Student-Focused Transition Assessment Process Jim Martin and Amber McConnell. University of Oklahoma Zarrow Center

Agenda Purpose of Special Education Building Transition Assessment Implementation Timeline Across Grades and Student Abilities Student Focused Assessment Concepts Three-Part Transition Assessment Model Self-Determination Skills Vocational Interests and Skills Can read Can’t read Independent Living Skills Putting It All Together Into a Student Script Students write draft PLEP, Strengths, and Needs

The Purpose of SPED . . . a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet students’ unique needs and to prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.

IDEA 2004 Post-Secondary Goals IEPs must include appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments related to further education, employment, and when appropriate, independent living

Transition Assessment Implementation Timeline Establish a comprehensive transition assessment plan Build by grade and skill level Identifies what, who, when, and how often Can establish school or district wide implementation of a sequential transition assessment process. North Dakota’s Transition Assessment Matrix http://www.dpi.state.nd.us/transitn/matrix/matrix.shtm View Sample Transition Assessment Timeline

Student-Focused Planning Principles Two Basic Principles Students complete transition assessment student versions along with family members and educators completing their versions. No assessment without direct student input Transition assessments provide students information to make decisions on postsecondary and annual transition goals. Implies that students be taught meaning of transition assessment result

Questions Drive Student-Focused Transition Assessment Post-secondary Goal Questions Where do I want to learn after completing high school? Where do I want to work after completing high school? Where do I want to live after completing high school? Annual Transition Goal Questions What do I need to learn now to be able to learn where I want after completing high school? What do I need to learn now to be able to work where I want after completing high school? What do I need to learn now to be able to live where I want after completing high school?

Implications Use transition assessments that include student versions Student input as important as educator and family member input Students need to be taught to understand results of transition assessment Students write summary of transition assessment and present at IEP meeting Includes statement for PLEP, strengths, and needs Students describe match between present skills and requirements for postsecondary goals and what needs to be learned or changed to attain postsecondary goals

Web Links Handout lists all the web sites used today Easy to read

Three-Part Transition Assessment Model

Transition Assessment Model Components Vocational Interest and Skills Assessment Self-Determination & Self-Advocacy Assessment Independent Living Assessment

Vocational Interest & Skills Assessment and Exploration Part 1 of the 3-Part Transition Assessment Process

Belief Work benefits individuals emotionally and socially Enables individuals to contribute to society and to their own well being Can be done without fear of losing social security or other benefits Adds meaning to life Lauren, if you have a brief comment either agreeing or disagreeing, go for it…but keep it brief.

Employment Options Individual Competitive Employment Individual Supported Employment Group Supported Employment At Home or Community-Based Entrepreneurial Jobs

Vocational Interests for High Achieving Students With Mild Disabilities Group Interest Inventories ACT Explore ACT Plan U.S. Dept of Labor O*NET www.onetcenter.org Interest profiler, ability profiler Look left under Products Select career exploration tools

Self-Directed Search - Form E Students with limited reading skills Spanish version manual, assessment booklets,& occupations finder Reports interests across occupations Available: www.parinc.com Cost: $150

Self Directed Search - Form R Students with advanced reading skills Spanish version manual, assessment booklets,& occupations finder Reports interests across occupations, educational opportunities, and leisure Available: www.parinc.com Cost: $150

On-Line Free Interest Inventories On-Line Individual Interest Inventories Career Clusters http://www.careertech.org/resources/clusters/interest-survey.html (download in pdf format) State-based Career Web Sites www.okcis.org (requires username and password) http://www.learnmoreindiana.org http://www.cacareerzone.org/ I Oscar www.ioscar.org Dept of Labor www.onetcenter.org http://www.mynextmove.org/

Exploration of Interest Results Occupational Outlook Handbook www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm www.bls.gov/k12/index.htm My Next Move http://www.mynextmove.org/ Job videos (English or Spanish) Individuals & Job clusters http://acinet.org/acinet/videos.asp?id=27,&nodeid=27 www.careervoyages.com Uses the above videos in an interactive format

Career Awareness & Exploration Watching Video http://acinet.org/acinet/videos.asp?id=27,&nodeid=27 Provides numerous videos for students to watch English or Spanish Job cluster and skill categories Horse Training Coast Guard Assistant Construction Workers Live in the Community Doing Short exploration periods Long-term try-outs

Functional Vocational Assessment Designed for Students Involved in Work Study Programs

What does the law say? When to consider what’s appropriate? . . . and when appropriate . . . functional vocational evaluation. When to consider what’s appropriate? When the previous informal assessments do not provide needed information. What do we use? Tools that student’s can explore and make a job match.

