Familiarize yourself with the BCP Assessment Record and the procedures outlined in page iv-xxxii of the BCP Instructional Activities book. Some of the 2,300 behavioral characteristics are behaviors to be observed and addressed, but not taught (e.g., 37.24).
Each activity and play-based observation of an individual can simultaneously yield information about a variety of skills and behaviors from several strands. It is typically unnecessary and inappropriate to assess each strand or domain separately.
Study the content of the BCP Assessment Record, and thoroughly review the Identifying Behaviors for each strand. The BCP Assessment Record includes a list of Identifying Behaviors representing "indicator" behaviors that an individual might be displaying. Use these Identifying Behaviors to help screen/identify an individual's strands/area(s) of need.
All of the skills and behaviors listed are rarely pertinent to any one individual. Many will not be pertinent due to the individual's age and developmental level, some skills may not be functional due to a individual's disability, and other skills may not be necessary to assess because they are not judged to be important for a particular individual. Also note that for some Strands (e.g., 06-Practical Math), there is no exact "developmental" sequence - often skills such as these are learned more in a sequence based on the pupil's motivation and exposure/experience.
Observe the pupil's behaviors and skills in nature settings and/or give teacher-made tests. Assessment situations and time can be lessened if materials, activities, and/or natural play-based situations are combined.
If you can't complete all of the observations needed, go to other sources of information. Most pupil files have a wealth of information in them, and their contents can be used in evaluation:
Pupil records
Grade reports and anecdotal records
Formal reports of teachers and professionals
Interviews with parents or guardians.
Record the results of observations and reviews on each of the strands being considered - assign a credit code and date for each skill assessed.
Meet with the parents to compose realistic goals and objectives that are appropriate for the pupil. The BCP is a great system for increasing communication between parents and professionals.
Please note that the BCP behaviors are not IEP objectives per se. You will still need to individualize these competency-based benchmarks by applying audience, behavior, condition and degree to meet IEP requirements. In doing this, you may have to break (task-analyze) a BCP skill/objective down into sub-steps to make it appropriate for the pupil.
Plan and implement your instruction with an easy-to-use approach, e.g., using the instructional module.
Note: Activity information is not provided for all skills - only skills for which there are instructional activities appear in this book. Use the BCP Assessment Record to see all the skills per strand.
