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Assessing Students with Disabilities at the State Level. Peggy Dutcher Office of Special Education and early Intervention Services Michigan Department of Education (517) 335-0471 Dutcherp@state.mi.us or Dutcher.peggy@mde.state.mi.us. Why the changes to IDEA?.
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Assessing Students with Disabilities at the State Level Peggy Dutcher Office of Special Education and early Intervention Services Michigan Department of Education (517) 335-0471 Dutcherp@state.mi.us or Dutcher.peggy@mde.state.mi.us
Why the changes to IDEA? The finding of Congress states that: “The implementation of this Act has been impeded by low expectations. Over twenty years of research and experience has demonstrated that the education of children with disabilities can be made more effective by having high expectations for such children and ensuring their access in the general curriculum to the maximum extent possible.”
“Access to” and “Progress in” the general curriculum.
Participation in assessments goes hand in hand with access to the general curriculum.
What gets tested gets taught. Who gets tested counts.
IDEA Requires • Children with disabilities are to be included in general state and district-wide assessments, with appropriate accommodations if needed. • States are to report the progress of students with disabilities in the same frequency and detail and non-disabled students
Students with Disabilities and the MEAP • IEP Team decision • IEP Team must determine if accommodations are needed • If not taking MEAP, the IEP Team must explain why not. • IEP Team must determine how the student will be assessed.
Alternate Assessment • District-wide • grades 1-5 testing • State-wide
Phase 1: Alternate Assessment • severe and moderate cognitive deficit • standardize set of assessment activities • teacher observation • uses AUEN performance expectation framework • winter 2001 administration in selected districts • alignment with content standards
Phase 2:Alternate Assessment • students with mild cognitive deficit • AUEN - Functional Independence • alignment with content standards • functional skills • academic skills • Development of an assessment plan
Technical Issues • standardization • reliability of teacher observation • measure of student or program? • validity of “scores”
Research • How are IEP Teams making assessment decisions? • Is the training of teachers to observe students working? • Is the implementation of alternate assessment impacting the IEP? • How are schools using the Alternate Assessment data as a part of school improvement? • Is the information provided on the report forms understandable and useful in improving student performance? • What impact has the alternate assessment had on instruction? • Can the results be aggregated to the state level–technically sound?