South Carolina Alternate Assessment

1. South Carolina Alternate Assessment Test Administrator Training South Carolina Department of Education American Institutes for Research January 2013

2. South Carolina Department of Education Suzanne Swaffield Douglas Alexander Anne Mruz Office of Assessment Kim Watkins Office of Exceptional Children

3. American Institutes for Research SC-Alt Team Jennifer Chou, Project Manager Celine Tobal, Project Manager Melissa Hudson, Alternate Assessment Specialist Kathryn Mellott, Operations

4. Teachers Who Assisted with Training Kim Thompson Richland School District 2 Jackie Hyatt Lexington School District 2 Emmylou Todd Lexington School District 2 Nancy Kramer Richland School District 1

5. Teachers (cont’d.) Mary Siegrist Richland School District 1 Jennifer Brucker Lexington School District 1 Anna Faust Lexington School District 1 Amber Weeks Lexington School District 1 Ross Stewart Richland School District 1

6. South Carolina Alternate Assessment Overview

7. South CarolinaAlternate Assessment (SC-Alt) • Alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards. • For students with significant cognitive disabilities who cannot participate in PASS, EOCEP, or HSAP even with accommodations.

8. Purpose • To ensure that these students have the opportunity to participate in a challenging standards-based curriculum. • To meet IDEA and ESEA (NCLB) requirements.

9. SC-Alt Design • Series of performance tasks • Linked to grade-level academic standards in grade bands 3–5, 6–8, and 10 • Specific script • Scaffolded questions and answers

10. Grade-Band Forms • Elementary School Form: ages 8–10 • Middle School Form: ages 11–13 • High School Form: age 15 Age on September 1, 2012

11. Administration Window March 4 - April 26 Testing materials will arrive in the districts by February 21st

12. Test Administration Manual (TAM) • The TAM is your procedural guide to the SC-Alt administration—review it thoroughly after the training.

13. District Test Coordinator for Alternate Assessment (DTC-Alt) • Coordinates all aspects of the administration of SC-Alt at the district level. • Your contact for any questions regarding the assessment.

14. Who Is Assessed on Alternate Achievement Standards? • Students who meet the participation criteria for alternate assessment (TAM, page 3) AND • Who were between the ages of 8-13 or 15 on September 1, 2012. (See Age and Birth Date Reference Sheet, Appendix B)

15. Participation Criteria • Significant cognitive disability and adaptive skills deficits that result in performance that is substantially below grade level expectations • Access the state-approved curriculum standards at less complex levels and with extensively modified instruction • Adaptive skills requiring extensive direct instruction and practice in multiple settings

16. Participation Criteria (cont’d.) • Inability to apply or use academic skills across natural settings when instructed solely or primarily through classroom instruction • Inability to achieve state grade-level achievement expectations is not the result of excessive or extended absences or social, cultural, or economic differences

17. Participation Guidelines Guidance for IEP Teams on Determining Participation in theSouth Carolina Alternate Assessment (SC-Alt)

18. Significant Cognitive Disability • Characterized by ability scores on both verbal and non-verbal scales that are at least 2 ½ ─ 3 standard deviations below the mean. • Deficits in adaptive behavior skills (skills that enable people to function effectively in their everyday lives) are at least 2 ½─3 standard deviations below the mean in two out of three domains.

19. Manual Features • Initial Determination of Eligibility Participation Worksheet • Review of Eligibility Participation Worksheet • Eligibility Criteria Descriptors • Description of Sources of Evidence

21. Link to Guidance Document http://ed.sc.gov/agency/programs-services/48/documents/SC-AltParticGuidanceForIEPteams.pdf

22. Content to be Assessed • English Language Arts • Mathematics • Science • Social Studies • High School Biology

23. Content to be Assessed (cont’d.) • Grade-level academic standards • Less complex or prerequisite skill level • Linked to the grade-level academic standards through Extended Academic Standards

24. Extended Academic Standards Ensure access to the grade-level content

25. Extended Academic Standards Define how standards and indicators can be accessed (essence of the grade-level standards and indicators). Provide guidance for instruction on grade-level academic standards and indicators at 3 levels of communication.

