Dependability of Two Scaling Approaches to Direct Behavior Rating Multi-Item Scales Assessing Disruptive Classroom Behavior Robert J. Volpe and Amy M. Briesch Northeastern University Abstract. This study examines the dependability of two scaling approaches for using a five-item Direct Behavior Rating multi-item scale to assess student disruptive behavior. A series of generalizability theory studies were used to compare a traditional frequency-based scaling approach with an approach wherein the informant compares a target student’s behavior with that of classroom peers. A total of seven novice raters (i.e., graduate students) used both types of scales to rate 10-min video clips of the classroom behavior of nine middle school students across three occasions. Generalizability of composite scores derived from each type of scale was examined across raters and occasions. Subsequent decision studies were conducted to determine the number of measurement occa- sions that would be required to obtain an acceptable level of dependability. Results of these studies indicated that the type of scale accounted for a substantial proportion of variance (29%) and that the traditional frequency approach required far fewer assessment occasions to reach the criterion for absolute and relative decisions (4 and 8 occasions, respectively) compared with the comparative scaling approach (30 occasions). Implications for future research and current practice are discussed. Schools are increasingly using tiered models of prevention and a problem-solving framework wherein every student is exposed to primary prevention and assessments are used to match the intensity of subsequent in- tervention to the level of student risk (Gresham, 2014). The success of such models depends, in large part, on the collection of progress-monitoring data to assess student re- sponse to intervention and to determine if the level of support provided is adequate or if additional or alternative supports are neces- sary (National Center on Response to Inter- vention, 2010). Although the availability of these types of measures for reading and mathematics has facilitated the adoption of problem-solving models in these academic subject areas (e.g., Jimerson, Burns, & Van- DerHeyden, 2016), progress in the behav- ioral domain has been comparatively slow given the lack of appropriate measurement tools (Chafouleas, Volpe, Gresham, & Cook, 2010). To have utility within a problem-solving model, it has been argued that a progress- monitoring system for social behavior should include the assessment of both specific perfor- mance objectives and long-term general objec- Please address correspondence regarding this article to Robert J. Volpe, Northeastern University, Depart- ment of Applied Psychology, 413 International Village, Boston, MA 02115; e-mail: r.volpe@neu.edu Copyright 2016 by the National Association of School Psychologists, ISSN 0279-6015, eISSN 2372-966x School Psychology Review, 2016, Volume 45, No. 1, pp. 39 –52 39