Examining the Effects of Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports on Student Outcomes

37 elementary schools, group-randomised, 5-year longitudinal effectiveness trial

Maryland elementary schools, US.

The largest randomised effectiveness trial of school-wide PBIS and the source of its strongest behavioural claim. School-level randomisation, 5 years of follow-up, outcomes taken from administrative records (suspensions, office discipline referrals) rather than surveys — which is the reason this source carries weight in a literature dominated by teacher report. The evaluation team is closely tied to the SWPBIS dissemination network, hence developer-involved.

Schools trained in SWPBIS implemented the model with high fidelity and showed significant reductions in student suspensions and office discipline referrals at school level. Academic achievement was examined and did not show the same clear benefit; the behavioural result is the durable one.

Low — school-level randomisation.

Reproduced in the same trial's child-level analysis (Bradshaw, Waasdorp & Leaf 2012, Pediatrics) and broadly consistent with the pooled discipline reductions in Lee & Gage 2020. The achievement side of the claim is where the literature is thin and inconsistent.