John Brady, PhD/ CSP640

The Functional Assessment of Academic Behavior – Worksheet

Student: School: Grade: _____

Parent: Home Phone: ______

Teacher: Date case started:

Examiner:

Concern:

  1. Conference with teacher to define the problem/concern as clearly and behaviorally as possible. Use the Teacher Interview Form for Academic Problems (Shapiro, 1996). Ask the teacher for examples of the child’s work (permanent products) in the affected academic area. At the end of the teacher interview, give the teacher the Instructional NeedsChecklist and request that it be completed and returned before your observation.

Date given: ______Date returned: ______

  1. Observe the student in class using the attached outline to organize your observation in relation to the most important classroom environmental influences. You may also want to complete the BASC/SOS scale during this observation to determine engaged time.
  1. Interview the student as soon as possible (that same day) after your observation using the Student Interview Record.
  1. Interview the teacher as soon as possible (that same day) after your observation using the Teacher Interview Record.
  1. Interview the child’s parent(s) (prior to the classroom observation if possible) using the Parent Interview Recordand the Parental Experience With Their Child’s Learning and Schoolwork forms(or the combined form that I developed) as a template. Send them home for parents to fill out ahead of time. They are a little redundant but cover enough unique material to warrant having them both filled out. Try to get them back before your meeting with the parents so you can use your meeting to elaborate and clarify themes that you see in their responses.

Date given: ______Date returned: ______

  1. Using the data collected in steps I through V (and any other information available) to fill out the Instructional Environment Checklist: Annotated Version Form. This form will help you decide whether the 24 components are present/not present and how important they are to the case at this time. The form also outlines a number of intervention ides for each component.

John Brady, PhD/ CSP640

FAAB Assessment Guide
Student: ______School: ______Grade: ______Age: ______
Examiner: ______Parent(s): ______Teacher: ______
Concern: ______
______
Support for Learning Components / Teacher Interview
Date: ______/ Classroom Observation
Date: ______/ Student Interview
Date: ______
Instructional Support/Match / Planning:
Does instruction match the student’s needs/skills? Does instruction
planning differ for this student from other students? / If the student has trouble with an assignment, does the teacher help or give him something he is better able to do? Can the student do his/her own work?
Instructional Expectations / Are expectations realistic and high? Are they different for this student
from other students? How are they communicated to student? / Does the student participate in class (i.e. answer questions). Does the student know what the teacher expects? What are the consequences for not meeting expectations?
Classroom environment / Management:
Is the teacher’s classroom management effective for this student? / Does the student know: the rules in the classroom, the consequences for not following rules? Does the student like being in the class? How does he/she ask for help?
Instructional Presentation / Delivery:
Is instruction clear? Effective? Is understanding checked? / Does the teacher make sure the student understands a lesson before independent work/practice? Can the student follow and understand the teacher’s directions?
Cognitive Emphasis / W\hat success has the teacher had teaching this student thinking skills/strategies? / Does the teacher give the student answers or help him/her figure it out? Does the student know strategies?
Motivational Strategies / How does the teacher motivate the student? What works best? / Does the student think the lessons are interesting? Too hard/easy? What are rewards for doing good work?
Relevant Practice / Can the student practice tasks with appropriate materials and a high
success? Can the student do it independently? / Does the student have enough time to finish all work? Is the work relevant? Does the teacher check independent work? Does the student work hard? Does the student have enough work to do?
Informed Feedback / Does the student receive immediate and specific information on
performance/behavior? / Does the teacher tell student how well he/she is doing? Help when he/she makes a mistake? Does the student know areas he/she needs to improve on?
Academic Engaged Time / Monitoring and Evaluation:
Is the student engaged in responding to academic content? How does the
teacher redirect the student when needed? / Does the student feel like he/she is always busy working? Does the student feel like he/she pays attention when the teacher is teaching?
Adaptive Instruction / Is the curriculum modified to accommodate the student’s needs/abilities?
What is feasible to try? / Does the teacher tell/show student different ways to do an assignment?
Progress Evaluation / How/how often does the teacher measure the student’s progress toward
objectives? Is this information used to plan future instruction? / Does the student feel like he/she learns a lot in school? Does the student know how well he/she is doing in class? Can the student check his/her own work?
Student Understanding / Does the student understand instructional goals? Is the student aware of
his/her difficulties? / Does the student know why the teacher teaches certain things? Does the student understand how to do his/her own work?
Components (cont.) / Teacher Interview / Parent Interview / Student Interview
Home Expectations and Attributions / Are there high expectations regarding schoolwork? Do parents emphasize the importance of working hard in school? Does the child know what parents expect regarding school and learning?
Discipline Orientation / Is discipline authoritative? Is the child monitored and supervised by a parent/guardian? / Does the child know the rules and consequences at home? Does the child have a say in rules?
Home-affective Environment / Do parent and child spend time together? Does the parent recognize the child for performance/improvement in school? What happens when child’s grades are poor?
Parent Participation / Does the home environment support education? Do others participate in and support the child’s schooling? / Does the child use what he/she learns at school in the home? Does the child discuss books, reading, schoolwork etc. with parent?
Structure for Learning / Is there a structure/routine in the home to facilitate completion of school work?
Shared Standards and Expectations / Do the teacher and parent have the same expectations for the student and believe the student can meet them? / Does the child know what his/her parent and teacher expect?
Consistent Structure / Do the teacher and parent agree on and maintain a routine and monitoring of the student? / Does the student recognize consistency across home and school in terms of rules and interactions?
Cross-Setting Opportunity to Learn / Is the student able to engage in a variety of learning opportunities both in and out of school?
Mutual Support / Do parent and teacher communicate on an ongoing basis to support the student? If there is a language barrier, does the parent know whom to contact at school in order to support student? / Does the student feel like there are people at home and school to assist him/her in learning?
Positive, Trusting Relationships / Is there a positive parent-teacher relationship in support of child? / Does the student know that teacher and parent care about him/her personally and academically?
Modeling / Do parent and teacher demonstrate desired behaviors and values to the student daily?.