118 Factor-Analytic and Individualized Approaches to Constructing Brief Measures of ADHD Behaviors Robert J. Volpe Northeastern University Kenneth D. Gadow Stony Brook University Jessica Blom-Hoffman Northeastern University Adam B. Feinberg The May Institute Two studies were performed to examine a factor-analytic and an individualized approach to creating short progress- monitoring measures from the longer ADHD-Symptom Checklist-4 (ADHD-SC4). In Study 1, teacher ratings on items of the ADHD:Inattentive (IA) and ADHD:Hyperactive-Impulsive (HI) scales of the ADHD-SC4 were factor analyzed in a normative data sample of 493 students aged 5 to 12 years. Items with the highest factor loadings were then selected to create abbreviated IA and HI scales for Study 2. In Study 2, the psychometric characteristics of two shortened progress-monitoring measures (factor derived and individualized) and the original IA and HI scales of the ADHD-SC4 were examined in a sample of 26 students aged 4 to 17 years in a medication titration study involving baseline and three doses of methylphenidate. The results indicated comparable psychometric properties across the original and abbreviated versions of the IA and HI scales. Keywords: ADHD; stimulants; assessment; progress monitoring P rogress monitoring is a process of collecting and ana- lyzing information regarding student behavior to assess growth toward predetermined goals (National Center on Student Progress Monitoring, 2006). The availability of psychometrically sound, user-friendly tools to assess student performance before and during intervention implementation is critical in the determina- tion of student responsiveness (Chafouleas, Riley-Tillman, & Sugai, 2007). Assessment of Social Behaviors Although curriculum-based assessment is a widely accepted approach for screening and progress moni- toring in the academic domain of problem-solving models (e.g., Speece, Case, & Molloy, 2003), the development of comparable measures for use in mon- itoring the effects of interventions on social behavior lags far behind (Chafouleas, Christ, Riley-Tillman, Briesch, & Chanese, 2007; Kratochwill, Clements, & Kalymon, 2007). This is unfortunate, especially when one considers the impact of active student engagement (e.g., Greenwood, 1991), behavior problems (e.g., Volpe et al., 2006), and emotional functioning (Rapport, Denney, Chung, & Hustace, 2001) on academic achievement and other areas of child functioning (cf. Mash & Terdal, 1997). In addition to monitoring the progress of student academic performance, there is a need to conduct for- mative assessments of student behaviors that support academic achievement (e.g., active engagement), behaviors that have a negative impact on the achieve- ment of students and their classmates (e.g., disruptive classroom behaviors), and behaviors that relate to social and emotional functioning. The accurate mea- surement of these behaviors and relevant constructs is essential for informed decision making with regard to school-based interventions or medical interventions being evaluated in the school setting (Gadow, Nolan, Paolicelli, & Sprafkin, 1991). Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Volume 17 Number 2 June 2009 118-128 © 2009 Hammill Institute on Disabilities 10.1177/1063426608323370 http://jebd.sagepub.com hosted at http://online.sagepub.com by guest on June 25, 2016 ebx.sagepub.com Downloaded from