ABA and Academic Instruction Glen Dunlap, Lee Kern, and Jonathan Worcester Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a prominent and pervaswve factor in effective aca- demic instruction forall students, including students with autism spectrum disorder In this article, we discuss the important contributions of ABA to the processes of aca: demic instruction. To illustrate the impact of ABA in the context of academics, we describe two areas of research and practice in which the perspectives and procedures fof behavior analysis have had a conspicuous presence: antecedent interventions and curriculum-based assessment, We also note that the principles and methods of ABA have been extensively integrated into routine educational procedures, that ABA pro: cedures are geared only rarely to particular diagnostic populations, and that recent ‘mandates for functional behavioral assessments signify that the impact of ABA on the practice of education is increasing. pplied behavior analysis (ABA) hhas had a deep and widespread Jimpact on education. The pein ciples and methods that define ABA (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968) have proved to be extremely valuable in virtually all aspects of the education enterprise, including in structional design, classroom systems of monvation and behavior management, individual behavior support, school-wide Ibehavior support, and the many realms of assessment (Martens, Witt, Daly, & Vollmer, 1999; Wolery, Bailey, & Sugai, 1988). ABA has been demonstrated to be effective in all educational arenas and. with the full range of student popula tions; bur its most conspicuous contri- butions have been in special education, ‘especially in research and practice with students who have developmental dis- abilities, including autism spectrum disor- der (ASD; Iwata et al., 1999; R. Koegel, & Koegel, 1995). The a journal series serve well to highlight the impressive effects ABA has had on a number of functional domains of people with ASD. In thisaracle, we will focus on. the process of education and, more spe stiles in this cafically, the process of academic instruc Academe skills refer to the basic skill of reading, writing, and arithmetic and, more xenerally, to the range of eognitive and problem-solving activites that in volve these basic repertoires. Although 3 focus on academics has been considered Jess crucial than a functional skills eur ficulum tor many students with anism (especially for those students with severe intellectual disabilities) itis also true that ASD 1s an extremely dliverse syndrome and that an increasing number of learn cers with ASD are engaged with an academ ically focused curriculum, with expecta tons char are similar to those for ryprcally developing students. For optimal prog: ress, 1€ is vital that instruction be con ducted with precision and sensitinty to individual differences. ABA is. weally suited to this kind of mstruction The distinctive relevance of ABA to. education, and especially special educa tio described by numerous a thors ie.g., Martens et al., 1999; Wolery ct ali, 1988). Dunlap and Kern (1997) eseribed a number of features of ABA eee that make the orientation highly congru tent with the philosophy and mission of special education, Fist, ABA has a strong. emphasis on sndividualization, as mani- fested an its reliance on single-subject designs and commitment to individual functional analyses. This emphasis par- alleled in special education's appreciation Of individual learning characteristics and individual needs, a postur malized in the requirement for individ valized education plans, Second, empiri sm and direct observation have always: been toundanonal tenets of ABA, and tus dedication 1s harmonious with the escalating demand for accountability in edlucazional outcomes, Furthermore, en pineism and accountability imply a need to develop and document replicable iy: structimal practicer, A major contribu tion of ABA has been its legacy of effec tive educational procedures. Included among the very large number of note ‘worth intervention strategies derived fom ABA are (a) motivational programs based on postive ting point and token systems); (b) de tailed and systematic task analyses for de veloping academic skills (e.g., Becker & Gersten, 1982; Engleman & Carmine, 1982), (c) generalized techniques for building new skill repertoires through ‘operations such as prompting, shaping, chaining, and fading (Schreibman, 1975; Sulzer & Mayer, 1972; Wolery et al , 1988}; and (ul) strategies of selfmanagement fe... Dunlap & Dunlap, 19895 L. Koe Harrower, & Koegel, 1999), A fourth feature described by Dunlap and Kern (1997) involves ABA’s focus fon fiviction over form, which has led to that is for Jnforcement (includ130 substantial gains in our ability to inter- vene with problem behaviors (sve the ar e by Durand and Mapstone tn this se: ries). The relevance of this