Download Daily Report Card for Improving Classroom Behavior

The Daily Report Card (DRC) can be a helpful tool to address the classroom behavior problems of children and teens. The DRC helps parents and educators collaborate to identify, monitor, and improve a student’s classroom behavior. The Institute of Education Sciences’ What Works Clearing House website has stated that the research for this approach meets their evidence standards without reservations.

In this post, Dr. Davenport explains how to establish and use a daily report card.

Download the Daily Report Card

This daily report card provides space for three target behavior goals that can be rated up to six times per day. Parents and educators should modify and adapt the number of goals and the number of times rated to the age of the student and the structure of his or her day as described below.

Select the Areas for Improvement

It is important that the student’s parents and all of his or her educators discuss his or her behavior.

First, determine the greatest areas of impairment – areas that, if changed, would improve the student’s major struggles in daily life functioning and, if left unchanged, would have long-term negative consequences.

Define goals toward which the child should be working in terms of these areas of impairment.

Peer relations (particularly decreasing aggression and other negative interactions)
Academic work (task completion and accuracy)
Classroom rule-following and relationships with adults (compliance with adult commands/requests)

Identify and Define Target Behaviors

Identify specific target behaviors that can be changed to facilitate progress towards the improvement goals.

When establishing target behaviors, remember:

Target behaviors must be meaningful behaviors that will help the child reach goals for improvement.
Target behaviors must be very clearly defined in a way that the child, teacher, and parents all understand.
Target behaviors must be able to be observed and counted by the teacher and child.
A good DRC will contain between two and five target behaviors, depending on the child’s age and ability. For kindergarten and first grade students, two to three target behaviors should be established. For each grade after first grade, add one target behavior up to a maximum of five.

State Target Behaviors as Goals

State the target behaviors as if they have already happened. In other words, your goals should “tell the truth in advance.” Target behaviors might include the following.

Peer relationships:

Billy does not interrupt other students during seat work time
Joey does not touch others without permission
Jill keeps her hands to herself when lining up
Sally plays without fighting at recess

Academic work:

Jimmy has materials necessary to complete tasks
Jimmie stays seated to complete assigned tasks
Betty Lou completes and returns homework on time

Classroom rule-following and relationships with adults:

Sam immediately obeys the teacher when directions are given
Megan does not talk back to the teacher
Melody waits to be called on or given permission by the teacher before talking

Set the Criteria for the Daily Report Card

Estimate about how often a student is doing the behaviors you want to stop.

Use existing records if available or observe the student for a few days and make notes about how often she struggles with the chosen target behavior during the day.

Target behaviors need to be evaluated at several intervals throughout the day to give the child frequent behavioral feedback and several chances to earn yeses throughout the day.

Only include targets that are significant to the child’s improvement. For example, if records show that the child does not interrupt as often as you thought, do not include interruption
of other children as a target behavior.

Set a reasonable goal for each target behavior. Establish a reachable target level the child will have to meet in order to receive a positive mark for that behavior.

A good goal is one that the student can earn between 75% to 90% of the time.
Set the initial goal at a rate slightly better than what the student is doing now to encourage improvement (e.g., 20% improvement).
Goals need to be feasible and within reach as perceived by both the student and the teacher.

Set criteria to be met for each part of the day, not the overall day (e.g., “interrupts fewer than 2 times in each every hour” rather than “interrupts fewer than 12 times per day”).

Explain the Daily Report Card to the Student

Teachers, parents and the student should meet together to discuss all aspects of the DRC in a positive manner.

Explain that the DRC will help him learn how to overcome those problems that are causing him and his teachers the most difficulty.

Explain that he will be earning rewards for his behavior and performance at school to help him learn, and that he will be working with his parents to choose rewards.

Explain the procedure that will be used with the report card.

Establish a Home-Based Reward System

The rewards provide the motivation for the student to work towards a good DRC, and they are thus a necessary component of the program.

Use an effective reward system established at home to reinforce the student for positive performance reflected in the DRC.

Rewards must be selected by the student in consultation with the parents.
Rewards could include things the child already does. For example, a child’s access to television, which was previously “free” can be made conditional on receiving a positive DRC.

Monitor and Modify the Program

Keep daily records of how often the student is receiving Yeses on each target.

If the student regularly fails to meet criteria, make his criteria easier to avoid making the process ineffective.

Gradually lead the student to more appropriate behavior by making the criteria harder once he has begun to meet the goal regularly (e.g., if he is able to meet a target of “3 or fewer rule violations per period” 90% of the time, over a period of days, reduce the number to 2 or fewer rule violations per period).

Remember to combine the report with appropriate social reinforcement:

If replacing an undesirable action with a more desirable one (raising his hand instead of calling out), it will be important to respond to the proper action quickly in order to reinforce it.
Sincerely praise the student for good days and good efforts.
Respond matter-of-factly (not negatively) to missed targets with an encouraging statement about the next day. (You can try again tomorrow.)

Once the goal for a target is at an acceptable level and the student is consistently reaching it, drop that target behavior from the report. Praise the student for doing so well that she doesn’t need to have the target any longer. Replace it with another target if necessary.

If the point is reached where the student is doing so well that daily reports are unnecessary, move to a weekly report/reward system.

If and when the student is functioning within an appropriate range in the classroom, the report card can be stopped and reinstated if problems recur.

Monitor and Address Problems with the Daily Report Card

At least once a week, ask “What’s working?” and “What’s not working?” If the DRC system is not working to change the student’s behavior, examine the program, figure out why it’s not working, and make changes where appropriate. If you need assistance with this, call us to make an appointment.

