Application of the Changing-Criterion Design in Special Education

Educator accountability has been a major theme in special education for the past decade. While it is primarily important that an educator evaluate and substantiate the progress of a student over a school year, it is also important that progress be attributable to specific educational procedures. The ability of the educator to make valid statement regarding the efficacy of educational procedures in developing specific skills is central to a diagnostic-prescriptive orientation. The present paper presents a rationale for use of the changing-criterion design in special education. This single-subject research strategy is designed to establish valid causal statements regarding the association between educational treatments and behavior change. A changing-criterion design by a special education teacher in the public schools is presented in the paper; it is discussed with particular reference to its applications in special education settings.