Communication proficiency is vital to academic achievement. However, many students with communication deficits face challenges in today's classrooms. Current measures often fail to assess classroom behaviors crucial to academic success. An effective assessment tool is needed to provide appropriate identification and instruction for students with communication deficits. Purposes of this study were: (1) To determine perceptions of classroom teachers concerning the importance of behaviors that predict communication problems in children, and (2) To determine whether differences in perceptions of teachers are related to independent variables of grade taught, teaching experience, educational attainment and professional development. The study analyzed archival data from K-6 elementary teachers. Responses were examined from a ninety-four item checklist of communication behavior indicators. Teachers ranked indicators based on their perception of importance for predicting classroom performance. Respondents also identified independent variables for grade level(s) taught, years of teaching experience, and level of educational attainment. A smaller sample of teachers was used to analyze level of agreement with eight professional development statements regarding collaboration, training, and experience in teaching students with communication deficits. Frequency, percentage, response means, and statistical significance tests were used. Range testing confirmed distinct groupings of behavioral variables. Data were further broken into groupings based on independent variables. This study found that teachers generally valued: (1) Understanding and responding to spoken information, (2) Expressing thoughts with simple sentences, clear articulation, and basic vocabulary, (3) Appropriate conversational skills, (4) Name spelling and writing, constructing simple sentences, printing letters, and interpreting writing, (5) Following instructions and task completion, (6) Letter/word recognition, syllabication, and retelling, and (7) Professional collaboration. Minimal differences across independent variables included behaviors such as requesting clarification, understanding main ideas, vocabulary, and interpretation of writing. Grade level taught and experience accounted for most differences. Findings of this study indicate a need for educators to consider teacher perceptions and classroom performance behaviors in planning assessment, instruction, and professional development to support academic achievement for students with communication deficits. Further study is needed to explore variance in perceptions among groups. Additional research might compare perceptions of speech-language professionals and classroom teachers. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]