Time Is of the Essence: Individualizing Academic Intervention for Students of Transition Age

Abstract

Individualizing instruction is a time-consuming aspect of classroom practice. Testing multiple interventions, and monitoring each to see which is most effective for a student can be prohibitively time consuming. However, Brief Experimental Analysis (BEA) is an assessment procedure that can be used to quickly identify an intervention that is likely to be successful with an individual student. BEA provides teachers with a method to efficiently collect data and predict which intervention is most likely to be successful before a significant amount of time and resources are invested. The BEA process can be used with students at a variety of grade levels for the purpose of academic and behavior intervention. This paper describes how to implement BEA in reading with students with intellectual disabilities in order to prepare them for opportunities in postsecondary education. We will also discuss how to overcome hurdles that practitioners may experience implementing the process.