Write a list of the behaviors you'd like to assess, then narrow your choices. Determine if the class will be assessed equally or if individualized rubrics are needed. Individualized rubrics will work well in a special education setting, and you can include items from a child's Individual Education Plan (IEP) in the rubric. These items should be measurable, such as "asks permission to leave his desk the majority of the time," or "raises hand before speaking." Avoid general behavioral guidelines, such as "respects the teacher" or "is nice to other students."
Create a chart that will help you determine what score to give the student for each of his behavioral goals. Create a grid format that has the behavior outcomes on the left-hand side of the page and the number scores at the top of the page. The Center for Advanced Research and Language Acquisition says to use an even number such as four or six to assess behaviors. Avoid scales that have a middle number, as that could end up being a catch-all category. Having an even number will force you to make decisions about a student's behavior. If you choose four categories of scoring, for instance, four could be labeled "exemplary," three could be "excellent," two could be "acceptable" and one could be "unacceptable." You can make the descriptive words anything you choose. Write your descriptive words in the boxes under the number scores.
Assess the effectiveness of the rubric. When you use the rubric to determine how a student is improving on his behavior, circle the word that best describes his level of behavior. For instance, if a student is doing a wonderful job of raising his hand before he speaks, then circle "exemplary," or whatever descriptive word you have there. Throughout the semester, as students continue to be assessed, make sure that their behavior scores are improving. If not, consider tweaking your rubric to include different behaviors or possibly an easier numbering system, to help the students better understand their scores.