Effects of a Positive Behavior Support System on a Rural Middle School

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a positive behavior intervention system (PBS) on eighth grade students located in rural middle school. Office referral data was collected from the 2004-2005 school year---comparing September-December 2004 (Group 1) behavioral office referrals to January-April 2005 (Group 2) behavioral referrals. Group 1 data represented pre-PBS and Group 2 represented post-PBS. The data was analyzed with a paired sample t-test of dependence and showed an increase of behavior referrals for Group 2. However, due to the study\u27s limitations and confounding variables alternative explanations are discussed