1. Assessment is… A process of gathering relevant information to plan, evaluate, or make decisions (academic assessment, transition assessment, career assessment, vocational assessment). Information can be gathered from multiple people and places over a period of time. 1

2. What is “Transition Assessment”? 2 “Transition assessment is an ongoing process of collecting information on the student’s strengths, needs, preferences, and interests as they relate to the demands of current and future living, learning and working environments. Assessment data serve as the common thread in the transition process and form the basis for defining goals and services to be included in the IEP.” All stakeholders participate in the process of information-gathering and decision- making 2007 Corwin Press. Assess for Success: A Practitioner’s Handbook on Transition Assessment, 2 nd ed., by Stillingtion, Neubert, Begun, Lombard, and Leconte

3. Defining Transition Assessment What it is: Ongoing and cumulative Individualized Based on student’s strengths, needs, interests, & goals A process that increases student self-awareness Used to develop appropriate post- secondary goals What is it NOT: The same for all students Done “once a year” Only completed just before the IEP to fill out the forms Only the responsibility of the special education teacher Adapted from B. Charton (2007). Arkansas Dept. of Ed. Transition Assessment Toolkit 3

4. 4 Formal Assessments Situational assessments Information from volunteer placements, training situations, job shadowing, jobs Interviews Surveys Questionnaires HOW does the team gather information on interests, preferences, and aptitudes?

5. Don’t Forget…. Be sure to make use of the assessment data that is already being collected by Guidance Counselors in your school!

6. Assessing Interests and Preferences Examples: Bridges Interest Inventory Student Transition Survey or Interview Kuder General Interest Survey (KGIS) COIN Career Guidance System of Assessment Aviator Assessment Ansell Casey Life Skills Inventory or Personal Preference Indicator (free) Keys2Work Learning Styles Inventory pacareerzone.org (free) 6

7. PA Career Zone: www.pacareerzone.orgwww.pacareerzone.org Free Assessments for Students (next slides) Quick Assessment Interest Profiler Skills Profiler Work Importance Profiler

8. PA Career Zone: www.pacareerzone.orgwww.pacareerzone.org FREE!

9. PA CAREER ZONE: Quick Assessment FREE! (Approximately 5 min.)

10. Example Results from Quick Assessment

11. www.pacareerzone.org www.pacareerzone.org Interest Profiler (Approximately 30 min.) FREE!

12. PA Career Zone- Skills Profiler FREE!

13. PA Career Zone: Work Importance Profiler (Approximately 30 min.) FREE!

14. PA Career Zone: Education Planner FREE!

15. Interests and Preferences- Significant Needs *Person-Centered Planning (PATH) Observations (Home/School/Community) Student Survey or Interview *Parent Survey/Interview *Ecological Assessment Situational Assessment *Portfolio *Electronic or web-based assessments Information from student and family members Functional Behavioral Assessment Information from employers * more information in assessment folder 15

16. Person-Centered Planning Especially helpful for students with significant needs Bringing people together to discuss the visions and goals of the students: –PATH: Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope –MAPS: Making Action Plans –Essential Lifestyle Plannin g Enhances quality of assessment and planning activities for both HS transition services and adult services Fosters working relationships between families and professionals Helps to educators and agencies to coordinate services Helps ensure that services support student goals Helps identify & cultivate natural supports in the community. 16

17. Student/Parent Survey, Interview, Observations Gather information –In writing –Face to face –In the setting 17

18. Ecological Assessment Authentic Dynamic Looks at the areas in the environment that the student will use, analyzes the demands by listing the sub-environments, activities, and skills that will need to be learned. Must be completed before Situational Assessment can be completed. 18

19. My Electronic Portfolio: “Get to Know Me Better” For students with significant needs including communication needs, a personalized picture portfolio helps to introduce them to teachers, potential employers, etc.

20. Picture Interest Career Survey (PICS) http://www.jist.com Quick way to identify occupational interests by using pictures of people at work. Test takers are presented with 36 sets of 3 pictures and choose which of the three portrayed occupations seems most interesting. Based on pictures selected, PICS creates a profile of the individual that leads directly to career information and potential job matches. Takes less than 15 minutes to complete and score can be, given individually or in groups, Solid reliability and validity; tested on wide variety of populations

21. COPS- PIC 21

22. Personal Data Wizard 22

24. Wide Range Interest and Occupation Test— Second Edition (WRIOT—2) Does not require reading or language understanding -- ideal for use with individuals with disabilities or those who are educationally or culturally disadvantaged. Contains 238 full-color pictures to help students and adults determine whether they like, dislike, or are undecided about the work situations depicted. Administer using picture book or CD. Results are depicted graphically to help guide individuals toward career choices based on their strengths in 17 Occupational, 16 Interest, and 6 Holland Type Scales. $371 http://www.pearsonassessments.com

