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