Curriculum-based assessment procedures embedded within functional behavioral assessments: Identifying escape-motivated behaviors in a general education classroom

The purpose of this study was to examine whether curriculum-based assessment (CBA) procedures could be incorporated into a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) to identify antecedent events that occasion off-task classroom behaviors of students in a general education classroom. A multi-element design was used to conduct a two-phase FBA and monitor changes in off-task behavior of 3 male students in the classroom. Phase 1 consisted of a teacher interview, an academic assessment, and a descriptive analysis. Phase 2 consisted of an antecedent manipulation phase in which the difficulty level of academic activities was systematically manipulated to determine events that may elicit the off-task classroom behaviors for each student. The present study builds upon the FBA and functional analysis literature in two ways. First, this study examined the use of CBA procedures to identify antecedent events related to off-task classroom behaviors, given the assumption that these behaviors were motivated by escape from academic activities that were too difficult relative to students' skill levels. Second, this study examined the use of FBA in a general education classroom rather than analogue or clinic-based school settings in which these procedures frequently have been employed. Third, their use was examined with general education students who were experiencing problem behaviors rather than with special education students for whom FBA procedures are often implemented.