ABC data collection sheet
Fill it in here or print it for a clipboard. What you see is what comes out of the printer.
Autosaves on this computer. Nothing you type is uploaded.
| # | Time | Antecedent what came before | Behavior what the student did | Consequence what followed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eg. | 9:42 AM | Teacher handed out the independent worksheet | Pushed the paper off the desk, put head down | Aide sat beside him and read the first item aloud | |
Example row. | |||||
What is ABC data collection?
- Antecedent
- what came just before
- Behavior
- what the student did
- Consequence
- what followed
Recorded across several observations, what reliably precedes and follows a behavior is what points toward its function.
What goes in the antecedent column?
What was happening in the few seconds before the behavior started: the demand that was made, who was nearby, what changed in the room. Write what you saw rather than why you think it happened. “Teacher gave a two-step direction” is an antecedent. “He was frustrated by the work” is a guess.
How specific does the behavior have to be?
Specific enough that a second person watching the same student would start and stop counting in the same places. If your description still leaves room for judgment, tighten it before you start recording rather than after. Our operational definitions are a place to start.
How many events do I need?
More than one sitting. A single observation tells you what happened once. A pattern worth acting on usually takes several observations spread across different times of day, activities, and adults, because that spread is what separates a pattern from a bad morning.
Is ABC data enough for a functional behavior assessment?
It is one source, not the whole assessment. These rows describe what happened around the behavior. Most teams pair descriptive records like these with interviews and other direct measures before they commit to a hypothesis about function.
A sheet stops at the rows.
Sightline records the same ABC as coded events, does the counting, and helps you write up what you coded.