by Judy Purdy

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School Kids Behaving Badly

It’s not always easy to pinpoint students at risk for academic, emotional or behavioral problems in school. But assessment tools such as the Behavior Assessment System for Children, or BASC, can help teachers recognize behavior patterns that identify which students may be headed for trouble.

The BASC behavioral typology works much the same as a weather forecast, said UGA educational psychologist Randy Kamphaus, who developed the assessment tool with his colleague, Cecil R. Reynolds, at Texas A&M University.

Just as a meteorologist uses a range of variables to forecast weather, teachers also can classify behavioral variables to predict which kids are at-risk for poor outcomes in school and may benefit from extra help.

“Essentially, we have identified seven ‘weather patterns’ of behavioral adjustment in elementary school,” he said. Some student behaviors may be described as “sunny” and others may indicate “storms” are brewing. The seven patterns are:

	Well Adapted — Examples: pays attention well, reads assigned chapters in books, completes homework and communicates well with others.
	Average — Example: exhibits a typical number of behavior and academic challenges in school but not enough to necessitate referral or intervention.
	Disruptive Behavior Problems** — Examples: hits or threatens others, cannot sit still, talks back to teachers, steals, lies or cheats.
	Academic Problems* — Examples: exhibits short attention span and is easily distracted from schoolwork.
	Physical Complaints/Worry* — Examples: complains of stomachaches and headaches; worries too much about family or school work.
	General Problems, Severe** — Examples: exhibits severe problems in all areas — emotional, academic and behavioral; the problems are worse than 98 percent or more of other children their age.
	Mildly Disruptive* — Examples: is more active than the average child but not active enough to need referral or intervention.

* Students classified in these categories are at an intermediate risk for developing academic problems.

** Students classified in these categories are at a high risk for poor adaptation and adjustment in school.

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