Final Exam - Assessment Course

How many Tiers of Instruction are there in Response to Intervention (RTI)?

-3 tiers to intervention

A preliminary assessment student interview provides insight into:

-Ability to communicate -Ability to confront, analyze, solve problems

Memory

-Ability to retain or recall information

Visual and Auditory Efficiency

-Ability to see and hear clearly and take in information for sustained periods of time

Scheduling Accommodations

-Adjustments in time of day / order of administration

Technological

-Alternative keyboards, scanners, speech, synthesizers

What is early intervention?

-An educational team that meets to address student concerns within the regular education environment.

Sequence

-Appropriately order stimuli

What is included in an assessment plan?

-Area and objectives -Preliminary data collection -Objectives -Assessment procedures -Scoring / recording rules

Alternative Assessment

-Assess what the student is learning -Have a common core of learning to allow for aggregation of data -Areas can be measured by a single assessment or involve a variety of measures -Can be quantitative using scale of checklist or qualitative using rubrics to rate performance

Achievement Testing

-Assesses academic achievement across curricular (reading, listening, written, language, mathematics) to note strengths and weakness in comparison to self and peers

Triennial Evaluation

-Assesses needs and changes to ensure appropriate programming

Probes

-Brief measurements of skill

Topics to be focused on during a preliminary assessment parent interview should include:

-Child's diagnosis -Reaction of others to the disability -Developmental milestones -Efforts to obtain services -Medical, educational, social history -Family stresses and support systems -Cultural, ethnic, and linguistic issues

Portfolio Assessment

-Collections of carefully selected work products -Exhibit students' efforts, progress, and achievement -Artifacts of work, experiences, and accomplishments -Final drafts, completed products, or works in progress -Document growth over time - process of improvement -Assess quality as well as quantity of thinking and output -Students select portfolio content, determine criteria for selection, judge merit, self-reflect and analyze

Stanine

-Combination of the terms standard and nine -Time measure setting up a continuum from a low of 1 and a high of 9

Norm Referenced Assessment

-Compares student's performance to the performance of a comparison group known as the norm group. -Norm sample if representative of the national sample / local sample.

Standard Score

-Compares the deviation of an individual score from the mean or average score of students in the same norm group of age / grade. -Used for classification purposes

Normal Curve Equivalent

-Computes group performance and growth from one testing period to the next -Scores range from 1-99

Oral Language is also analyzed by:

-Content -Semantics -Form -Phonemes -Morphemes -Pragmatics

Raw Score

-Correctly answered items -Must be converted to a derived score to be meaningful such as: percentile rank, grade equivalent, standard score

Progress monitoring process provides the teacher to:

-Create an appropriate instructional plan -Use instructional time effectively

Testing must be:

-Culturally fair -Comprehensive and multidisciplinary -Address student needs

What does an early intervention educational team do?

-Develop an accommodation plan and monitor student progress -Meet regularly

Learning Logs

-Direct and factual, generally short, objective entries

What are the disadvantages of standardized norm-referenced testing?

-Discrepancy between test and actual curriculum -Does not consider: impact of curriculum, teacher effectiveness, and environmental considerations.

Perceptual / Processing Skills

-Discrimination, Sequence, and Memory

Discrimination

-Distinguish subtle differences

What are the benefits of RTI?

-Early identification and prevention of disabilities -Reduce the over-identification of minority students -Part of general education and the responsibility of general education teacher -Evidence based materials -Provide services to students without identification -Shared responsibility and collaboration

Grade / Age Equivalents

-Easy to report to parents but can be misleading as they may not be an accurate indicator of performance -Needs to be used carefully

Advantages of Informal Assessment

-Emphasis on production rather than recognition responses -Emphasis on assessment projects in lieu of test items -Teacher judgment in lieu of mechanical scoring -Provides diagnostic assessment for IEP development

Annual Review

-Ensures instructional program is updated annually

Purposes of Informal Assessment

-Evaluate knowledge and mastery of skills that change over short periods of time -Provide a direct linkage between instruction and evaluation

Timing Accommodations

-Extra time due to slow pace

Summative Assessment

-Final assessment at end point

Types of evaluation?

-Formative Assessment -Summative Assessment

Expressive Language

-Formulating feelings and ideas into words and sentences that are spoken

Journal Entries

-Generally detailed, thoughtful, longer, more subjective, written in narrative form, often consists of personal reflections, comments on the reaction to an experience or dialogues between teachers and students.

What is performance assessment?

-Hand's-on approach to testing that actively involves students in decision making -Promotes students to work independently, become productive team members, collaborate and integrate ideas

Self-Assessment

-Help students to be attuned to evaluation criteria, promotes self-monitoring, allows students to acquire, so that they can judge the quality of various aspects of their work, recognize and reflect on the strengths, and weaknesses of the overall product, and ultimately refine their work.

Peer Assessment

-Helps students to share tools, techniques and ideas to develop their understanding of the world around them and to communicate solutions to real-life problems

Tier 1 of RTI

-High quality instruction in general education and monitoring of student progress

Tier 3 of RTI

-Highly intensive, evidenced-based interventions taught in small group or individually

Response Accommodations

-How students provide answers, can include format, procedural changes, assistive devices, or combination

Modifications for Testing

-IEP changes content of material taught by prioritizing, adjusting, or eliminating material (APA) - Alternative Proficiency Assessment

Modifications

-If accommodations will not be effective, changes in the curriculum content are made

Accommodations

-Instructional strategies or learning environments are adapted -Supports / services provided to assist the student in accessing the curriculum and validly demonstrate learning.