important contribution of ABA is underscored by the mandate of functional behavioral as sessments in the 1997 amendments of the Individuals with Disabilities Educa tion Act (IDEA, 1997). Indeed, the pro- cesses described under the rubric of Fane tional assessment have become a rapidly growing industry (Dunlap & Kincaid, press; Repp & Horner, 1999), with search and practice increasingly apply ing functional assessment approaches to. broad scope of educational concerns, As sessment strategies based on functional perspectives are integral to the illustra tions we present an the body of this article ‘An additional feature of ABA that is ‘central 10 its relationship to education is that itis a dynamic discipline, grounded in a methodology of persistent expen- ‘mentation, Atits best, ABA is continually improving chrough ervor analyses, stud: ies of technical parameters, and within- subject experimental designs. ABA research has been a steadily expanding endeavor since the 1960s, and the practice of ABA is continually evolving. The field is brim ming with journals that are totally or par tially devoted to the publication of be havior analytic studies, «large aumber of which are conducted in educational con texts (eg, Dunlap, Clarke, & Steiner, 1999). One example attesting ¢o the pro: liferation of relevant ABA research is the ‘cumulative index for 1968-1997 for che Journal of Applied Bebavior Anabsis, which lises more than 90 articles under the sub ject of “education” and more chan 100 entries under the subject of “aca demic behamor.” ‘The remainder of this artiele is de voted to a discussion af two areas of re search and practice that involve academic instruction and have been greatly influ ‘enced by the principles of ABA. The frst area Is concerned with the assessment and manipulation of antecedent variables ‘that comprise the context in which in- struction is provided. This area incorpo: tates functional assessment and interven tion of the antece onder to reduce problems and improve student engagement and productivity. The second area we discuss ig known in gen cral terms as curticulimy based assessment This approach has been found useful in assessing the fnetional properties ofstu dents’ academic performance, thereby leading to more effective and individual ized curricular interventions. Following the discussion oF these areas, we offer some concluding remarks about the cur rent satus of ABA and educational pro- gramming. Antecedent Interventions ‘Throughout most of the early years of ABA, the emphasis n research and prac rice was on consequence-based procedures, ‘The vast_ majority of applications in: volved some kind of “contingency man: agement,” which includ various forms of positive reinforcement, extinction, and punishment, many of which could be referred to as being strictly that the interventions were dictated by the occurrence of target behaviors. In the last decade of the 1900s, however, the limitations of using consequences in iso lation became mereasingly clear. In par teular, it was observed that a reliance on consequences often led to increases the use of punishment contingencies and an escalation in the intensity of sch pro: cedures, objec ‘onable to many parents, educators, and other advocates, Other problems were associated with a dependence on vonse ‘quences, including the fact chat behav’ nis, such as reductions in problem behaviors, were typically short: lived and situation specific. Asa result, researchers began to reex amine the basic principles of ABA quest of interventions that would be more powerful and postive. Attention became focused on an underlying theme ‘of ABA, which states that behavior iste lated t0 the environmental context 19 which it occurs. This theme suggests the importance of examining the relationship between elements n the immediate envi ronment and the occurrence of desirable ‘or undesirable behavios, Contextualizing reactive” in 1oral improve Copyright © 2001 All Rights Reserved behavior inthis manner changes the goal ‘of intervention in a very vital way. Rather than focusing only on changing the stu ‘dent, intervention is directed at changing the environment, Specifically, variables in the envionment thar trigger undesirable behavior are removed or ameliorated, while environmental variables linked 10 desirable behavior are amplified. The important advantage of focusing fon antecedents when developing. inter ventions 1s that a supportive environment can be created to promote desirable re sponding and decrease or avoid occur- rences of challenging behavior. Thus, this approach is considered proactive and preventive. In addhition, the use of pani tive procedures offen can be avoided ‘entirely. This approach, combined with other interventions (e.g, fimetional com munication training), is also more effee tive and durable than consequence-only approaches. Finally, once a supportive environment is created