alternate assessment and quality enhancement november 18, 2011 paul ochieng odongo simmons college
TRANSCRIPT
Alternate Assessment and Quality Enhancement
November 18, 2011
Paul Ochieng OdongoSimmons College
Overview
How did we get to alternative assessments? Since the end of the1990s the DOE in each state
has been developing Educational frameworks Standardized state assessments Accountability systems
Accountability systems have become part of an overall reform movement to better our educational system
Example:
Passage of Goals 2000: The Educate America Act passed by congress Goals to achieve by 2000
All children in America will start school ready to learn High school graduation rate will increase to at least 90% All students leaving grade 4, 8, 12 will have demonstrated
competency over challenging subject matter including English, Mathematics, Science, Foreign language, Civics and Government, Economics, Arts, History, and Geography
The U.S. teaching force will have access to programs for continued improvement of their professional skills
Example: (cont.)
Goals to achieve continued… U.S. students will be the first in the world in Science
and Mathematics achievement Every adult American will be literate and will possess
the knowledge and skills to compete in a global economy
Every school will be free of drugs, violence, and unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning
Every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation
What Happened
Though many schools did not achieve these goals, strong interest in educational reform and accountability continued
As a push for educational reform increased, some professionals voiced concern that students with disabilities were being overlooked when it came time for decision making
The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) made us aware that many students with disabilities were not being included in statewide assessments and accountability systems.
The response
The NCEO responded to this dilemma by identifying the desired goals and outcomes for these students
Goals targeted included academic and functional literacy, personal and social adjustment, contribution and citizenship, responsibility, independence, and physical health
Guidelines developed included having a greater number of students with disabilities in both national and state testing
IDEA and NCEO In 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA ) was
passed and the NCEO provided recommendations for alternative assessments for students not working towards a regular high school diploma
With the passing of IDEA, all students with moderate to severe disabilities had to be included in state and national assessments and in accountability systems
The state agency must also make available to the public the number of students who participate in the alternative assessment and the students’ performances as long as the results do not reveal students identity
IDEA and NCEO
Planning alternate assessments can be difficult because there is no set common curriculum between school districts and most IEP objectives are focused on functional life skills
You must personalize curriculum for students with disabilities. This makes it difficult to develop an assessment to see which skills have been acquired.
It is also difficult to assess functional skill in a standardized test.
Four ways to gather information on students
Observations Recollection (interview or rating scale) Record review Testing
And remember…
Never underestimate the ability of our students to participate in general education curriculum
In a statewide survey conducted (Kleinher, Haigh, et al, in press) the finding was that although teachers favored including all students in school and state accountability measures, they also had feelings of stress as a result of being involved in a “high stakes” accountability environment
Decision 1: How will the Alternate Assessment information be used?
3 ways to assess 1. School accountability
Example: funding based on student scores
2. Student accountability Example: graduation or promotion contingent on test scores
A combination of 1 and 2.
Decision: Whether the scores for students with moderate to severe disabilities will be used as part of a schools accountability measures
Decision 2: Who will receive an Alternate Assessment?
Many students with disabilities can participate with accommodations
If student cannot participate with accommodations then IEP must designate whether or not the student needs an alternate assessment
Outcome of this may be that students would not be designated to take alternate assessments based on their diagnosis of a disability but rather the decision will be based on educational rationale
Decision 3: What will be assessed?
1. Planning group needs to assess performance levels for typical students to see if these are applicable for students with moderate to severe disabilities
2. Stakeholders use a backward mapping process to identify outcome indicators aligned with both general education and life skills curriculum
3. Identify the content domains and skill domains to be assessed
4. Once domains are assessed, consideration about the IEP is taken
Which Quality indicators?
Should quality indicators focus on student’s performance only or also focus on environment?
For those with moderate to severe disabilities quality indicators should focus on both
Kleinert and Kerns (1999) found that the following indicators were rated highest Integrated environments, functionality, age-
appropriateness, choice making, multiple settings, communication, academic expectations, natural support, targeted skills, friendship, parent involvement, assistive technology
Decision 4: How will the Alternate Assessment be conducted?
