A Research-Practice Partnership to Scale Positive Behavior Support: Data-Based Decision-Making to Inform the Assessment of Implementation Fidelity

Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) can play a key role in the implementation and scale up of school-based preventive interventions and programs. An RPP, referred to as PBIS Maryland, has been collaborating on the implementation of Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) in Maryland public schools for over 20 years. A fidelity data system was created to track implementation statewide and inform scale-up. Over time, the partners adjusted the fidelity measurement approach to meet various priorities and emerging needs. The current study serves as a case example of how partnerships can use data to address challenging implementation questions and make data-based decisions for quality improvement in the fidelity monitoring process. In response to practitioner interest in streamlining statewide fidelity measurement, we focused on measure distinctiveness and practical meaningfulness for two implementation fidelity tools: the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI) and Implementation Phases Inventory (IPI). We identified distinct and overlapping conceptual aspects of the measures. We then examined the extent to which achieving recommended threshold scores (i.e., 70% and 83.3% on the TFI; Algozzine et al., 2014 and 80% on the IPI; Bradshaw et al., 2009a) was associated with student academic (i.e., English, math) and behavioral (i.e., suspension, truancy) outcomes. We analyzed spring 2019 TFI data from 335 schools (n = 219 elementary, n = 80 middle, n = 36 high) and spring 2019 IPI data from 588 schools (n = 390 elementary, n = 132 middle, n = 66 high) in all 24 districts serving diverse student bodies. Across school levels, the majority of schools met the recommended 70% TFI score and the 80% IPI score. The TFI was associated with lower truancy, while the IPI was associated with improved math scores. We present findings separately by (elementary, middle, and high) school levels. The findings highlight how the RPP used data to address a practice need related to quality improvement in implementation tracking in the statewide scale-up of PBIS.