Assumptions Individuals with disabilities have personal preferences, likes, and dislikes ChoiceMaking is “an individual’s selection of a preferred alternative from among several familiar options” (Shevin & Klein, 1984) No consequences exists for selecting one choice over the other except that which comes from the choice itself (Brigham, 1979). Must have a means to communicate preferences ChoiceMaking skills typically must be taught ChoiceMaking opportunities must be provided

Functional Assessment Process Over time Repeated Measures Situational Assessment

Basic Procedures Prior to visiting a job site, individual will select preferred tasks and characteristics Visit job site and spend time watching and/or doing tasks After visit, will compare initial preferences to those at the site Process repeated across numerous sites

Coverage Intensive lessons in teaching Choosing Goals process (lessons 1 - 5) Community-based assessment and problem solving (lessons 6 - 15) Classroom-based career exploration (lessons 16 - 19)

Choosing Goals Quick means for students to develop goals

Job Characteristics I Like Teach Job Characteristics Introduces Match Concept between What I like What’s at this job Computes % of Matches

Key: Determine Match Between What I Like and What’s At This Site

Each time student chooses a characteristic one more cell on the graph is marked

Vocational Interests via Career Exploration - For Those Who Can Read Choosing Employment Goals Sopris West Publishers (www.sopriswest.com) Requires reading and writing skills

Research Choosing Goals Lessons 1 - 5 produced significant differences in measures of self-determination across two assessment instruments Students expressed preferences in their IEP meetings. Students were in high school and had mild to moderate mental retardation (Cross, Cooke, Wood, & Test, 1999)

Job Duties I Like Identifies job duties Based upon current job or work experience Assess preferences for job duties Calculate % of Job Duties I Like

Job Duties - How I Did Job duties identified and written onto form Student evaluates speed, independent performance, and accuracy Supervisor evaluates speed, independent performance, and accuracy Match made between student and supervisor

Uses self-evaluation methodology to teach job performance skills and to assess job duty skills

Work, Social, & Personal Skills Student rates performance Supervisor or teacher rate performance Calculates what supervisor thinks Calculates match between worker and supervisor

Self-Determination Contracts to solve on-the job problems

Employability/Life Skills Assessment Domains Details For students aged 14 – 21 8 major domains & 24 items Self-help skills Work habits Work Quality Relations with Supervisor Relations with Peers Work Attitudes Score items 1 to 3 scale and totals by sub-domain Score across ages Prepares cumulative graph of progress across years Free: Download at: http://scdcdt.webs.com/Employability%20Assessment.pdf

Functional Vocational Assessment Choice-Making

Vocational Interest Assessment for Non-Readers

Basic Procedures Prior to visiting a job site, individual will select preferred tasks and characteristics Visit job site and spend time watching and/or doing tasks After visit, will compare initial preferences to those at the site Process repeated across numerous sites

http://brookespublishing.com/picturebank/ What Do I Want To Do?

What Jobs Have I Done?

Characteristics I Like vs Here Compares initial preferences to those experienced at a particular job site.

Characteristics Graph

Personal Improvement Contract

Field Testing 751 Individuals with disabilities across 11 years 234 with mental retardation 145 with chronic mental illness 113 with severe learning disability 102 with physical disabilities 96 with other disability including autism 61 with traumatic brain injury Replicated across numerous sites

More Data Those who completed the assessment process had a significantly greater likelihood of a successful job placement than those who did not complete the assessment process Chi square p < .05 Of those successful, 92% came with two placements. Significantly came with first placement

Follow-up Data 5-year cumulative summary 88% still working 55% at same job 33% at different jobs Major reason for job change was to move to a better job Over 93% of placements matched first or second job choice

Resource Self-Directed Employment Paul Brookes Publishing Baltimore www.brookespublishing.com Just went out of print

Personal Preference Indicators Use Supplemental Preference Form Interview format Family members, friends, professionals who know student well Likes, dislikes, social indicators, choices Health, body clock, future http://education.ou.edu/zarrow/ Cost: free Use the results in PLEP

Vocational Assessment Software Choose and Take Action Vocational Assessment Software Use of a software program and community experiences to identify entry-level job interests

Target Population Secondary students and adults with moderate to significant cognitive needs who: Have difficulty getting information from print Can attend to a computer screen Can follow simple 1 or 2 step directions Have limited to no previous work experience

CTA Constructs • Vocational Choice Making • Planning Characteristics Setting Activities (jobs) • Planning • Community Experience Watch Do • Self-Evaluation • Choose Again with Adjustment

CTA Choice Factors 14 entry-level vocational settings found in most communities 15 job activities repeated across two settings Care for animals in a vet’s office Care for animals in a retail store 12 characteristics repeated across two or three activities Working in a factory where it is inside and noisy

CTA Features A navigator to give instructions and guide user through the program Restricted mouse movements Highlight critical features as navigator says them Record made of all choices Input options may include user installed touch screen

