Putting content into consultation -- the Functional Analysis of Academic Behavior

By John Brady, Ph.D.

Chapman University

School psychologists are often asked to help design educational interventions for students. In fact, most referrals made by general education teachers are for children who need academic help (Reschly, 2000). However most of the assessment instruments that school psychologists use were not designed to be useful for creating academic interventions (National Council on Disability, 1989). An instrument developed by Ysseldyke and Christenson (2002), the Functional Assessment of Academic Behavior (FAAB) fills the need to gather information on the learning environment that will help create effective academic interventions.

The FAAB is designed to help evaluate instructional support elements in both the school and home environments. It can help the school psychologist determine what aspects of the environment can or should be manipulated to enhance a student’s learning. The scale is based on Ysseldyke and Christenson’s research into aspects of instruction that have been shown to positively affect academic skills (Ysseldyke & Christenson, 1987). They identified 23 of these factors; 12

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