CW-Fit Helps Teachers Manage Student Behavior and Enhance Their Teaching Ability
Teacher burnout and turnover are widespread challenges and recent national surveys of teachers suggest this crisis is worsening (Reinke et al., 2025). Survey results also show that occupational stress is directly linked to teachers’ perceived capacity to manage student behavior in their classrooms.
Given this reality, helping teachers effectively address problem behaviors is critical.
One way to help teachers with classroom management is through group contingency interventions. These interventions reward groups of students based on whether members of a group meet certain behavioral expectations, so they promote classroom engagement and prosocial behaviors.
The group contingency approach has been used for 50 years and is associated with improvements in classroom behavior, academic achievement, homework completion, and noise level (Little et al., 2015).
What is CW-FIT?
Class-Wide FIT (CW-FIT; https://cwfit.ku.edu/) is an evidence-based group contingency intervention that promotes student engagement and enhances teachers’ ability to teach. It has two tiers:
- In Tier 1, teachers lead behavior skill lessons that clarify classroom expectations, discuss ways to address common behaviors (such as wanting attention or trying to escape difficult tasks), and identify desired behaviors. Students then work in teams during regular instruction and receive points (visible to all) for engaging in the desired behaviors. Teachers pair points with behavior specific praise. All teams that reach a point goal receive a reward.
- Tier 2 focuses on helping students who need more support. These students receive a 10-minute “mini” lesson on managing their own engagement (for attention-seekers) or using cards to request help from the teacher or other students (for escapers).
Expansion and opportunity for a new study
As awareness of CW-FIT spread, teachers across all U.S. states began using the intervention. This increased demand led to a need for more localized training to help schools and teachers use CW-FIT as intended.
The developers of CW-FIT from the University of Kansas created a district coaching model using a “train the trainer” approach. National CW-FIT coaches train district coaches, who in turn train and provide ongoing support to teachers using the intervention.
The CW-FIT developers also used an online platform called TORSH where coaches and teachers can upload, maintain, and share content. For example, teachers can record and upload classroom observation videos, and coaches can provide feedback that is time-synched to the videos.
While previous studies have shown the effectiveness of CW-FIT, these two added components offered an opportunity to explore the effects of intervention in its newest iteration.
From 2019 to 2025, SRI partnered with developers from the University of Kansas to independently evaluate the updated intervention. The team carried out this randomized study with:
- Four large suburban school districts in the Western and Midwestern United States
- 151 teachers across 30 elementary schools
- Two randomly assigned groups, one using CW-FIT and the other delivering instruction as usual
SRI researchers directly observed classrooms in both groups, collecting information on student on-task behavior and teacher classroom management.
CW-FIT improves the classroom experience for both teachers and students
Study results found that, compared with instruction-as-usual classrooms, CW-FIT classrooms showed positive effects:
- Students had more on-task behavior and were more engaged in learning
- Teachers used more praise and had fewer reprimands
- Classrooms had a more positive overall atmosphere
These findings confirm that CW-FIT helps teachers hone their classroom management skills and helps students stay focused and engaged. By using a group contingency approach, CW-FIT offers a practical way to improve student engagement and teacher–student interactions.
A key takeaway from this study is the importance of supporting schools and teachers to use an intervention within their own unique contexts. The addition of the train-the-trainer model and online platform for teacher–coach collaboration contributed to positive student behavior outcomes in read-world settings.
Practitioners should consider such features when identifying and selecting an evidence-based program. Additionally, researchers can consider ways to develop supports that build the capacity of local staff and use online platforms to streamline the delivery of coaching and performance feedback.
Published October 2026.