A Quantitative Review of Functional Analysis Procedures in Public School Settings

Functional behavioral assessments can consist of indirect, descriptive and experimental procedures, such as a functional analysis. Although the research contains numerous examples demonstrating the effectiveness of functional analysis procedures, experimental conditions are often difficult to implement in classroom settings and analog conditions often lack ecological validity. This has led some authors to recommend additional research be conducted to evaluate assessment procedures that are appropriate for classroom settings. This article presents a quantitative review of functional analyses procedures implemented in school settings. Results support previous statements that the literature demonstrating functional analysis procedures in classroom settings is not adequate to guide practice. Practitioners require additional research demonstrating assessment procedures that are appropriate for classroom settings.