Clinical Assessment of Children

1. Clinical Assessment of Children Chapter 1 Introduction

2. Basic Concepts • Testing versus Assessment • Assessment to measure progress • Assessment to measure achievement • Assessment for determining strengths and weaknesses - academic - behavioral

3. Describing people with differences • Labeling - used to identify people who differ from the accepted norm. • Disability- a loss of physical, academic, or social functioning that interferes with typical growth and development. • Handicap- a limitation imposed on the individual by environmental demands; an ability to adapt or adjust to these demands. • Exceptional - an individual who substantially deviates, either higher or lower, from the norm

4. Why are labels still used? • To distinguish those who are eligible for services from those who are not. • Funding may be dependant upon the number and types of individuals who are deemed eligible. • Labels help professionals communicate

5. Autism Deaf-blindness Developmental delay (3-9) Emotional disturbance Hearing impaired Mental retardation Multiple disabilities Orthopedic impairment Speech or language impairment Specific learning disability Other health impairments Traumatic brain injury Visual impairment Who Receives Special Education?

6. Traditional Assessment Model General Education Classroom Instruction Student Not Progressing As Expected Student Referred to Multidisciplinary Team Team Completes Assessment Team Meeting Determines Student Found Eligible for Services

7. Difficulties With Traditional Assessment Practices • Lack of Prereferral Interventions • Lack of Integrity of Prereferral Interventions • Bias in Referral Process • Bias in Assessment Process • Lack of Consistency in Eligibility Decisions

8. Contemporary Assessment Model General Classroom Instruction with Frequent Measurements And Statewide Assessments Student Not Making Progress General Education Teacher Assesses Skill/Task Using Frequent Measurements, Probes, Error Analysis of Student Products and Performance Interventions Implemented by Classroom Teacher

9. Interventions Not Successful General Classroom Teacher Meets with Problem-Solving Team Team Members Analyze Data and Generate Hypotheses Teacher and Team Design Additional Interventions Interventions Implemented and Monitored for Integrity Teacher Takes Frequent Measurements and/or Observations Student Continues to Have Difficulty with Academic Progress and/or Behavior Interventions Successful Student Continues in General Classroom

10. Team Meets to Analyze Data Team Determines if Additional Assessment is Needed or Additional Interventions Additional Interventions Implemented and Monitored for Integrity Team Designs Assessment Plan Interventions Successful Student Remains in General Classroom Student Receives Comprehensive Evaluation

11. Team Meets to Determine Student’s Needs Student Receives Accommodations for Educational and/or Behavioral Needs Interventions Monitored for Success Student Found Eligible for Special Education Support Receives Services in General Education Classroom or Special Education Setting Interventions Monitored for Success

12. Types of Assessment Ecological Assessment-Evaluation of classroom variables to determine possible classroom environmental influences of learning or behavior

13. Norm-referenced Assessment- Tests designed to compare a specific student’s ability with the ability with that of same age students in national sample.

14. Criterion-referenced Tests- To assess a student's progress in skill mastery against specific standards

15. Standardized Assessment-Tests given with specific instructions and procedures, often norm-referenced. Error Analysis-Evaluation student work to determine a pattern of errors or specific type of errors

16. Curriculum-Based Assessment-To determine how student is performing using actual content of curriculum such as chapter tests or teacher made tests. Curriculum-Based Measurement- Specific techniques to measure progress of a specific skill against an aim line.

17. Dynamic Assessment-Interactive assessment to determine of student has potential to learn a new skill. Portfolio Assessment-Using a variety of student products to evaluate progress over time in specific area.

18. Checklists, Rating Scales, Observations- A variety of measures used to determine student's skill level or behavioral functioning.