and challenging behaviors reduced or eliminated, instruc tion is more likely to occur (Dunlap & Kern, 1993), Antecedent approaches require careful assessment of a student’s environment in ‘order to specify features or variables that set the occasion for either desirable or un desirable behavior. In classroom settings, these variables can be broadly viewed 3s the eurnculum (Dunlap & Kern, 1993, 1996), A student's curriculum comprises a range of practices and activities clad ing bue nor limited to the content of in struction, the manner in which instruc tuon is delivered, the materials used 10 complete activines, and the scheduling of instruction “The process used to identify relevant curncular variables is functional assess ment, or functional behavioral assess: ‘ment, which has been described in detail in the literature (e.g., Bambara & Knos ter, 1998; Dunlap & Kern, 1993; Foster: Johnson & Dunlap, 1993; Repp & Horner, 1999; Scott & Nelson, 1999}, Briefly, information from archival rec lords, interviews, and direct observations Is reviewed to formulate hypotheses about antecedent curricular events associ ated with challenging behavior and those that produce desirable behavior. On thebasis of these hypotheses, interventions are then developed that focus on modi fing a student's curriculum to decrease ‘events that occur prior t0 problemanc behavior and increase events that oceur pnor to desirable behavior. In recent years, research studies have demonstrated that modifications in these ‘curricular variables can have a powerful influence on student behavior. A number ‘of important behaviors have been re sponsive to antecedent curricular inter ventions, The literature has described re dductions in challenging behaviors, such. ay aggression (Homer, Day, & Day, 1997; Kennedy & Itkonen, 1993) and selP injury (Harding etal., 1999), and in «creases. in adapnve behaviors, such as engagement (Clarke et al., 1995), work productivity (Cole, Davenport, Bam: bara, & Ager, 1997), and prosoxial be: hhaviors (Dunlap, Kern-Dunlap, Clarke, & Robbins, 1991; Umbreit & Blair, 1996), Many curricular variables: have been associated with undesirable classroom behavior, and a number of curr terventions have been developed to re solve these associations. One example fo ccuses on the difficulty ofthe task. Weeks and Gaylord-Ross (1981) found thar when participants with severe disabilities presented with difficul tasks, they engaged in seriously challenging behav iors, including aggression and self-injury: When the tasks were simplified or error- less learning procedures were used, re luctions in challenging behaviors were observed. ‘Modifying the task size or duration is another antecedent curricular interven: tion that has resulted in improved stu dent behavior. Students sometimes begin 4 task without incident bur are unable t0 maintain attention or persevere for ex tended periods of time, In such cases, the task length ean be shortened (eg., Dun lap et al, 1991). An alternative mod: iifeauon is to provide opportunities For frequent breaks (¢.g., Keen, Childs, Dun- lap, Clarke, & Falk, 194). Such moi cations can be used to promote on-task, productive responding in the context of academic struction while, concurrently, the student is taught to maintain atten ‘uon for gradually extended penods of ume, Several studies have demonstrated that modifying the instructional media can re sult in improvements in behavior, For ex ample, Kern etal (1994) found that chal: engin behaviors oceurred when “Edkle,” an elementary sehoo! student, was asked to complete acaclemie tasks that required fine motor skills, On-task behavior a8 creasee! and self-injury decreased shea the completed his assignments using a Laptop computer or tape recorder, rather than wating by hand, Functional assessments sometimes re veal chat a child may behave better when assignments contain elements that are i teresting, pieferred, or relevant te. the child's life In such cases, tasks can also bbe modified so that they result in tune tional oF meaningiiil outcomes, Dunlap, Foster Johnson, Clarke, Kern, and Chiles (1995) found that “Jary” an adolescent with severe disabilities, engaged in probs sm behavior during an activity requuring. assembly uf ballpoint pens. This curne ular activity was modified so that asked, instead, t0 assemble sandwiches, After completing his sandwich assembly task, he was ven the opportunty to di tribute the sindiaches tof classmates dur ing snack time. Thus, assembling, sand ‘wiches resulted in an outcome that was meaning ro Jary, As a result, challeng, ing behaviors were reduced A related! intervention that involves rmoxifving certain aspects of the currict lum is to meorporate areas of student in terest into traditional curricular aetivits, Ina revemt study, Kern, Delaney, Clarke, Dunlap, and Childs (2000) denon serated the effectiveness of this antece dent intervention One