Agreement among Teachers of Secondary Students in Using the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist to Identify Deviant Behavior

Abstract

Behavior of 120 secondary school students grades 9 through 12 was rated by two groups of teachers using the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist. Pearson correlation coefficients indicated a low degree of relationship between raw score ratings provided by the two groups. Ratings were then recoded and placed into one of three categories: normal (recoded rating = 1), mildly deviant (recoded rating = 2), or highly deviant (recoded rating = 3). The degree of agreement between the two rating groups in identifying mildly deviant and highly deviant students was determined. Results indicated little agreement between the two groups. The significance of these results and their relationship to results obtained by previous investigators is discussed. Conclusions and recommendations are also provided.

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