The purpose of alternate assessment is educational accountability, and therefore is often evaluated by external professionals using defined performance indicators
Portfolio assessment has been adopted by many states because of the advantages it offers
In contrast, testing or direct observations may not be feasible if domains to be sampled are nonacademic or if students lack traditional test taking skills
Teacher and parent interviews are an option but may be difficult for external evaluation or to be used statewide-may be biased
Portfolio Assessment Involves the collection and evaluation of student
work samples
Samples may include Drafts, steps toward final products, final products
themselves—chosen by students and teachers Rubrics, checklists, and other tools can guide student and
teacher evaluation of the portfolio
Maryland uses a portfolio assessment as well as a videotape of the student performing a task that is prescribed by the state department of education
Kentucky Portfolio Assessment In Kentucky, the alternate portfolio must include the
following components A description of the student’s primary mode of
communication The student’s daily/weekly schedule A student letter to the portfolio reviewer in which the
student rates his or her best or favorite entries Portfolio entries including individual and group projects and
clear documentation of learned skills A work resume for students in the 12th grade A letter from the student’s parents or guardian about their
satisfaction with the portfolio entries and the extent to which the student to which the student can apply skills learned in school
Decision 4: How will the Alternate Assessment be conducted? (cont)
In addition to determining the specifics of the alternate assessment process, a decision about when the assessment is administered is also necessary
Should follow state’s guidelines
Decision 5: How will the Alternate Assessment be scored?
Professionals have expressed concern regarding the validity and reliability of portfolio assessment
Several strategies can be used to strengthen the validity and reliability these assessments Clearly define performance indicators and validate with
stakeholders Clear guidelines should be developed for scoring Recruit evaluators who know programs being assessed
and train them
Quality Enhancement
Alternate assessments are a way of evaluating the quality of educational programs
When evaluating any program you look at Objectives-student accountability, school
accountability Means-teacher administers, external review Measures-standardized test, portfolio
Purpose of Assessment
Assessment needs to have an immediate effect on decision making.
Results should be used to evaluate and modify student programs.
Ignoring or "explaining away" poor results wastes all the time educators put into assessments.
Avoid a utilization crisis.
Total Quality Management (TQM)
"Culture of Quality" used in many businesses and schools since 1980.
Then: "If it works, don't fix it" attitude
Now: Teamwork and constant improvement
Principles of TQM
1. Making Quality the Goal
2.Customer-Driven Services
3. Continuous Improvement
4. Making Processes Work Better
Specific quality enhancement strategies to improve alternate assessment outcomes
These are some of the problems that may lead to disappointing alternate assessment outcomes and how a quality enhancement team can go about solving them
Quality enhancement strategies Curriculum development and training “Teaching to the test” Creating opportunities Will it cost more?
Curriculum development and training
As stakeholders define standards to be measured, curriculum development work needs to keep pace
As curricula are updated teachers must be trained on its use
Training is necessary to help teachers know how to assess students’ skills in a curriculum and how to set priorities by personalizing curriculum and writing the IEP
“Teaching to the test”
Use performance indicators for an alternate assessment in planning instruction
Teachers should use IEP objectives as much as possible
Creating opportunities
Some indicators will require creating new opportunities for students
School-wide planning may be necessary to create certain opportunities
If secondary students require a resume, district level planning may be necessary to create more job placement and training
Will it cost more?
Quality enhancement planning may need to include financial planning but does not necessarily increase costs
Reallocation may be necessary
The extra cost may just be time
In some cases financial planning may only mean realigning the budget with challenging priorities
Summary As a part of the school reform movement, many states adopted an
accountability system for measuring student outcomes
As of July 1, 2000, schools have been required by IDEA 1997 to include students with disabilities in these measures or to develop alternate assessments
In creating alternate assessments, districts had to determine their purpose, implementation schedule, content, format, and scoring
If assessment required school accountability to be measured then students with disabilities had to be included using alternate assessment-portfolio assessments are a popular way to do this
To make process beneficial to students, quality enhancement strategies can be used to make improvements
Thomas Carlyle (as quoted by Patton, 1986)
“There can be no acting or doing of any kind, till it be
recognized that there is a thing to be done; the thing once
recognizd, doing in a thousand shapes becomes possible”
References Baumgart, D., Brown L., Pumpian, I., Nisbet, J., Ford,A.,
Sweet, M., et al. (1982). Principle of partial participation and individualized adaptation in educational programs for severely handicapped students. The Journal of The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 7(2), 17-27.
Browder, D. M. (Ed). (2001). Curriculum and assessment for students with moderate and severe disabilities. New York: Guilford Press.
References
Bechard, S. (2001, September). Models for reporting the results of alternate assessments within state accountability systems (Synthesis Report 39). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, National Center on Educational outcomes. Retrieved on October 13, 2011, from http://education.umn.edu/NCEO/onlinepubs/synthesis39.html