kindergarten-age boy, Alfred, en gaged! in challenging behavior when pre sented suth desktop activites. A partie larly problematic actwity for Alfied was worksheets, in which he was required to circle “Sime” or “aifferent™ objects, match pievures depicung different num bers of abjects co the corresponding nu mene worl, and so forth, Assessments dicated that he enjoyed anything. re- lated t0 the cartoon characters the Power Rangers,” s0 traditional work: sheet acuiities were modified so that they incorporated Power Rangers, For exany ross five students, ‘Copyright © 2001 All Rights Reserved 131 ple rather than excl animals that were the same, Allred was required to circle Power Rangers that were the same. This ‘ample modification resulted in substan nal decteasesin problem behavior andi ereases 9 work product. Providing. opportunities for choice making i also an eflectve strategy for promoting appropnate classroom behav ior during academic activives (Dunlap etal, 1994; Halle, 1995 j, Choice can be built Into the eurseulum in a number oF ways. Hor example, sndividaals can be ites (Dunlap 1991), a choice of materials used to complete a task (Moes & Frea, 2000), 2 choice of when to complete a task ‘Bambara, Koger, Katze, & Davenport, 1995), or a choice of where to complete a task (Bambara ct a. 1995), Ina recent study, Kem, Mantegna, Vorndran, Bai lia, ane! Hil in press} demonstrated char shoice of task sequence can also resule in behavioral improxements. In that study, undividuals were required t0 complete three tasks, Inerwases engagement and decreases in challengang behaviors were observed when che individuals were able to select the order in which they would complete the tasks. In fict, one of the partiipants chose to complete the tasks in the same order whenever she was pro: vided «choices however, when staff se lected the same order she had chosen, challenging, behaviors increase. -sh interspersals another antecedent serategw that has been used to improve behavior and academic performance, One version, demonstrated by Dunlap (1984) and Wintering, Dunlap, and O'Neill (1987), 18 to present a variety of tasks rather than repeating a single tsk, A sion sla stategy tntersperses tasks that t= dents are likely 19 comply with among asks carrying lower lkeibood of vom pilanee (Horner, Day; Sprague, O°Brien, & Heathtield, 1991; Singer, Singer, & Homer, 1987). ‘This approach has re sulted in reductions in challenging be havior and improvements in cooperative responding, Beli closing this section on antece- 2 should be noted that such accommodations ean involve substantial changes in a student's cur offered a chorwe of act dent mrodiication132 siculum, A concern with this approach is that such manipulations may hinder asta dent's opportunity for inclusion within the general education curriculum. There fore, 1 is appropriate in many cases c© fade the antecedent intervention co re semble a more typical curricular ap proach. To date, however, lite empirical research has been conducted on this fa ing process, and itis an investigation that is certainly warranted, On the other hand, there are also circumstances under which individualized curricular accom ‘modations should be maintained. For ex: ample, ifa student has difficulty with fine motor skills and those difficulties affect her ability to write with efficiency, use of a tape recorder or dictation device might be an appropriate long,term accommo: dation, Furthermore, there i reason to be lieve chat some kinds of cutricular indi vidualization would enbance all students academic performance. The fundamental consideration should be the long-term impact ofthe accommodation on the in dividual student's life In summary, the ABA approach of us- ing. assessment-based antecedent manip tuations has been demonstrated in many studies 10 be effective in changing, stu dent behavior in positive ways, The strat egies are derived directly from the prin ples of individualized behavior analysis and stimulus control (Luiselli & Cam cron, 1998) an! thus lend themselves to applications in educational contexts. Curriculum-Based Assessment ‘One of the most important contributions of ABA to the field of education has been the linking of assessment to intervention by identifying modifications that resulein improved! academic behavior (Daly, Witt, Martens, & Dol, 1997). This is gener ally achieved through curriculum: based assessment (CBA), which focuses on bas ing instructional decisions on observa tions and recordings of student perfor- mance in the student's curnculum (Deno, 1987), CBA has been broadly detined as “any set of procedures that use direet obser. vation and recording of a student's per formance in the local curriculum as a basis for gathering mformation to make instructional decisions” (Deno, 1987, p. 41) For example, CBA might mvolve ‘measuring a student's addition and sub- ‘action fluency by administering a series