26. Extended Academic Standards (cont’d.) • Foundation for the development of assessment tasks and items • Basis for classroom instruction

27. CommunicationLevels

28. Abstract Communication Level • Communicates with symbols (e.g., pictures, numbers) or words (e.g., spoken words, assistive technology, ASL, home signs). • May have emerging or basic functional academic skills. • Emerging writing or graphic representation for the purpose of conveying meaning through writing, drawing, or computer keying.

29. Concrete Communication Level • May use some symbols to communicate (e.g., pictures, logos, objects). Beginning to acquire symbols as part of a communication system. • May have limited emerging functional academic skills. Identification of neutral items may be emerging, but representations will probably need to be related to the student’s immediate environment (e.g., digital picture of store logo for community based instruction) and needs (e.g., hand a picture from schedule for lunch when hungry).

30. Presymbolic Communication Level • Has not yet acquired the skills to discriminate between pictures or other symbols (and does not use symbols to communicate). • May or may not use objects to communicate. • May or may not use idiosyncratic gestures, sounds/vocalizations, and movements/touch to communicate with others.   • Students may use motor initiation to communicate their wants/needs (e.g., going to the kitchen when hungry, going to the door when playing outside is desired).

31. Presymbolic Communication (cont’d.) • A direct and immediate relationship between a routine activity and the student’s response may or may not be apparent.  • The student may have the capacity to sort very different objects, may be trial and error. • Mouthing and manipulation of objects leads to knowledge of how objects are used. • May combine objects (e.g., place one block on another).

32. Presymbolic Communication (cont’d.) • Some students are at the awareness level and may not yet understand cause and effect and may communicate through vocalizations (crying to suggest hunger) or body language (smiling to indicate happiness).

33. Example of an Extended Standard Science Academic Standard Grade 3 3.2 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the structures, characteristics, and adaptations of organisms that allow them to function and survive within their habitats.Extended Standard: The student will demonstrate an understanding that organisms have special traits and characteristics that allow them to survive in their habitats throughout the stages of their life cycle.

34. Standard 3-2

35. Video Clip

36. Instruction Related to Academic Content Standards

37. Extended Standards Documents • ELA • Mathematics • Science • Biology

38. Social Studies • Revised Social Studies Academic Standards were adopted by the State Board of Education, August of 2011. • Social Studies Extended Standards are in the process of development. • Social Studies Literacy Skills for the 21st Century are the basis for SC-Alt tasks for 2013.

39. SC-Alt Web Page http://ed.sc.gov/agency/programs-services/48/

40. Resources on the Website • Sample Tasks • Extended Standards • Guidance for IEP Teams on Determining Participation in theSouth Carolina Alternate Assessment • Support Guide • Examples of Instruction • Skills Progression Matrices for SC-Alt • Literacy Instruction for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

41. Please Note • Students assessed on the SC-Alt must receive instruction based on the Extended Academic Standards in order to meet performance expectations.

42. SC Assistive Technology Program www.sc.edu/scatp (TAM, Appendix L)

43. SC Interagency Deaf-Blind Project SCDeafBlind@scsdb.org www.scsdb.org

44. Administering theSC-Alt

45. SC-Alt Task and Item Information

46. Overview of SC-Alt Design • Task: • Consists of a set of 4-8 related activities called items. • Begins with an introductory statement that establishes the context of the task. • Has clear progression from one item to the next. • Has scripted directions for administering and scoring.

47. Overview (cont’d.) • Cover page includes: • Materials needed to administer each item • Some are provided by the teacher • Access limitations • Adaptive instructions

48. Access Limitations Clearly marked Do not administer A bubble is provided for all items marked as Access Limited (A) Deaf Blind Blind/non-verbal

49. Item Information • For each item: • Directions for setup • Placement of manipulatives • Response cards • Script • Scoring directions

50. Example of Item Script Say: Show (tell) me which one means _______. This (indicate the response card), this (indicate the response card), or this (indicate the response card)? Say: We’re going to talk about ________. Do: Give the student the __________. OR