Formal and Informal Assessments

What is the primary thing to consider when piking an assessment?

Because assessments come in many forms, teachers need to consider the benefits and disadvantages of each type when deciding which one to use for a particular situation, with the primary goal being to match the assessment with the purpose of assessing the student.

What are informal assessemtns?

Informal assessments are less structured, nonstandardized methods of evaluating a student's progress, such as teacher-made quizzes and tests, observations, and interviews.

What is the most important thing in testing students with disabilities

Most important in testing students with disabilities is ensuring that test results reflect students' knowledge and skills, not their disabilities.

When do teachers use formative evaluations?

Teachers use formative evaluations to answer the questions, "What are the students learning? What do the students know or what skills are they demonstrating right now?" For example, curriculum-based measurements are formative assessments, involving frequent assessment of student progress in learning the objectives that make up the curriculum in which a student is participating. Class discussions and homework assignments can also be used as formative assessments. One important reason that special education teachers use formative assessment is to monitor students' progress in order to adjust instruction and interventions as needed.

When conducting one-on-one assessments such as interviews or oral tests it is important to develop what?

Rapport is especially important when conducting one-on-one assessments such as interviews or oral tests.

What is a formal assessment?

Formal assessments are highly structured and provide specific guidelines and procedures for administering, scoring, and interpreting their results. Formal assessments include standardized tests (e.g., achievement, aptitude, intelligence), standardized adaptive behavior scales, and standardized checklists. Some formal assessments are designed to be administered to a group of students as a screening tool while others are designed to be administered to an individual student.

True or False a test can be designed and adapted so that students with disabilities?

Fortunately, classroom assessments can be designed and adapted so that students with disabilities can be tested fairly and accurately. For example, a student with cerebral palsy and learning disabilities may need to use assistive technologies during a written assessment, or a student with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may need to be tested alone in a quiet environment with few distractions.

Name some ther informal assessment strategies?

- Asking students direct questions to see if they understand the material presented in a lesson - Conducting a curriculum-based assessment to measure a student's progress within the curriculum - Observing young children during play (i.e., play-based assessment) - Observing students to see if they are performing skills properly, following safety procedures, or staying on task (e.g., performance assessment) - Conducting a task analysis to determine which part or parts of a task are causing a student to have difficulty - Having direct conversations with students, including conferences or individual meetings, to review their thought processes, feelings, or skills - Working with the student to create a portfolio assessment to document the student's progress over time

Strategies for reducing bias during assessment include

- Considering each student's needs and background individually to ensure that assessment measures are appropriate. For example, the student's culture, home language, family socioeconomic status, or environment may influence performance on an assessment. - Following guidelines in the IEP without introducing other accommodations that are not specified - Using a rubric or checklist to score responses - Recording oral responses for later review by an additional rater - Establishing rapport with the student while maintaining a professional role

What are advantages of formal assessments?

- Formal assessments have associated data regarding their reliability and validity. - Teachers can use one assessment measure to gather the same information from all students and can thus screen a large number of students at one time.

What are Limitations of formal assessments?

- Formal assessments usually take instructional time to administer. - If standardized formal assessments are used, special education teachers must be sure that they are appropriate and/or adapted for use with their students. - Formal assessments must be administered by staff who are trained to do so.

Procedures for conducting FBA include

- Identifying the target behavior and defining it in terms that are specific, observable, and measurable - Identifying factors that may contribute to the behavior - Developing a method for collecting data regarding the behavior and/or the contributing factors - Collecting and then reviewing the data - Forming a hypothesis about the reason for the behavior (i.e., its function for the student) - Developing an intervention plan - Administering the intervention and collecting data on student behavior - Reviewing student progress and making changes as necessary

Limits of informal assessments

- Informal assessments can be subject to bias. For example, teachers may have expectations for what they expect to see and may interpret student behaviors based on those expectations. - Informal assessments offer limited comparative data. - Informal assessments take time to prepare.

Benefits of Informal assessments

- Informal assessments can be used flexibly and can be tailored to a particular student. - Informal assessments can be integrated into classroom lessons. - Following informal assessments, teachers can provide quick corrective feedback and adjust instruction as needed. - Teachers can create informal assessments that are directly linked to curriculum and instruction.

Some strategies for establishing and maintaining rapport include

- Introducing oneself, if necessary - Explaining to the student the goal/purpose of the assessment, providing instructions, and ensuring that the student understands what the assessment involves. The examiner may encourage students to ask questions. - Introducing and/or modeling any technology, including assistive technology, if necessary - Providing enough wait time for the student to respond - Paying careful attention to nonverbal signals such as student posture, attention, and fatigue, and adjusting the testing procedure as necessary

Examples of methods that are commonly used to assess achievement and skills of students with disabilities include ?

