An observational assessment to record how often a child engages in a specific behavior is an example of which type of assessment?

• A. Time sampling
• B. Rating scale
• C. Event sampling
• D. Running record

Answer: (C)

This item focuses on how to quantify how often a child engages in a specific behavior through direct observation. The best match is event sampling, where you record every instance of the target behavior as it occurs, giving you a frequency count over the observation period. This approach is ideal when you want precise data on how many times the behavior happens.

Why not the others: time sampling checks whether the behavior occurs during predefined intervals, which can miss individual occurrences and isn’t limited to counting each event. A running record logs behaviors in real time with details about what happened and when, providing a continuous narrative rather than a simple frequency count. A rating scale asks you to judge the behavior on a scale (like intensity or frequency) rather than tallying each instance.

So, tracking each occurrence as it happens best answers the question of how often the behavior occurs.