Evaluation of a Novel Independent Group Contingency in an Alternative School

Joslyn et al. (2024) tested a new twist on group contingencies in four tough alternative-school classes.

The teacher set a secret rule and a secret number. If the whole class kept the rule enough times, everyone earned a prize.

No one knew the exact goal or when they had broken the rule, so students could not game the system.

Disruptive behavior dropped sharply in every class while the hidden-rule game was on.

The gains held even when the teacher later thinned the prizes to every other day.

Aguilar et al. (2025) ran a nearly identical study one year later, but they flipped the logic. Instead of the whole class working toward a hidden goal, only one student’s behavior earned the group reward. Both papers show big drops in problem behavior, proving either style works in alternative schools.

Jones et al. (2019) and Marini et al. (2014) used more traditional group plans—interdependent contingencies and the Good Behavior Game—in high-school special-ed rooms. They also cut off-task acts, showing the idea is solid across many teen classrooms.

Older work like Wilson et al. (1973) and Porter et al. (2008) already showed group contingencies beat baseline teaching. Joslyn’s hidden-criteria update removes public scoreboards and nagging, making the tool less stigmatizing for older youth who hate being called out.

If you run a middle- or high-school classroom where disruptions are high, try a quiet independent contingency. Pick one simple rule, keep the goal to yourself, and reward the whole class when data say they hit it. You skip the drama of public charts and still get calm, on-task students.