Format designed so teachers can add comments on student performance Teacher can set number of video clips student can see in one trial Pair of video clips presented together Minimum teacher control over available video choices

Settings Activities Characteristics Car repair shop Bag items/bring carts Big open space Child care center Care for animals Small space Construction site Care for people Clean Factory Care for plants Messy Greenhouse Clean-up Few people Grocery store Clear tables Many people Hospital Filing Inside Hotel Handle materials Outside Janitorial service Heavy cleaning Noisy Landscape Company Laundry Quiet Office Move things Wear own clothes Restaurant Do paperwork Wear a uniform Store Stock shelves Vet Office Wash dishes Yard work

Example Present Level Current Assessment Data Strengths The Choose and Take Action assessment was completed on 11-8-09. Sam’s top three job characteristics were working outside, being with few people, and quiet settings. Top four activities were yard work, taking care of plants, and cleaning up. Top two settings included landscape company and green house. Objective Statement Sam’s top ranked choices were being outside, doing yard work, and working for a landscape company. Strengths Firm pattern of choices demonstrated over time. Anticipated Effects Experience in choice-making will enable Sam to begin in-depth job exploration activities. Needs In-depth job exploration Continued opportunity to express choices during the job exploration process.

Employment Goals Annual Employment Goal Short-Term Objectives Sam will undertake extended work-study experiences at community-based job locations to identify at least one job that obtains a 90% characteristic and and 90% job activity match. Short-Term Objectives Sam will correctly identify 100% of the illustrations used in the characteristic and job activity match process across three consecutive trials. Sam will correctly identify 80% of the activities and characteristics at a job site across three consecutive trials.

Annual Employment Coordinated Activities Complete work-study experience at cooperating community-job sites. Become involved in Voc Rehab’s work experience program. Responsible Parties Sam, transition coordinator, and voc rehab counselor

Publisher Choose and Take Action: Finding a Job for You Sopris West 4093 Specialty Place Longmont, CO 80504 800.547.6747 www.sopriswest.com

One-Shot Vocational Interest Assessment for Non-Readers

Personal Preference Indicators Use Supplemental Preference Form Interview format Family members, friends, professionals who know student well Likes, dislikes, social indicators, choices Health, body clock, future http://education.ou.edu/zarrow/ Cost: free Use the results in PLEP

Reading Free Interest Inventory Published by Pro Ed www.proedinc.com Price: $110

COPS-PIC Non-Verbal Assessment of Occupational Interest EDITS / P.O. Box 7234 / San Diego, CA 92167 800-416-1666 / 619-222-1666 / Fax 619-226-1666 25 copies for $50.90

Self-Determination & Self-Advocacy Assessments Part 2 of the 3-Part Transition Assessment Model

Self-Determination Constructs • Self-awareness • Self-advocacy • Self-efficacy • Decision-making • Use of self-management strategies to attain plan • Self-evaluation • Adjustment

Why SD Assessment? Improved postsecondary outcomes Goal setting during early adolescence Awareness of disability Goal attainment Improved academic performance Limited studies so far

Guide to Assessing College Readiness Landmark College “Parent” Assessment Read each item with student and discuss Provides Assessment for Self-Advocacy to include in annual transition goals Five Domains Academic Skills Self-Understanding Self-Advocacy Executive Functioning Motivation and Confidence

AIR Self-Determination Assessment Parent Version Teacher Version Student Version Available at http://education.ou.edu/zarrow Cost: free

Example Present Level of Achievement Using the AIR Self Determination Assessment Strengths Knows own ability and limitation and can express these Set goals Change plan to accomplish goals Anticipated Effects When provided the opportunity to set and express goals at his next IEP meeting, Bill can engage in this activity. Needs Opportunities at school and home to learn and practice additional SD skills Current Assessment Data Bill obtained a 48% on the AIR Educator Self-Determination Assessment given on 11-8-09. Objective Statement Bill has about half of the overall SD skills and opportunities needed to master these skills. He needs increased school and home opportunities to develop and master additional SD skills for success in welding school.

Annual Transition Goal: Education/Training Bill will increase his overall self-determination score from 48% to 75% as measured on the AIR self-determination assessment. Objective/Benchmark To demonstrate leadership at IEP meetings, Bill will successfully implement 8 out of 10 IEP involvement steps at his next IEP meeting. Bill will develop and implement a weekly goal attainment plan to attain two or more IEP goals by successfully completing 90% or more of the Take Action Goal Attainment process.