Types of Formal Assessment

-Intelligence testing -Achievement testing

Intelligence Testing

-Measures amount and rate of learning as compared to age peers

What is curriculum-based measurement (CBM)?

-Method of direct and frequent measurement of students' progress in course content

Section 504 Services and Accommodations

-Modifications to the method of instruction -Extended exam time -Alternative testing formats -Increased time to complete the course

Tier 2 of RTI

-More intensive evidenced-based instruction while progress monitoring continues

Percentiles

-Most frequently used norm score offering comparison of student to same age of grade group -Percentile rank is the percentage of students that scored lower than student being tested (scores range from 1-99)

Other Accommodations

-Motivational support, test prep and familiarity, teach test taking strategies

Types of Assessment

-Norm referenced -Criterion referenced

Alternative Approaches

-Observation / written documentation -Input via interviews -Checklists -Record Review -Informal Authentic Evaluative Measures

Formative Assessment

-Ongoing monitoring

A preliminary assessment student interview gives the opportunity to observe:

-Oral language -Vocabulary development and syntax -Information processing ability -Attention to task -Listening skills

Who initiates referrals?

-Parents or teachers

Nontechnological

-Pencil grips, eyeglasses, timers, calculators, tape recorder, slant boards

Implementation Report

-Performance summary -Interpretation of results -Anticipated next step

Ceiling Level

-Place where test stops, usually after a certain number of errors

Response to Intervention (RTI)

-Procedure to identify students with academic difficulties -To prevent academic failure

Criterion-Referenced Assessment

-Provides information about the specific behaviors and various skill levels of students. -Can be standardized or teacher made.

What does a work sample analysis focus on?

-Quality and Quantity

What are the basic components of Oral Language?

-Receptive Language -Inner Language -Expressive Language

Assessing students allows you to make effective decisions to:

-Screen -Classify and place -Monitor student progress -Determine effective instructional programming -Evaluate effectiveness

When writing and reporting test results:

-Sensitivity to parental reaction -Highlight student strengths -Person first language -Avoid jargon -Be prepared -Active listening -Answer questions (don't personalize) -Positive Statements

When selecting assistive devices consider:

-Setting demands and expectations -Students' abilities to be addressed in the test setting; administration demands -Student's strengths and weaknesses -Most appropriate device

Performance Assessment measures

-Specific academic skills, the understanding of process involved, the ability to apply new learning

Basal Level

-Starting level, student must have a certain number of correct responses

Declassification

-Student no longer eligible to receive special education or related services

Topics to be focused on during a preliminary assessment teacher interview include:

-Student's learning style -Effects of classroom environment / peer interactions -Strengths and areas needing remediation -Accommodations / modifications that have been tried and have or have not worked to ameliorate problem areas

IEP Team Members include:

-Student's parents, at least 1 general education teacher, representative of the LEA, at least one special education teacher, individual who can interpret test results, and the students (when appropriate_

Who participates in alternative assessments?

-Students who can not participate in the school district selected assessment -Involves 1-2% of students that are on a different set of curriculum (life skills)

What is a work sample analysis, also referred to as permanent products?

-Systematic collection of student's work -Used to compare test results to everyday assignment output

What is the checklist procedure?

-Systematic means of recording the knowledge, skills, behavior, and / or attitude of individual students or whole class

Informal Assessment Strategies include:

-Task Analysis -Probes -Response Journals -Think-Aloud Technique -Questionnaires -Interviews -Checklists -Work-Sample Analysis -Error Analysis -Self-Evaluation -Peer Evaluation -Observation -Rating Scales -Rubric Scoring (Analytical Trait Scoring, Holistic Scoring) -Anchor Papers

What is a Preliminary Assessment?

-Teacher Interview

Who is on the educational team in early intervention?

-Teachers, counselors, nurse, remedial specialists, principal or designee

Types of Assistive Technology

-Technological -Nontechnological

Out-of-level Testing

-Test at instructional rather than grade placement level NOT used for standardized testing

Why are administration and scoring procedures standardized?

-To allow for valid results

What is the purpose of accommodations?

-To level the playing field and off set distortions in scores due to the disability

Receptive Language

-Understanding spoken language

What are the advantages of standardized norm-referenced testing?

-Used by many states to determine classification eligibility -Standardized results easier to report -Time efficient -Cost effective

Inner Language

-Using language for thinking, planning, cognition

Presentation Accommodations

-Way students access test directions and items

Progress monitoring data is used to determine:

-What the instructional materials and approach is best for the students -Whether students are mastering the content -Which students need review or are ready to move forward

When does referral occur?

-When academic, behavioral and / or social-emotional difficulties affects school progress or when regular education strategies were ineffective

Performance Assessment allows teachers to

-assess ability to integrate and apply skills and concepts learned

What are record reviews?

-grades, school history, IEP goals and objectives, work sample analysis

Performance Assessment assesses

-knowledge in meaningful, real life activities

Student classroom observation provides a:

-multidimensional perspective

Before evaluation, MDT must provide parents with:

-reason for a referral, strategies attempted, notice of due process rights

Speech and Language disorders can affect...

-the way children talk, understand, analyze, and process information

What is the purpose of coordinating assessment results in IEP development and monitoring?

-to collect and document data on students' progress and performance

Setting Accommodations

-to increase focusing and provide for special equipment

Why assess students?

-to make effective decisions -to ensure that instruction matches students needs and their progress continues

6 Types of Accommodations

1) Setting 2) Timing 3) Scheduling 4)Presentation 5) Response 6) Others