Natural Rates of Teacher Approval and Disapproval and Their Relation to Student Behavior in Intermediate School Classrooms

The natural rates of teacher approval of appropriate student behavior and off-task student behavior and disapproval of off-task behavior were determined in 84 intermediate school classrooms. Higher rates of approval of off-task behavior were associated with lower rates of on-task behavior. The lowest rates of teacher disapproval were associated with the highest rates of student on-task behavior. Mean rates of teacher approval were found to exceed rates of disapproval, in contrast to previous studies. Inappropriate approval also appeared to be a relevant factor in managing classroom behavior.