of S-minute addition and subtraction skill probes thar would measure accuracy and revel error patterns, [Another form tA might compare oral reading. data during baseline 10 data obtained using the same skill probes during. an assisted _monstonng intervention. } Orher forms of CBA might be used to performance across success els of the curriculum, referred te a8 st vay levelasessment (SLA), for the purpose ‘of identifying the student's frustrational, nstructional, and mastery levels of per formance, All of the various approaches to CBA, share several charactensties of ABA, including the use of dynamic methodol ‘ogy, systematic procedures, and low fies the assess ‘mene measures what is actually taught). In addition, CBA considers the impact of ‘environmental variables on student per- formance (e.g., teacher attention, task modality student motivation) and is typ. really conducted within natural educa tuonal settings. As a result of these char acteristics, CBA is uniquely capable of identifang academic skill or performance deficits, as well as environmental vari ables maintanning a student’s academic performance. Consequently, it can be Uused within a problem-solving model (c.g, Deno, 1989, Shinn & Bamonto, 1998; Shinn & Hubbard, 1992) t0 test hypotheses and to link assessment £0 in rervention. In addicion to these strengths, CBA is sensitive to short-term improvements; is time- and cost-etfcient; can identify the underlying reasons for a student's acs den performance and skill deficits), and eat be sed for instructional d ng in basic skills areas such as reading, mathe: matics, spelling, and written expression (Marston, 1989: Shinn & Bamonto, 1998; Shinn, Rosenfield, & Knutson, 1989), However, a number of dillerences exist inference measuremet deficit (ie., discriminate berween Copyright © 2001 All Rights Reserved among models of CBA, including the purpose within the decision-making pro: cess (eg, sreening, eligibility for special ‘education services, program evaluation); response modality (€.g., oral or written); Frequency of progress monitoring (ie., long- or short-term); standardization procedures; and technical adequacy (Marston, 1989). Developed by Deno (1985) and oth- crs (e.., Fuchs & Fuchs, 1986; Marston, 1989; Shinn, Tindal, & Stem, 1988), curriculum-based measurement (CBM) consists of a series of bref tests (e.g, 110 5 minutes} measuring student fluency in reading, mathematics, spelling, and writ ten expression, and is by far the most re- searched and cited form of CBA (eg. Deno, 1987; Marston, 1989; Shinn & Bamonto, 1998; Shinn & Hubbard, 1992). For example, an extensive data base has accumulated documenting: (CBM’s standardized procedures, rliabil- ity, criterion-related validity discriminant validity, construct validity, and content validity (¢-g., Fuchs & Fuchs, 1986; Mar: ston, 1989; Shinn & Hubbard, 1992; Shinn et al., 1988). Using the analogy that CBM functions like an educational thermometer measuring, “academic vital ns,” Shinn (1998) explained that (CBM can be used either to alert profes: sionals when a student's academe per formance falls sharply below that of his or her peers or to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions targeting basic skill areas. Another advantage of CBM is that itis explicitly designed for use as a formative ‘evaluation tool embedded within a data based problem-solving model (Deno, 1989; Shinn & Bamonto, 1998; Shinn & Hubbard, 1992). Through survey-level assessments, CBM probes repeatedly as: sess student performance across sueces sive levels of the local curriculum, These data can then be used for a number ofin structional decisions, including evaluat ang the effets of instruct ing with serecning and cisions, determining, instruct ment, setting goals, and monitonng prog: ress over time (Deno, 1986; Shinn & Hubbard, 1992; Shinn et al, 1989), Perhaps most important, evidence ex jsts supporting the use of CBM as a prereferral screening measure. Because CBM helps co identity students perform- ing well below average, the potential ex ists for early identification and remedha- sion of academic skill and performance defiets, before the problems become so pronounced that alternative assistance oF special education placements need to be consideeed. Consequently, CBM can f coltate individualized programming and the inelusion process, reduce the number Of children in special education pro: grams, and shift sehool psychological ser vice delwery away from traditonal “gate keeping” activities (Marston, 1989: et al, 1988). In support ofthis wide ar cay of unity, an extensive database has accumulated documenting CBM’s stan dlardizel procedures, reliability eteion- related validity, discriminant validity, con struct valu, and content ality (eg, Marston, 1989; Fuchs & Fuchs, 1986; Shinn & Hubbard, 1992; Shinn etal, 1988) Blankenship (1985) developed another model of CBA called ertcrion-rferenced