What is Functional Assessment? Functional assessment is a method for identifying misbehavior, the causes of misbehavior, and strategies that are likely to eliminate the misbehavior.  Functional assessment is designed to uncover environmental factors that motivate the student to misbehave.  It is assumed that certain environmental objects and events serve as cues (stimuli) for the behavior, while other objects and events reinforce and maintain the behavior (consequences).  When a list of dependable stimuli and consequences that cause the problem behavior is generated, the teacher can then design and implement a strategy to eliminate those causes and replace them with cues and consequences that reinforce more adaptive behavior.

How does one complete a Functional Assessment? First, a functional behavior assessment begins by generating a list of behaviors considered to be problems by those individuals who spend the most time with the child.  Classroom teachers should almost always be among those individuals who contribute to the list, but others may contribute as well:  parents, support staff (e.g., counselors, aides, physical education coaches), and possibly, the child himself.  Behavior in the list should be discrete and readily observable (e.g., "Trips others who walk by her desk," "Utters profane language").  Ambiguous terms should be avoided ("Insensitive to others' feelings," "Irritates his teacher").  After the list has been constructed, the problem behaviors should be ranked from the most severe to the least severe.  Essentially, the strategy is to work first on behaviors that are most disruptive for the class and most debilitating for the child.

The second step in a functional assessment is to measure the frequency, intensity, and/or duration of the behavior.  In addition, information should be gathered about the context of the behavior.  That is, it is important to know where the behavior occurs, when it occurs, and who is present when the behavior occurs. For instance, does the behavior occur in only one setting?  If so, there must be some element in the setting that both stimulates and reinforces the behavior.  Perhaps the child sits in the back of the room, far away from the teacher, making it easier and more tempting to misbehave.  If the behavior only occurs in math class, it may be that the child dislikes math and acts out to avoid failing assignments.  Or, the child may dislike the teacher or believe that the teacher dislikes him. There are many reasons why students misbehave; the purpose of functional assessment is to analyze the circumstances in which the misbehavior occurs and uncover the stimuli that evoke the behavior and the consequences that reinforce or keep the behavior going.

How does one identify the stimuli that evoke the misbehavior and the consequences that reinforce misbehavior? Cues for misbehavior are identified by observing and recording what happened immediately prior to the misbehavior. By observing across time, location, activities, and other circumstances, the assessor is likely to identify cues for chronic misbehavior that are repetitious and stable. It is also important to know the consequences that follow misbehavior. Consequences, in contrast to subsequent events, are actually caused by the behavior that precedes them. For instance, teachers attempt to provide reinforcing consequences when their students behave well (e.g., praise, a grade of A).  If the consequence is truly reinforcing, the odds increase that the student will behave well in the future in order to obtain the reinforcer again.  When students consistently behave poorly, it indicates that their misbehavior is in some way being reinforced.  As was true for identifying cues for misbehavior, the assessor observes and records the consequences of misbehavior across time, setting, activities, and other circumstances to identify consequences that are repetitious and stable. Several examples of reinforcers that can maintain misbehavior are (1) The student escapes some undesired assignment or activity (e.g., a test, or seat work assignment);  (2) Other students laugh when the student behaves like a clown; and (3) The teacher pays attention to the student, who otherwise receives little attention.

The identification of the stimuli and consequences for misbehavior is accomplished through systematic observation. There are two primary types of systematic observation that can be used for this purpose:  (1) specimen description, and (2) event sampling.  Specimen description is best used when the assessor observes behavior that is imprecisely defined or otherwise ambiguous. This is most often the case during the early stages of functional assessment. When using specimen description, the observer records the student's behavior and all events that are antecedent and subsequent to the that behavior.  
 
 

Preceding Events (Stimuli)	Behavior	Following Events (Consequences)
1.   Reading group at front table with teacher	2.    John out of seat, jumping in the aisle.	3.  Teacher says, “Sit down, John.”
	4.  John says, “I don’t have to.”	5.   Teacher leaves reading table, walks toward John.
	6.  John runs around aisle laughing.	7.   Teacher follows John, visibly upset and angry.
	8.  John sits in seat, smiling.	9.     Teacher says, “Stay put.”  Walks back to reading table.
	10. John looks around.	11.   Sam and Mary smile at John.

  
This specimen example indicates not only the misbehavior, but also the stimuli that evoke the behavior and the reinforcers that maintain it. A probable stimulus for John's inappropriate behavior is the teacher's preoccupation with a reading lesson in the front of the room.  John's misbehavior (i.e., hyperactivity and noncompliance) appears to be reinforced by the teacher's emotional upset and the smiles of Sam and Mary, who seem to appreciate John's antics. As for the teacher's demands of John (e.g., "Sit down, John," "Stay put"), they appear to be mere subsequent events because they represent no real consequence for John.  Apparently, the teacher and student are playing a kind of "stoop tag," in which the student is "home free" so long as he reaches his seat before the teacher catches him.  

Notice that such observations, if found to be consistent over time, suggest some practicable intervention strategies. First, the teacher can be sensitive to fact that John's misbehavior occurs when she is occupied with other students in a distant location in the room.  Such knowledge should allow the teacher to anticipate John's inappropriate behavior and intercede immediately should it occur. Second, Sam and Mary can be asked to ignore John's antics; if they are normally well-mannered students who respect the teacher, they are likely to comply with her request.  Third, the teacher can immediately impose a mild, aversive consequence for John's misbehavior (e.g., stay in during recess).  Fourth, the teacher can attempt to gain control of her emotional reaction to John's misbehavior.  Ultimately, such emotional reactions disappear spontaneously as the teacher develops better behavior management skills. Finally, the teacher can comment positively or otherwise attempt to reinforce John's appropriate behavior. For instance, when John completes a seat work assignment
appropriately, an extra 5 minutes of recess might be awarded to the entire class.

If the stimuli, behavior, and consequent events are highly discrete and readily observable, event sampling can be used to obtain a more quantifiable estimate of the frequency of the behavior. Examples of discrete events include the utterance of profanities, passing notes, and speaking without permission.  In event sampling, each occurrence of the behavior and surrounding events is recorded and the length of the observation session is measured.  Such quantitative data not only allow for the identification of behavior problems, they also provide a better measure of the severity of the behavior, and, finally, they constitute a baseline that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies designed to eliminate the behavior problem.