- Observations. - Achievement and aptitude tests. -Rating scales. -Portfolio assessments. - Performance assessments. -Curriculum-based measurement.

Research suggests the following accommodations are common for students who are deaf or hard of hearing benefit from assessments

- Students who are deaf or hard of hearing benefit from extended time to complete an assessment, having a person interpret the directions, and having an opportunity to learn about and practice the test format in advance.

Research suggests the following accommodations are common for students with students with ADHD disorders with assessments

- Students with ADHD benefit from taking breaks during testing and a testing environment with few distractions.

Research suggests the following accommodations are common for students with students with autism spectrum disorders with assessments

- Students with autism spectrum disorders benefit from frequent positive reinforcement during testing, being assessed by a familiar person, and following the usual class schedule as much as possible.

Research suggests the following accommodations are common for students with communication disorders with assessments

- Students with communication disorders benefit from extended time to complete an assessment, access to a computer for writing, verbal or visual supports, a testing format that requires students to select a response rather than write freely, or use of assistive technology.

Research suggests the following accommodations are common for students with emotional or behavioral with assessments

- Students with emotional or behavioral disorders benefit from extended time to complete an assessment, taking the test individually, and taking breaks during testing.

Research suggests the following accommodations are common for students with students with health impairments or physical disabilities with assessments

- Students with health impairments or physical disabilities benefit from extended time to complete an assessment, having the test presented via computer, frequent breaks during testing, and having a scribe to record responses.

Research suggests the following accommodations are common for students with intellectual disabilities with assessments

- Students with intellectual disabilities benefit from extended time to complete an assessment, hearing test items read aloud instead of reading them, providing oral responses rather than written ones, and having the opportunity to ask for clarification on particular items.

Research suggests the following accommodations are common for students with learning disabilities with assessments

- Students with learning disabilities benefit from extended time to complete an assessment, having a person or a computer read the instructions and questions aloud, using a calculator for assessments that require computation, and having the test presented via computer.

Research suggests the following accommodations are common for students who have visual impairments from assessments

- Students with visual impairments benefit from extended time to complete an assessment, especially if it is written in Braille or requires visual scanning, having a person to read instructions or items that do not assess reading ability directly, having a person to record responses, access to a computer for writing, frequent breaks during testing, and an environment with few distractions.

With the purpose of assessment (e.g., initial comprehensive evaluation, progress monitoring) in mind, teachers typically have a variety of possible instruments and methods from which to choose. Examples of characteristics that teachers should consider when making a selection include

- Whether the assessment instrument was designed for and/or normed for use with similar students - Whether the instrument is reliable and valid - The length of time the assessment requires - Whether special training is needed for administration - Whether the test can be translated into a language other than English. Assessments may be adapted so that they are conducted in a student's home language or preferred mode of communication (e.g., sign language).

What are the two types of assessments?

-Formal - Informal Assessments

When would a norm reference assessment test work best?

-Measures general abilities (strengths and weaknesses) is certain areas such as English, algebra, general since, and social studies

Criterion assessments test work best when?

-Measuring mastery of basic skills -Determine if students have basic skills to start a new unit. -Assessing affective and psycho-motor objective -Providing evidence that students have meet learning strategies. -grouping students for placement

Describe the Portfolio assessments and how it works.

. Portfolios are collections of a student's work systematically collected over an extended time period. Portfolios can include many kinds of items, such as writing samples, projects, photographs, audiotapes, or videotapes. They also frequently include the students' own evaluations and descriptions of their work and their feelings about their achievements. Special education teachers use portfolios to capture a broad picture of a student's interests, achievements, and abilities, and to summarize student performance on complex tasks. Because they are not timed assessments given in high-pressure settings, portfolios can be particularly useful for students who need extra time or who are easily distracted during testing situations. The two main limitations of portfolio assessments are the low inter-rater reliability (i.e., not evaluated the same way by different raters) and difficulty comparing performance across students.

Describer the achievement and aptitude test assessment format

Achievement and aptitude tests. Achievement tests are designed to measure academic progress—what students have learned. Aptitude tests are designed to predict academic success. These tests are most commonly standardized. Standardization refers to uniformity in the content and administration of an assessment measure. For example, standardized procedures include giving all students the same amount of time, having students take the test in the same room, and giving students the same instructions before beginning. Measures that are standardized help to reduce bias in testing and scoring. However, even when a test is standardized, students with disabilities often need some type of adaptation, as discussed in the next section.

What is an assessment methods?

Assessment Methods Selecting the appropriate assessment instrument and method often depends on the situation. In other words, effective assessments align with the learning objectives, and certain kinds of assessments fit best with certain lessons or assignments. Written tests may be the most commonly used assessment measures in a general education classroom, but alternative assessment approaches are often more effective for evaluating students with disabilities. Moreover, measures may be constructed by an individual teacher or may be standardized tests or instruments available from a testing service or researcher.

