Assessment in Special Education
저자: Emily Poole
1. Concepts of Assessment
1.1. Level vs. Rate: a student's current level of performance and the rate of their progress are import aspects in making educational decisions.
1.2. The type of data that needs to be taken depends on educational decision being made. Not all decisions require assessments with high levels of reliability or validity.
1.3. Not all assessments work for all skills or students. Assessments with high inference rates should be avoided due to the possibility that student's skill level may be misrepresented.
1.3.1. For example, if a student has difficulty processing aural information, an assessment that requires listening to recordings most likely will not represent the student's skills accurately.
2. Assessment in School
2.1. How to take data: Testing- giving questions to get a score, Record review- a student's educational and medical histories are reviewed and interviews are conducted, Observations- observing student behavior either formally or informally.
2.2. Types decisions made based on assessments: screening, monitoring progress (of individual goals or standards), planning, resource allocation, eligibility for services, program evaluation, and accountability.
2.3. The process of assessment: Prereferral- a problem is identified and tier two and three interventions are implemented, Eligibility evaluation- team determines if student meets criteria for disability and if the student requires services, and Reevaluation- student progress is monitored and reviewed periodically to determine if modifications are needed.
3. RIOT/ICEL
3.1. The matrix helps schools to decide what information is relevant and should be collected as well as how to organized the data collected.
3.2. Includes four areas of gaining student information: Review, Interview, Observe, and Test. It also includes the domains of learning that are assessed Instruction, Curriculum, Environment, and Learning.
3.3. Not an assessment instrument but instead it is an organizational method for assessment data that helps schools determine if they have assessed properly and sufficiently.
4. In what situations would a competency-based assessment be appropriate?
5. Different Levels of Support
5.1. Differentiated Instruction involves using instructional materials and content in a way that best fits the needs of an individual student.
5.2. It is important for all classroom teachers (both general ed. and special ed. to address the needs of their individual students.
5.2.1. General education teachers can help special education teachers by providing knowledge on what is expected from the general education curriculum and special education teachers can provide knowledge on how to implement strategies that directly impact the needs of an individual student.
5.3. this idea has mainly been implemented in classrooms but has began to be implemented schoolwide through the use of MTSS.
6. Importance of Assessment
6.1. The end goal of assessment in education is for the academic performance of the students to improve.
6.2. Testing is used widely as an assessment method in education but is not the only method used to assess students. Competency-based assessments evaluate specific knowledge/skills in situations where the skills would have to be demonstrated.
6.3. Assessment results can have various impact but many are very important. The validity of assessments may be questioned by parents if the results are not what was expected. Results can also impact school funding and potential student attendance.
6.3.1. Assessment results can determine whether or not a student will receive services for a disability. They can also determine whether a student is making adequate progress towards goals in the IEP.