Baseline

A baseline is an assessment of performance that allows educators or therapists to (a) determine current level of functioning, (b) predict future performance in the absence of any change in conditions, and (c) ascertain the effects of subsequent interventions (i.e., independent variables). A baseline consists of data collected under a specific set of conditions that are used to describe and predict behavior for the purpose of making comparisons. If behavior can be accurately described and predicted under baseline conditions, performance observed under those conditions can be compared to performance when the conditions are changed, as during intervention implementation. In the absence of baseline data, the success or failure of an intervention would remain unknown.

Typically, baseline data consist of several assessments of performance collected ...