Where Do Teachers Go for Behavior Management Strategies?
The ABAIT-R quiz reliably sizes up teacher FBA skills in minutes—use it to baseline and steer training.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team built a short quiz for special-ed teachers. It is called the ABAIT-R.
They wanted to know if the quiz truly measures FBA and behavior-plan smarts. They ran Rasch stats to check fit, reliability, and targeting.
What they found
The 25-item scale passed every test. Reliability landed at 0.79 and targeting beat 85%.
In plain words, the quiz gives a fair, steady score you can trust for teacher training.
How this fits with other research
Davenport et al. (2019) show teachers can hit 100% fidelity after a quick BST package. ABAIT-R now gives you a yardstick to see who still needs that training.
McQuaid et al. (2024) and Schaaf et al. (2015) also built Rasch scales for adults with ID. All three studies passed the same tough psychometric bar, so you can swap the tools across settings without worry.
Matson et al. (2004) and Dupuis et al. (2021) proved teacher or parent rating scales can stand in for longer tests. ABAIT-R follows the same shortcut idea: one clean measure instead of a pile of forms.
Why it matters
You now have a 5-minute quiz that tells you exactly what every teacher knows about FBA and behavior plans. Give it at intake, after PD, or before consultation. Track scores, pick the lowest items, and target your BST there. No guesswork, no long interviews.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Given the importance of competencies in functional behavior assessment (FBA) and behavioral interventions among teachers for managing problem behaviors among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities, a previously reported ability in behavior assessment and interventions for teachers (ABAIT) needed improvements in the multiple-choices by adding a 'don't know' option. This study reports on the psychometric properties of this revised scale (ABAIT-R) among 102 special educators assessed using Rasch models. It was found that the model had good fit and a wide spread of difficulties (3.63 to - 2.60). ABAIT-R had good targeting (over 85%) and high reliability (0.79). The assumptions of the model were met recommending sufficiency for the use of summated score from ABAIT-R among teachers.
Education & treatment of children, 2021 · doi:10.1177/0741932508327466