Annual Education/Training Coordinated Activities Bill will discuss his weekly goal attainment plan with his family. Bill will build his IEP script with his family to share at the IEP meeting. Responsible Parties Bill and parents

Self-Advocacy Checklists Self-Advocacy is a crucial self-determination concept Students speak and act on their own behalf Several Self-Advocacy Checklist exist Self-Determination and Self-Advocacy Skills Questionnaire Student form Parent form Teacher forms (A & B)

ARC Self-Determination Assessment Student version Must use the manual to score Cost: free Available at http://education.ou.edu/zarrow

Field and Hoffman SD Assessments SD Student Scale SD Parent Scale SD Teacher Scale SD Observation Checklist User’s Guide Cost: free Available at http://education.ou.edu/zarrow

ChoiceMaker SD Assessment Curriculum Referenced Assessment Choosing Goals Participating in IEP Meetings Taking Action on Goals Sopris West (search by author: Martin) www.sopriswest.com Cost: $12.95 for 25 copies

ChoiceMaker Assessment Example Student Leading Meeting (1, 2, 3, 4 scale) Begin meeting by stating purpose Introduce participants Review past goals Ask for feedback Ask question if don’t understand Deal with differences in opinion State need support Close meeting by summarizing

Independent Living Assessments Part 3 of the 3-Part Transition Assessment Model

Our Belief The law states that an independent living goal be addressed “when appropriate.” We believe that to determine if an independent living goal needs to be written, an adaptive behavior assessment needs to be given. This provides evidence of needing an independent living goal or not. How else would a team determine if an independent living goal is needed?

Independent Living Assessments Personal Preference Indicators Informal and free (zarrowcenter.ou.edu) Life Skills Inventory Informal and free http://www.dshs.wa.gov/pdf/ms/forms/10_267.pdf Transition Planning Inventory (TPI) ProEd, Austin Texas (www.proedinc.com) Informal Assessments for Transition Planning Enderle-Severson Transition Rating Form www.estr.net Casey Life Skills www.caseylifeskills.org

Personal Preference Indicators Interview format - Free Family members, friends, professionals who know student well Designed for students with significant support needs Likes, dislikes, social indicators, choices Health, body clock, future http://www.ou.edu/content/education/centers-and-partnerships/zarrow/preference-indicators/air-self-determination-assessment.html

Life Skills Inventory 15 domains (money, hygiene, safety, etc) Four levels: basic, intermediate, advanced, exceptional Must know 3 of 5 to advance from basic to intermediate Must know the person or have family member complete Cost: free Available athttp://www.dshs.wa.gov/pdf/ms/forms/10_267.pdf

Transition Planning Inventory Home version Teacher version Student version CD version speaks to students or parents and automatically scores Available From (www.proedinc.com) Pro-Ed Cost: $175. Computer Version: $159. Combo: $250

Informal Assessments for Transition Reproducible Employment Daily Living Health Self-Determination Leisure Activities Community Participation Communication Interpersonal Relationships Available From (www.proedinc.com) Pro-Ed Cost: $39.00

Enderle-Severson Transition Rating Form ESTR-J Students with mild disabilities Parent (available in Spanish) and Teacher version Five Transition areas ESTR-III Students with “more” disabilities Parent and Teacher version ESTR-S Students with severe/multiple impairments Parent and Teacher versions Employment, Rec/leisure, home living, community participation, and adult life Estr.net (each costs about $2.00)

ESTR Automatic Scoring

Casey Life Skills Web based and FREE!!! Spanish, French or English, with numerous supplemental assessments Youth and caregiver formats Automatically scored and sent to you Can obtain class summaries Provides different levels of questions for students across functioning levels Level 1 basic skills Level 4 complex skills www.caseylifeskills.org

Example Present Level Current Assessment Data Strengths According to her Dad on the Casey Life Skills assessment (level 3) taken on 11-8-09, Sarah mastered 33% communication, 38% daily living, 100% self-care, 67% social, 50% work and study, with a total mastery of 54%. Objective Statement Sarah has scattered independent living skills that suggests mastery of self-care needs, and adequate performance in social situations. She needs to learn communication, daily living, and work/study skills to increase the likelihood of successfully living in her own apartment. Strengths Self care Social skills Anticipated Effects When having the opportunity to be by herself at home and in the community Sarah has self-care and social skills to adequately present herself and interact with others. Needs Opportunities at school and in the community to learn and practice communication, daily living, and work and study skills.

Annual Transition Goal: Independent Living Sarah will increase her daily living scores from 38% to 95% and her communication scores from 33% to 95% as measured by the Casey Life skills level 3 assessment.

Casey Life Skills Educational Supplement Assessment

Collaborative Effort

For More Information Contact: Jim Martin and Amber McConnell University of Oklahoma Zarrow Center for Learning Enrichment 338 Cate Center Drive, Room 190 Norman, OK 73019 Phone: 405-325-8951 Jim’s E-mail: jemartin@ou.edu Amber’s E-mail: ambermcc@ou.edu Web: http://education.ou.edu/zarrow/