curriculum based assent (CRCBA) This strategy requires teachers to con: struct criteron-eferenced tests that di rectly complement a series of sequentially arranged short-term objectives from the student's curmeulum (Blankershyp, 1985). For example, a weacher using CR-CBA might repeatedly test a student across suecessve levels of a spelling curriculum, On the basis of performance on these Skill probes, the teacher would be able to identify spelling. cero patterns and short-term instructional objectives, and develop instuctional hierarches or “spe cific instructional strategies that are ap propriate for a particular student's level ‘of academic responding (ie. acquisition, fluency, generalization, and adaptation)” (aly Lentz, & Boyer, 1996, p. 370), As a. result ofits emphasis on student re sponding. and potential interventions, CR-CBA links asessinent with interven. tion and instructional planning, Howell, Fox, and Morchead (1993) designed 2 task-analtie approach to CBA called curiculuon-basedevaluarion (CBE), which uses direct observation and task and-error analyses t0 break down a skill into discrete subskils and to identity stu lent strengths and weaknesses. Through, comprehensive error analyses, student sil deficits are identified, such as the tendency to discriminate a skill detiaat as a decoding deficit versus a compreh ston dletict ‘This information can then be antegrated into intervention plans (Shino etal. 1989) Asa result, the,role of CBE in the decision-making. process lies pe ‘manly un instructional planning, jekhng and associates (e., Gickling & Havertape, 1981) developed a broader scheme of CBA called curriculumm-based lasessment jor mnstructional design (CBA 1D}, The purpose of CRAAD is 10 ad tify which aspects of the curriculum re quire modification in order to. student success, Onve known and un known shally are adentified, changes «an bbe made to the curriculum that are hkely to keep the student at an “instructional” level rather than ac an “independent” or “frastrational” level ‘Shapiro, 1990) For ‘example, consider a child who is able 10 muloply by 3s but 1 having dificulry mulupiying by 8s Using CBA-ID, the child’ teacher might find that the strat egies used! 10 teach both skills fier slighth. As a result, the teacher could rmoxlify instruction to incorporate the sucessful strategy and thus increase the likelihood of student success, Finally, Shapiro (1990) combined ele _ments of several versions of CBA (Deno, 1985; Giekling & Havertape, 1981; apiro & Lentz, 1985) to produce an integratee! model. Shapiro suggested that i would be possible 10 coneluct an eco logwal assessment of the student's en saronment, entity the student’s in. seructional level, modhfy instruction, and ‘conduct Jong-term progress monitoring (Shapiro, 1990), The approach vould be used (0 determine mseructional place ment, adentify student strengths and weaknesses, and monitor long term progress Rescarvhers are actively snvestigating ‘ways 10 expand the application and uti Jay ot curnculum-based assessment. Tn this regard, a promising development 1s, the Dynamic Indicators of Basie Early Literacy ‘Shall (DIBEIS; Karinska & Goox, 1998}, a series of measures assess ang basic early literacy skills in children Copyright © 2001 All Richts Reserved 133, who are at risk of encountering diffcul ties with reading instruction. Similar 10 CBM in terms of its design and use within a problem-solving model, the DIBELS is designed specifically asa means Of preventing severe academic problems (e.g., Kaminskt & Good, 1998). By us- ing reliable and valid indicators such as lerter naming fluency, phoneme segmen tation, and onset recognition fluency, the DIBEI S has demonstrated thac t can be used te identty children whose acquisi tion of early literacy hills 1s either delayed oor m need of instructional modification (Kaminski & Good, 1998). In addition, Powell-Smith and Habedank-Stewart (1998) found that (CBM could play an important role m sys- tematically momtoring the progress of students with mild disabilities who are reantegrated into the general education classroom to ensure that less restrictive ‘environments are appropnate. Other Fe searchers are workang to extend the use of CBM as a content learning assessment tool at the secondary grade levels (Espin & Tindal, 1998) and to use CBM read: ing measures as an alternative to norm: ferenced tests in evaluating the effec- tiveness of reading intervention programs for students whose first language is not english (Baker, Plasencia-Peinado, & Lezeano-Lyle, 1998}. Although prelimi: nary, sesearch is beginning 10 suggest that CBM reading measures can be used, for developing and momoring perfor: mance for these students in English and Spanish snstructional programs (Baker et al., 198). Curriculum-based assessment consti tutes an exciting application of behavior nalysis within education that is relevant for a very wide population