Strategies For Making Assessment Meaningful and Manageable Andrea M. Capizzi, Ph.D. M. Alexandra Da Fonte, Ph.D. Vanderbilt University CEC Convention 2017

Agenda Purpose of assessment Importance of quality assessment Effective assessment reports Assessment and instruction

Goal of assessments Eligibility Identification of student’s strengths and areas of needs Guide instruction

Why do we need quality assessment? IEP teams must consider recent student evaluation when developing an IEP (IDEA, 2006) Assessment results should act as baseline information against which progress toward goals should be measured Allows IEP development and instructional decision- making based on documented student strengths and needs (Bateman & Herr, 2006; Etscheidt, 2003; Pierangelo & Giuliani, 2002)

What makes meaningful assessment challenging? Teachers often struggle with using and interpreting assessment results to guide their instruction Full assessment reports are thorough, contain information related to past and current assessment results, summarize findings, create a picture of student strengths and weaknesses, and make recommendations related to classroom, school, and home. (Cohen & Spenciner, 2007, Hood & Johnson, 2002; Pierangelo & Giuliani, 2002) But – many teachers don’t have skills in conducting comprehensive assessment

How can assessment be streamlined and made more meaningful? Comprehensively evaluate student needs Provide instruction that is tied to and driven by identified student needs Use ongoing assessment to evaluate and monitor student progress Evaluate, modify, and plan instruction accordingly Follow a systematic process: assessment → instruction

Keys to conducting comprehensive assessment Observations Identify areas to evaluate and select appropriate tools (e.g., academic, behavior, communicate, motor, sensory) Conduct assessment and write report (Identify strengths and areas of needs) Plan for instruction Know student’s limits when conducting assessment – you can’t just plow through Share observation forms

Observations Multiple settings, contexts, times of the day, etc. Should guide your selection of areas to measure Consider: Environment Adaptations Behavior management strategies Academic functioning Communication skills Social interactions Transitions Motor skills Know student’s limits when conducting assessment – you can’t just plow through Share observation forms

Identify areas to evaluate and tools to use Social skills & Behavior Math Reading Writing Language & Communication Sensory Skills Social skills Conceptual or functional academic skills Independent living skills Communication skills Sensory skills Personal care skills Employment or work skills Severe Disabilities High Incidence Know student’s limits when conducting assessment – you can’t just plow through Share observation forms

Conduct assessment and write report Components of a comprehensive assessment report Identifying data Background information (educational, medical, family) Previous testing and evaluation Classroom observation Current assessment Assessment results Summary/ conclusions  Recommendations  

Identifying data Name Parents’ Names Age at time of testing Teacher Gender Date of Birth Grade School Parents’ Names Teacher Referred by Dates of testing Examiner(s) Date of Report

Background information “sets the stage” for the rest of the report. Family History: tells a little bit about student’s family/living arrangements Developmental/Medical History: gives relevant history related to milestones and health Educational History: provides information about past academic experiences, grades, performance. This section should how a pattern of academic performance and should also detail any inconsistencies in the student’s school history. Social History: gives information related to the student’s social functioning. This may include the student’s involvement with peers, and participation in sports and organizations. Summary of Previous Testing/Evaluation: provides an overview of past assessments and results

3. Classroom observations Summary of observations of the student in the classroom or other school settings Focus on needs and strengths

4. Current assessment List tools used Provide rational for and brief description of each These should be appropriate for the student as well as the examiner

5. Assessment results Behavioral observations of the student’s behavior during testing List test scores in a table Organize by test and by content area Statement of any limitations of the scores or any concerns that the scores don’t adequately represent a student’s true skills

6. Summary/ conclusions     This is one of the most important parts of the report Interpret the results by identifying relationships across assessment tools Helpful to tie to past assessments if possible Summarize student’s strengths and deficits in skills

7. Recommendations To the school, teacher, parent Suggest goals that meet stated deficits Often helpful to number these or put in bullet format Identify an ongoing assessment plan to monitor student progress

Assessment-Based IEPs IEPs should be developed based on current assessment data Present Levels statements should drive Annual Goals, which should, in turn, drive Short Term Objectives

Graphic Organizer to guide development of PLAAFPs, Annual Goals, STOs (Capizzi, 2008)

Present levels of performance: IEP Provides a ”snapshot” of the student’s performance at the time the IEP is written Provides a baseline against which you can evaluate progress State skills positively Include normative scores, percentiles, behavioral data, specific skills etc. (Capizzi, 2008; deBettencourt & Howard, 2007)

IEP: Annual Goals Should come from needs identified through annual assessment At least one goal for each area of need noted in the Present Levels Statements Should project a realistic level of progress in a year Essential Components: Specific description of the skill Method of measuring the skill Criterion against which progress will be measures

IEP: Objectives/Benchmarks Allows measurement of progress toward annual goals These are the “stairsteps” toward reaching the annual goal Need to be written in a measurable way so that that assessment throughout the year allows progress monitoring No longer required but many states still require them

Instruction Should be designed to meet student needs Focus on IEP objectives while also addressing grade- level objectives Objectives for each day’s instruction should be assessed

Progress monitoring Ongoing progress monitoring of progress toward annual goals Efficiency can be increased by building daily instructional objectives that, when assessed, provide data toward progress monitoring

Wrap-up Goal: Writing effective and useful reports Identification of student’s strengths and areas of needs Guide instruction Writing effective and useful reports Write in a simple style Write as single space Write in the third person Avoid reports longer than 5 pages Be objective. Explain and describe the data Use sections headings Use complete sentences: “tell a story” Avoid using technical terms/jargon

Q&A