Describe the Curriculum-based measurement and how it works

CBM refers to an assessment method in which teachers regularly evaluate student performance on a particular skill (e.g., reading comprehension, spelling, and math). Typically, the student is tested weekly on a small selection of material from the general educational curriculum. CBM is used formatively—because data are collected so frequently, teachers can easily adjust instruction based on student needs. Information from CBM is also used to create and to modify IEP goals.

When are assessments normally given and why?

Commonly, assessments are given before instruction to establish a baseline and are then administered again following instruction; the difference in scores is attributed to learning. In other cases (e.g., modification of behavior), instruction or intervention is continued until the student reaches a predetermined level of performance.

What is a criterion- referenced assessment?

Criterion-referenced assessments are designed to provide information about whether students have mastered particular educational objectives. Each student is scored against the criterion—how much of the content or how many of the goals has the student met?

What is the process of an Educational Assessment?

Educational assessment is the process of systematically gathering evidence that documents student knowledge, skills, and behaviors and using this evidence to determine if a student's performance matches expectations and standards. Assessment also involves using the information to make instructional and diagnostic decisions in order to improve student and teacher performance

What is important to consider when giving standardized assessment to students who are given accommodations

It is important that any accommodations maintain the integrity of the test itself and do not introduce bias.

What is the observation assessment methods?

Observations. Observational assessments are typically records of behaviors but can also involve observation of the environment (e.g., ecological assessments). Observational assessments can be highly structured and require training to a level of high inter-rater reliability, or they may be informal observational notes by a teacher, parent/guardian, or other member of a student's IEP team. Observations of behavior are often used to identify students as having certain disabilities or to refer them to specialists for further testing. For example, autism spectrum disorders and emotional impairments are identified based on specific behavior patterns. In some cases, the observer records data about a target student as well as some peers, as a comparison. Observations are limited largely by the observer's skills—observers make subjective and sometimes biased assessments, and high levels of inter-rater reliability can be difficult to achieve. The more structured the observational protocol the more reliable it will be across observers, although important information may be missed if the protocol is too strict.

Describe the rating scales assessment format

Rating scales. A rating scale is an instrument that requires an observer to evaluate a student's behavior using an ordinal scale (e.g., never, sometimes, always). Rating scales are structured and may be standardized so that ratings can be compared to a norm reference sample or a criterion. However, the evaluations are based on raters' subjective observations, and different raters do not always interpret the scales or rate behaviors in the same way (e.g., one rater may score a behavior exhibited three times each week as occurring sometimes and another may interpret that behavior as often). Raters may have personal biases that affect their evaluations (e.g., would like a student removed from class), or may inadvertently fall into a response pattern (e.g., using only the middle three points of a five-point scale). Moreover, rating scales can be difficult to interpret meaningfully (e.g., the distinction between "basic" and "proficient" may be unclear for parents/guardians or even for teachers).

What is a norm referenced assessment?

Scores on norm-referenced assessments are determined by comparing a student's performance with the performance of others.

When assessments are standardized, the procedures for administration are expected to be the same for all students however there are exceptions when

Students with disabilities, however, often need accommodations that alter the procedure (e.g., extra time, a quiet room, oral instructions).

Research suggests the following accommodations are common for students who have sever and multiple disabilities assessments

Students with severe and multiple disabilities benefit from the use of alternative assessments such as performance and portfolio-based assessments.

Describe the Performance assessments and how it works

These types of assessments are best used for assessment of procedural knowledge (i.e., skills). Performance assessments are well suited for evaluating motor skills and adaptive skills (e.g., ability to take public transportation from home to a work environment). For example, teachers can observe how students perform a particular skill, such as whether they use one or two hands to bounce a ball or whether they accurately balance a checkbook. Use of a structured rubric for scoring performance assessments helps keep the evaluations unbiased and comparable across students.

When do teachers use summative assessment?

When teachers want an overall summary of what students have learned, such as at the end of an instructional unit, they use summative evaluation. Final exams are summative assessments; so are high-stakes achievement tests. As with all assessments, it is critical that any measure designed for summative assessment adhere closely to the learning objectives.

When determining an appropriate assessment to use in a particular situation, special education teachers must consider what?

the type of information needed to make the decisions that are driving the assessment, as well as individual student characteristics. For example, behavioral assessments, adaptive behavior scales, intelligence tests, or achievement test scores may be needed to diagnose a particular disability; a curriculum-based assessment may be appropriate for monitoring a student's progress; and a functional behavioral assessment may be needed in order to develop a behavior intervention plan. Standardized achievement tests may be required by state and federal legislation. Some students with disabilities may qualify for alternate versions of such assessments.