of students who are engaged with academic curric- la. CBA compnses a set of processes that allow professionals t0 conduct assess- ‘ments and analyses of academe behavior, teach capable of making valuable contr butions to instructional modification and planning. CBA can be used to improve academic instruction in a variety of ways to reliably determine instructional place ‘ments, 10 identity student strengths and weaknesses, and 10 monitor short- and long-term progress. Finally, i is impor:134 ‘ant ro note that CBA was not designed with the intention of becoming, che sole tool for use im assessing and treating, aca dlemic problems (Fuchs & Fuchs, 1986), Rather, it was intended to function as a problem-solving process used to verify predictions of academic behavior (Deno, 1989; Shinn & Hubbard, 1992). As are sult, CBA can be used in a way that norm referenced tests cannot. Stustent respond ing can be continuously analyzed using lily instructional materials (.e., a low degree of inference) and can be linked dlgectly into instructional interventions addressing, areas of weakness, Conse quently, the use of CBA increases the Jikelhood of choosing an intervention with the greatest chance of positively affecting academic performance (Daly, Witt, Martens, & Dool, 1997). Summary The swo areas we have discussed in this article reflect contributions of ABA co the pracuce of education. Its important ro note that these areas are not at all spe to ASD or any other special needs population, Indeed, wich only a few ex ceptions (e.g., Dunlap, Koegel, & Burke, 1981; Lovaas, Koegel, & Schreibman, 1979), there is nothing in ehe applied lit erature on academic mstruction that as peculiar to autism, The great ABA as it pertains to education has been in the analysis, refinement, and opera tionalization of a technology of instruc ‘von Although the challenges of autism often require substantial precision in the steuetional process, assessment and in won procedures that are effective with students with autism have applica Dility forall students (Dunlap, 1997) Learning theory and ABA are essen- tial, core elements of education. The prin ples of positive reinforcement, stimulus control, and discrimination learning form the basis of the sci tion. Through the dynamic methodol- ogy of ABA, the principles are system: atically developed into an. evolving, validated set of instructional practices. ‘Over the past few devades, the tenets of ABA have been integrated extensively nfluence of ce of instruc throughout the domains of education. We have provided wo illastrations of this influence, and the mandate of the 1997 amendments of IDEA for the behavioral procedures of functional assessment of fers even further evi see n the form of a federal statute, Given the current ben efits provided by ABA, and the ongoing mprovements that can be antiepaced as a functon of ABA's research methodol ‘ogy, it altogether appropriate and dle sirable that ABA maintam its postion as the dominant orientation i the practice of education. [ABOUT THE AUTHORS. Glen Dunlap, POD, 18 0 proftwor mv dhe De orement of Cntd and Fama Studeesand Spe ‘tal Education atthe Unaverary of Sone lard, whore fea serves as director of the Davsawn af Appled Rewarsh and Eucactonal Support Has prrmary zeroes ars on positive behavior support famuty support, cork mnter= vention, and developmental deabais. Lee Kern, PUD, ssan associate profesor tn the De partment of Special dation a2 Lag Une- erany Her rican interete ane me the arc af severe challenging behayron, eomatanal/ ebariral disorders, funetianal aseoment, eurrienlar snteroentions, elf management, fad parental s901. Jonathan A. Worcester, MA, 1 curently a gonduace sent 1 the ‘chao! pocholeay doctoral pregrase atthe Une erty of Sona Borda Hes suenrab sevens tle pantie bavi support. quatiy of if and pedinerc scl prcilany. Adve Giles Duvilap, Davison of Appicd Rewarsb and Educational Support, Depastment of Cd and Fons Studie, Hlorida. Mental Hole satus, University of Soul Florin, 13301 Bruce B Downs Blok, Tanspa, FL 33012 AUTHORS’ NOTES 1. Support for manwserpe preparation was promded by Grant Ne HIA3R9R0005, the NIDRR Retaliation Research and Train ng Center on Pantie Bebavior Suppor, and by Contract No H3268980005, the OSE. Center on Poscine Relator Interventions and Support, bth rv abe US. Departoiene a Ea eatin Howver nw eudanemcns by an sup porting agency duuld te nfrred 2 Die nutbors ave gvatcfal 9 Dr. Katy L Bradlee King and De Kelly Powell Sst for omowents on a draft a sections of thts arte Copyright © 2001 All Rights Reserved REFERENCES Baer, D. M.,Woll, MM. 8 Riley, R. (1968) Some current dimension of applied beh vor analysis Journal of Applied Belvror Anatyas, 91-97 Baker,S K Plasenca-Peinado, J, 8 Lezeano Tle, ¥. (1998), The use 6f curriculum bused measurement with fanguage-mnunoney stusdents, In MR. 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