How to stay under the 1% December 12, 2018

Eligibility Criteria First introduced in 2012 SC had a drastic reduction in students taking the alternate assessment

Eligibility & Disability Categories Significant cognitive disability is characterized by ability scores on both verbal and nonverbal scales that are at least 2½–3 standard deviations below the mean. Students with ability scores in the average range are NOT considered to be students with significant cognitive disabilities.

Eligibility & Disability Categories Some disability categories, as defined by the State Board of Education Criteria for Entry into Programs of Special Education for Students with Disabilities (43–243)1, may NOT meet the necessary criteria for participation in an alternate assessment. For example, a student with a Specific Learning Disability or Emotional Disability would not exhibit an intellectual disability according to the State Board of Education criteria. While some students determined eligible under the categories of Other Health Impaired (OHI), Orthopedic Impairment (OI), and Autism may have concomitant cognitive impairment, often times they do not. Such students would not meet the necessary criteria for participation in an alternate assessment.

Procedures for Monitoring Alternate Assessment – for the SCDE Based on precode data, identify districts that exceed the 1% Analyze the district’s data Look at students who are scoring exceeds proficient on the alternate assessment Disability category can be considered, but is not the only consideration SCDE will monitor testing in that district along with the following: Student’s IEP, school psychological report, and progress monitoring data

Testing High school students HS course codes

When do HS students test? Considerations What is the student’s 9GR? What instruction is the student receiving? What would be best for the student (with the understanding testing is not optional)?

What is the students 9GR? 9 GR is the year the student started High School. 9 GR can be found in Power School, it is the “ninth grade code” follow this path: Information>State/Province-SC>South Carolina Student Information All students must take all subjects by their third year in High School.

What instruction is the student receiving? Like ALL students, the student must receive the content prior to testing. The student needs to be enrolled in a course that is ALIGNED to the standards they will be taking the test in. Use the following codes for TESTING, these are not course codes: 4853000W English (for SC Alt) 4854000W Algebra (for SC Alt) 4855000W Biology (for SC Alt) 4856000W US History and Constitution (for SC Alt)

What would be best for the student? It would be a DISTRICT decision as to what type of guidance they want to provided teachers and IEP teams. Once the previous two requirements are met, the students may take any of the Alternate High School assessments during any of the three years. BE CAREFUL, this has the potential to effect the 1%

QUESTIONS?