Frequent reprimands, low expectations, and infrequent praise characterize the daily school experiences of many students who display problem behaviors. This review evaluates preference and choice-making as possible interventions for improving these school experiences. Findings from 15 studies suggest that preference and choice-making may improve both academic performance and behavior. However, an underlying behavioral mechanism may more parsimoniously account for the effects attributed to each intervention. Moreover, the effects attributed to choice-making appear to vary with the type of methodological procedure used to control for preference. Teachers employing preference assessments when using choice-making are more likely to improve a student's task engagement than those relying on choice-making alone.
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