Assessing Student Needs An Informational PowerPoint By: Jared Stutzman

In Special Education… Assessment is much more than evaluating student performance. It is a continuous procedure that includes: Screening and Identification of student issues Diagnosis and Eligibility for special services under the law IEP Development and Child Placement in the curriculum Instructional Planning and Development Progress Evaluation

Proper Assessment Is Your Responsibility and It’s the Law! The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates several protocols that must be followed when assessing and providing for student needs. Title 34 CFR §300.307 of IDEA states that: A State must adopt criteria for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability (SLD) and public agencies must use the State-adopted criteria. Title 34 CFR §300.114 of IDEA states that: To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are nondisabled. Title 34 CFR § 300.320 of IDEA states that: An Individualized Education Program (IEP) be developed for each child that includes: the child’s present academic achievement, the child’s disability and its effect on performance, a statement of measurable annual goals, how the child’s needs will be met vis-à-vis his disability, and how the child is progressing toward meeting the annual goals.

Screening and Identification The process of determining whether a student's academic performance differs enough from his peers to merit assessment. Issues are usually first identified by a student’s general education teacher in a specific academic subject. Probes are chosen to measure student performance compared to normal levels to determine the achievement gap. Probes are research-based and universal. Ex. DIBELS, AIMSWEB, PALS. If a large gap is measured, the child will proceed to diagnosis.

Diagnosis and Eligibility Determining whether a child has a disability and is eligible for special education services, and diagnosing the specific nature of the student's problems or disability. If a child qualifies under the screening process, a child must be then tested for a specific disability. In order to qualify under IDEA for special education, a child must fall under one of the 13 disability. categories outlined in the law. If the child qualifies under IDEA, the nature and extent of the disability is determined in order to develop the child’s IEP (Individualized Education Program).

IEP Development and Child Placement The information is collected so that an Individualized Education Program (IEP) may be developed and appropriate decisions may be made about the child's educational placement. The student’s IEP is the document that outlines the services the student will receive. Placement determines where the child will receive these services: in the general education environment or outside of it. IDEA mandates children be placed in a general classroom whenever possible.

Instructional Planning Developing and planning instruction commensurate to a child’s needs and deciding at which level to begin instruction. Determines what classes a student should take, at what level, what text books they should use, even what types of testing they receive. As IDEA requires, one of the main factors of instructional planning is making sure a student has as much access to the general education curriculum as possible.

Progress Evaluation Constant Evaluation Is Critical! Based on student progress monitoring. Includes effectiveness evaluation of instructional procedures enacted with the student, as well as evaluation of the entire program’s effectiveness. Measuring of program effectiveness takes into account: Student’s meeting general education curriculum benchmarks Student’s attaining goals laid out in their IEP. Special education student’s education plans are altered based on the student either meeting, or failing to meet, their goals. Constant Evaluation Is Critical!

Assessment Directly Controls Services As a general education teacher, it is primarily your responsibility to identify student learning issues. Student’s need a diagnosis to be entitled to special services. Student’s need an effective plan to benefit from special services. Effective plans are developed by educated professionals who use best practices techniques and constantly monitor the progress of those practices. You are the fundamental piece of the puzzle that creates student success!

Hiccups In Beneficial Assessment IDEA’s Balancing Act The goal of assessment is clear; to best serve the needs of all students. But what are their needs and how are they best met? IDEA mandates detailed assessment including progress monitoring and intensive interventions, while at the same time mandating least restrictive environment (LRE) and inclusion. But is the first aided or hindered by the second?

Assessment: Best Practices vs Assessment: Best Practices vs. Inclusive Practices Is our instructional planning serving competing goals? Best Practices Methods that consistently shows results. Are usually evidence-based, although not always. Must be followed correctly, and practiced intensively to get results. Designed to help student’s succeed academically. Inclusive Practices Student’s with disabilities should be placed in the same classroom as peers without disabilities. Relationships between disabled and non-disabled students should be fostered. All students should be taught in the same curriculum with accommodations to help all student’s succeed.

The Noble Goal of Inclusion Inclusion attempts to remedy the past; special education students were often isolated from their peers in specialized classes or via individualized instruction. Special education classes were sometimes little more than holding areas for disabled students where little to no education occurred. If education occurred, it was often in manual skills, as special education students were often deemed incapable of learning. As a result of these practices, the idea of inclusion grew as a way to bring special students back into the education community.

What Does Inclusion Mean? Inclusion means that ALL LEARNERS are welcome members are their schools and in their classrooms. Inclusion states that all teachers should strongly prefer for all students to be educated together regardless of disability. Inclusion hopes that by teaching all learners together, learners without disabilities will learn to tolerate and respect special learners through contact and interaction But, does inclusion best serve all students? Does it always work to advance student assessed learning goals, or can it hinder them?

The Mission The goal of assessment is to identify student’s with special needs, identify their learning issues, and then mitigate or correct these issues so that these children do not lag behind their peers. Do inclusive practices serve this goal? To make inclusion work, accommodations often take on the form of one-on-one paraprofessionals that help maintain the child in the classroom. Although unintended, these tools sometimes simply help student’s pass classes instead of enabling them to learn at the same rate as their peers. Accommodations are only helpful when they contribute to children meeting their learning goals. A child in the general education setting often struggles to receive intensive instruction when competing for attention from teachers with other students. The general education classroom can be a distracting place; surrounded by peers of varying ability, a struggling child can be intimidated and preoccupied by these interactions.

Merging Assessed Learning Goals with Inclusion Thoughtful and realistic application of inclusive practices allows us to meet our sacred demand—educating all children—while still including them in the social fabric of the school as much as possible. Inclusion should be a means to improve learning, not an end in itself. When inclusion demonstrably benefits a child’s pursuit of his learning goals it is best practice. The use of one-on-one paraprofessionals and accommodations should help children learn, not just get them through school. Focus on student strengths, not just weaknesses. If a child is struggling in English, but excelling in math, do not focus all of that child’s time on their struggles; enable their talents, as well. End approaches that drag children along with the group, focus on tangible student learning and development regardless of venue. Inclusion is only a benefit to children if it does not come at the expense of learning. When they are weighed against each other, student development must always win.