School Function Assessment (SFA)

Full Name of Assessment:		School Function Assessment (SFA)
Author, Publisher, Date:		Wendy C., Theresa D., Jane H., Stephen H. , Publisher: Psychological Corporation, Date: 1998
Source: Pearson – via www.peasronassessments.com			Pricing: $222.50
Brief description (purpose, domains, subscales, time to administer, space/equipment needs): Purpose: Used for elementary students (K-6). The SFA evaluates an elementary school students participation in various school-related activities settings, his or her support needs, and his or her performance of specific school-related functional activities. The SFA is divided into three parts. Time:  Minimum of 1 ½ - 2 hours to complete totally. Once familiar with the assessment, the practitioner can complete individual subscales in as little as 5-10 minutes. This is not typically completed in a single day.  This is can be completed in a 2-3 week range if the student is showing signs of significant functional changes during this time. Subscales: Participation = 1 scale; Task supports =4 scales; Activity Performance = 21 scales Domains: Participation, Task supports, and Activity Performance Space/Equipment needs: User manual, rating scale guide, record form, and a pen or pencil.
Scoring: The assessment uses a likert scale. Participation:  1= participation is extremely limited, 2= participation in few activities, 3= participation in all aspects with consent supervision, 4= participation in all aspects with occasional assistance, 5= modified full participation, 6= full participation. Task Supports: 2 subscales: ASSISTANCE and ADAPTATIONS Assistance subscale: 1= extensive assist., 2= mod. Assist., 3= min. assist., 4= no assistance Adaptation subscale: 1= extensive adaptations, 2= moderate adaptations, 3= minimal adaptations, 4= no adaptations. Activity Performance: 1= does not perform, 2= partial performance, 3= inconsistent performance, 4= consistent performance. Part I Participation: The raw score for this scale should be based on the student’s participation for SIX settings including regular classroom or special education classroom, playground, transportation, bathroom, transitions, and mealtime. They would be assessed on a scale of 1-6 for each setting. The raw score is the summed total of the 6 ratings (1 rating per setting). Part II Task Supports: The raw scores are typically calculated for each of the four Task Support scales including: physical tasks- assistance, physical tasks –adaptations, cognitive/behavioral tasks – assistance, and cognitive/behavioral tasks – adaptations. There are six other task support items that can be rated if they are applicable to the student’s school. These things include up/down stairs – assistance, up/down stairs – adaptations, written work – assistance, written work –adaptations, computer and equipment use – assistance, and computer and equipment use –adaptations.  Therefore, each category is scored from 1-4 and totaled for each category to provide the rater with a raw score for each category. Part III Activity Performance: There are 21 separate scales that may be rated. There are twelve scales grouped under physical activity performance and nine under cognitive/behavioral performance. Each of the 21 scales are scored from 1-4 and a raw score is calculated by summing the scores of each item for all 21 scales.
Psychometric properties (describe briefly; e.g. reliability, validity, sensitivity, specificity, etc): Reliability Internal consistency reliability coefficient .92-.98 Test-retest reliability (Tryout Edition) .82-.98 Test-retest reliability (Standardization version) .80-.99 Validity Content validity was reviewed by recognized experts in education and clinical services during the Pilot Study phase and by related service professionals in the Tryout Edition. The results indicated that the instrument was perceived to be both comprehensive and relevant for the population of students with disabilities in elementary schools. Construct validity: The following constructs, on which the SFA scales were based, were shown to behave as expected from theory: Functional performance is context-dependent.   Environmental supports make a unique contribution to task performance. Participation in each setting is a function of performing setting- relevant tasks. Functional tasks can be meaningfully grouped according to whether their major demands are physical or cognitive/behavioral in nature.
Citations/References (source at least 2 articles that use the tool or reports on psychometrics): Coster, W., Deeney, T., Haltiwanger, J., & Haley, S. (1998). School function assessment (SFA). San Antonio: The Psychological Corporation. Davies, P. L., Soon, P. L., Young, M., & Clausen-Yamaki, A. (2004). Validity and reliability of the school function assessment in elementary school students with disabilities. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 24(3), 23-43. Hwang, J. L., Davies, P. L., Taylor, M. P., & Gavin, W. J. (2002). Validation of School Function Assessment with Elementary School Children. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 22(2), 48-58.
Comments/critique (include application to practice – settings, needs, populations): This assessment helps the practitioner set-up school based goals for the child. This assessment uses a collaborative effort to help your team to establish interventions for the child. This assessment could possibly be used during a quarterly evaluation to see the child is really progressing to meet his IEP goals. The SFA was designed to assist in the initial assessment of student needs and to evaluate the outcomes of services provided. This assessment is primarily used in schools to help children develop different aspects of school-related functions. The assessment is used on children in grades K-6.
Training or certification requirements:	No additional training is required to administer this assessment. The administer should have a professional level education, degree in education, PT, OT, speech, or psychology. The user should have basic understanding of standardized testing and an understanding of the unique features of the SFA including scoring and interpretation of the results.