25. Your Employment Selection- YES! Your Employment Selections (YES!) is motion-video, Internet-based job preference program for youth and adults with disabilities. This program allows youth and adult participants with limited or no reading skills to watch videos of jobs, listen as a narrator describes key tasks in each job, and select preferred ones. The program shows motion video for 120 different jobs. When 2-3 preferred jobs are selected, a facilitator (such as a teacher) rates the job seeker on various work dimensions based on the job seeker's skill levels. The result is identification of the best-matched job, strengths and weaknesses, and training priorities. 25

26. Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network Secondary Transition and Indicator 13: A Focus on Students with Significant Needs April 29, 2010 Rosemary Nilles, Linda Loar, Kathryn Enos

27. Choose and Take Action 27 Sopris West Publishers (www.sopriswest.com)

28. Choose and Take Action: Finding a Job for YOU 28

29. “A Life for Me - Cyber Community” FREE!!! Interactive, web-based career exploration “Talking guide” Geared for middle school age students Also contains parent content Register and create password to use www.alife4me.org 29

30. Envision Your Career 30 T his language-free occupational interest inventory is designed to measure career interest in people who have little or no English skills or limited reading and writing abilities. It consists of 66 live-action images showing people performing typical job duties in actual work environments. Using a score sheet, viewers rate each occupation on a scale of 1 to 5. The scores are then totaled for each occupational type: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. 22 minutes. Available in DVD format only.

31. Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network

32. Age appropriate transition assessment is needed to: 32 Post-Secondary Education/Training Employment Independent Living

33. Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network

34. Identifying student’s post secondary goals leads to further assessments… 34 Abilities: talents or acquired skills Aptitudes: combination of characteristics that helps us know if the student might learn or become proficient in a particular area

35. Assessing Aptitudes: Domains Assessing aptitudes may include areas such as: Academic Skills Organizational skills Social Skills Dexterity Skills Communication Skills Self Help Skills Travel Skills Mobility Skills Workplace Values Self Determination and Self Advocacy Skills Other areas based on individual need 35

36. Types and Sources of Information on Aptitudes Curriculum-Based Assessments Classroom quizzes comprehension checks, essays, checklists/rubrics Progress monitoring on goals Comprehensive Diagnostic Tool (CDT) 4Sight Keystone PSSA ASVAB Career and technical education assessments Work Samples Portfolios Information from employers Situational Assessment Commercial assessments of specific career-related aptitudes (McCarron- Dial, SAGE, etc.) Observations (Home/School/Community) 36

37. Free, online assessments designed to provide diagnostic information in order to guide instruction Assist PA educators in identifying students’ academic strengths and areas of need, providing links to classroom resources Integrated and aligned with the Standards Aligned System (SAS) 37 Classroom Diagnostic Tools (CDT) NEW!

38. PA Keystone Exams End-of-course assessments designed to assess proficiency in Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Literature, English Composition, Biology, Chemistry, U.S. History, World History, and Civics & Government Aligned with SAS -- supporting resources include: –Standards-Based Instruction –Voluntary Model Curriculum –Classroom Diagnostic Tools. Component of PA’s new graduation requirements. Will help districts guide students toward meeting state standards - aligned with expectations for success in college and the workplace. NEW! 38

39. Assessing Aptitudes- More Examples Environmental Job Assessment (E-JAM) Used to assess general work behavior Physical demands of the job, Working conditions Social interactions Situational Assessment How student is performing on the job 39

40. Brigance Transition Skills Inventory Pre-employment Career awareness Job-seeking Post-secondary opportunities Housing Food and clothing Health Travel & transportation Community resources Functional writing Functional reading Listening & speaking Math Money & finance Technology 40 Includes in-depth assessments of job-oriented, academic, and functional life skills in the context of employment, post- secondary education, and real-world situations. These assessments cover a broad range of skills:

41. PAES Program Training in : Skills needed for vocational training, placement and independent living. Assessment of : Interest, Aptitudes, Competitiveness, Work Behavior Barriers, and Best Teaching Methods. Exploration PAES provides exploration through HANDS-ON experience providing real and meaningful career information and knowledge of what they can do! Work Behavior Development PAES assesses and trains proper work behaviors, eliminating many barriers to successful job placement. 41 PAES operates in a simulated work environment. Students become employees; teachers become supervisors. Strict procedures are followed so students get the feel of real work, at the same time learn and explore new career vocational areas.

42. Assessing Independent Living Skills Comprehensive Informal Inventory of Knowledge and Skills for Transition Ansell-Casey Life Skills Inventory Functional Independence Skills Handbook (FISH) Choosing Outcomes and Accommodations for Children (COACH) Leisure Diagnostic Battery AIR Self-Determination Scale. Arc Self-Determination Scale 42

43. Communication Assessments Every Move Counts Clicks and Chats Tangible Symbol System Design to Learn: An Environmental Inventory All Kids Communicate Social Networks: A Communication inventory Home Talk: a Family Assessment of Children who are Deafblind Behavior Indication Assessment Scale (BIAS) Inventory of Potential Communicative Acts (IPCA) All Kids Communicate 43

44. Three Basic Questions Transition assessment should answer three basic questions: –Where is the student presently? –Where is the student going? –How does the student get there?