Consider Other Treatments

If, even after trouble-shooting and modification, the DRC is not sufficient to result in desired improvement, consider all possible aspects of a comprehensive treatment plan as described by the National Resource Center on ADHD.

Need Help Applying this Concept?

If you need help establishing and maintaining a daily report card, call us at 817.421.8780. We are happy to collaborate with families and educators to help address your student’s behavior.

In this post, Dr. Davenport explains how to establish and use a daily report card.

Download the Daily Report Card

This daily report card provides space for three target behavior goals that can be rated up to six times per day. Parents and educators should modify and adapt the number of goals and the number of times rated to the age of the student and the structure of his or her day as described below.

Select the Areas for Improvement

It is important that the student’s parents and all of his or her educators discuss his or her behavior.

First, determine the greatest areas of impairment – areas that, if changed, would improve the student’s major struggles in daily life functioning and, if left unchanged, would have long-term negative consequences.

Define goals toward which the child should be working in terms of these areas of impairment.

Peer relations (particularly decreasing aggression and other negative interactions)

Academic work (task completion and accuracy)

Classroom rule-following and relationships with adults (compliance with adult commands/requests)

Identify and Define Target Behaviors

Identify specific target behaviors that can be changed to facilitate progress towards the improvement goals.

When establishing target behaviors, remember:

Target behaviors must be meaningful behaviors that will help the child reach goals for improvement.

Target behaviors must be very clearly defined in a way that the child, teacher, and parents all understand.

Target behaviors must be able to be observed and counted by the teacher and child.

A good DRC will contain between two and five target behaviors, depending on the child’s age and ability. For kindergarten and first grade students, two to three target behaviors should be established. For each grade after first grade, add one target behavior up to a maximum of five.

State Target Behaviors as Goals

State the target behaviors as if they have already happened. In other words, your goals should “tell the truth in advance.” Target behaviors might include the following.

Peer relationships:

Billy does not interrupt other students during seat work time

Joey does not touch others without permission

Jill keeps her hands to herself when lining up

Sally plays without fighting at recess

Academic work:

Jimmy has materials necessary to complete tasks

Jimmie stays seated to complete assigned tasks

Betty Lou completes and returns homework on time

Classroom rule-following and relationships with adults:

Sam immediately obeys the teacher when directions are given

Megan does not talk back to the teacher

Melody waits to be called on or given permission by the teacher before talking

Set the Criteria for the Daily Report Card

Estimate about how often a student is doing the behaviors you want to stop.

Use existing records if available or observe the student for a few days and make notes about how often she struggles with the chosen target behavior during the day.

Target behaviors need to be evaluated at several intervals throughout the day to give the child frequent behavioral feedback and several chances to earn yeses throughout the day.

Only include targets that are significant to the child’s improvement. For example, if records show that the child does not interrupt as often as you thought, do not include interruption of other children as a target behavior.

Set a reasonable goal for each target behavior. Establish a reachable target level the child will have to meet in order to receive a positive mark for that behavior.

A good goal is one that the student can earn between 75% to 90% of the time.

Set the initial goal at a rate slightly better than what the student is doing now to encourage improvement (e.g., 20% improvement).

Goals need to be feasible and within reach as perceived by both the student and the teacher.

Set criteria to be met for each part of the day, not the overall day (e.g., “interrupts fewer than 2 times in each every hour” rather than “interrupts fewer than 12 times per day”).

Explain the Daily Report Card to the Student

Teachers, parents and the student should meet together to discuss all aspects of the DRC in a positive manner.

Explain that the DRC will help him learn how to overcome those problems that are causing him and his teachers the most difficulty.

Explain that he will be earning rewards for his behavior and performance at school to help him learn, and that he will be working with his parents to choose rewards.

Explain the procedure that will be used with the report card.

Establish a Home-Based Reward System

The rewards provide the motivation for the student to work towards a good DRC, and they are thus a necessary component of the program.

Use an effective reward system established at home to reinforce the student for positive performance reflected in the DRC.

Rewards must be selected by the student in consultation with the parents.

Rewards could include things the child already does. For example, a child’s access to television, which was previously “free” can be made conditional on receiving a positive DRC.

Monitor and Modify the Program

Keep daily records of how often the student is receiving Yeses on each target.

If the student regularly fails to meet criteria, make his criteria easier to avoid making the process ineffective.

Remember to combine the report with appropriate social reinforcement:

If replacing an undesirable action with a more desirable one (raising his hand instead of calling out), it will be important to respond to the proper action quickly in order to reinforce it.

Sincerely praise the student for good days and good efforts.

Respond matter-of-factly (not negatively) to missed targets with an encouraging statement about the next day. (You can try again tomorrow.)

Once the goal for a target is at an acceptable level and the student is consistently reaching it, drop that target behavior from the report. Praise the student for doing so well that she doesn’t need to have the target any longer. Replace it with another target if necessary.

If the point is reached where the student is doing so well that daily reports are unnecessary, move to a weekly report/reward system.

If and when the student is functioning within an appropriate range in the classroom, the report card can be stopped and reinstated if problems recur.

Monitor and Address Problems with the Daily Report Card

Consider Other Treatments

If, even after trouble-shooting and modification, the DRC is not sufficient to result in desired improvement, consider all possible aspects of a comprehensive treatment plan as described by the National Resource Center on ADHD.

Need Help Applying this Concept?

If you need help establishing and maintaining a daily report card, call us at 817.421.8780. We are happy to collaborate with families and educators to help address your student’s behavior.

Only include targets that are significant to the child’s improvement. For example, if records show that the child does not interrupt as often as you thought, do not include interruption
of other children as a target behavior.