behaviors from the baseline to intervention phases. Additionally, there was found to be no difference in effectiveness between primary and secondary age students. Home to school collaboration was determined to have a significant impact on the overall effectiveness of the DBRC intervention, and those with more intense collaboration displayed an improvement in behavior that exceeded the average improvement across the study (Vannest et. al 2010).  According to another meta-analysis, there are three factors that have a significant impact on the effectiveness of this intervention: identifying the target behavior, feedback, and home-school communication. The study found that identifying the target behavior directly from IEP goals produced a moderate effect on the effectiveness of the DBRC. Consistent feedback to the student was found to increase positive social and academic outcomes. Home-school communication was found to be a large factor in improving the effectiveness of the intervention. When parents are able to reinforce behaviors in the home and provide contingencies with reinforcement such as rewards, this promotes positive change and strengthens the results (Riden 2018). Studies that used the report card across multiple class periods reported stronger results (Mires & Lee, 2017) . DBRCs that incorporate timely feedback and praise in and out of school have a positive effect on changing student behavior (Riden, 2021). Shown to be Effective in changing classroom behaviors across a range of classrooms, settings, and target behaviors (Riden, 2021).

References

Bruhn, A. L., McDaniel, S. C., Rila, A., & Estrapala, S. (2018). A step-by-step guide to tier 2 behavioral progress monitoring. Beyond Behavior, 27(1), 15–27.

 

Chafouleas, S. M., Riley-Tillman, T. C., & Sassu, K. A. (2006). Acceptability and reported use of daily behavior report cards among teachers. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 8(3), 174–182.

 

Mires, C. B., & Lee, D. L. (2017). Calvin won’t sit down! The daily behavior report card: A practical technique to change student behavior and Increase school-home communication. Beyond Behavior, 26(2), 89–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/1074295617711716

 

Riden, B. S., Markelz, A. M., & Taylor, J. C. (2021). Using and evaluating daily behavior report cards for students with challenging behaviors. Intervention in School and Clinic, 57(1), 49–55.

 

Riden, B. S., Taylor, J. C., Lee, D. L., & Scheeler, M. C. (2018). A synthesis of the daily behavior report card literature from 2007 to 2017. Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship, 7(1).

 

Vannest, K.J., Burket, M.D., Sauber, S.B., Davis, J.L., & Davis, C.R. (2011). Daily behavior report cards as evidence-based practice for teachers. Beyond Behavior, 20(2), 13-21.

 

 Vannest, K. J., Davis, J. L., Davis, C. R., Mason, B. A., & Burke, M. D. (2010). Effective intervention for behavior with a daily behavior report card: A meta-analysis. School Psychology Review, 39(4), 654-672.

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