ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at various measures and graphing methods used in education. While duration is easy to understand and to record, duration does not reveal how well time was used. The relation between performance and the line on a graph is best referred to as “feedback” rather than “reinforcement.” Reinforcement requires more immediacy than graphing permits. No teacher can graph everything of interest in a class. Frequent graphing not only helps to track student progress, it gives feedback on the instructional effectiveness. The two most common graph formats are bar graphs and line graphs. Bar graphs show contrast particularly well. Line graphs are preferred to show progress over time. The graphs that first showed the effect of postcedents on rate of behavior were cumulative records. Recording and graphing performance daily or weekly gives “formative evaluation” that lets to make changes during a grading period. Lagging students need help at the beginning of a lesson.
