NCLB: Accommodations and Alternative Assessments Ilene Young, Esquire.
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Transcript of NCLB: Accommodations and Alternative Assessments Ilene Young, Esquire.
NCLB: Accommodations and Alternative Assessments
Ilene Young, Esquire
Standards based school reform
Prior to NCLB, PA already started standards-based school reform.
Modified to meet NCLB requirements Pa state plan is found at PDE web site www.pde.state.pa.us
Creates interlocking laws
– Each state must develop & implement an official NCLB plan
Reviewed by US DOE
– Each public school and district must develop a plan
Reviewed by State DOE
AYP: Adequate Yearly Progress
States must use standardized tests to measure AYP
AYP: must meet fixed targets or significantly increase number of students passing.– In most cases, increase of 10% per year required– All students must have passing score by close of
2113-14 sy
I
Academic Content Standards
State required to adopt content standards– Math– Reading– Science
Section 6311(b)(1)
Public schools must follow the statewide standards.22 PA CODE section 4.4(a)
Requirements
Standardized high quality assessments All students to be assessed at grade level
standards across groups Reporting Consequences
12 year plan
After 1st yr warning After 2nd year Improvement I After 3rd year Improvement II After 4th & 5th Corrective action I & II After 6th year Restructuring
Assessment Requirements
The Title I regulations at 34 C.F.R. §200.2(b)(2) require that a State’s assessment system be “designed to be valid and accessible for use by the widest possible range of students, including students with disabilities and students with limited English proficiency.”
Assessment
Testing is required to be aligned with academic standards in math, reading and science
In PA the main test is the PSSA. Students with significant cognitive disabilities
take the PASA. Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment.
Pa academic standards 22 PA Code Chapter 4
Requirements
High technical quality requirements set forth in Sec. 200.2(b) and 200.3(a)(1)
including validity, reliability, accessibility, objectivity, and consistency with nationally recognized professional and technical standards
Aligning Curriculum and Testing
IN PA: The state has also published nonregulatory Assessment Anchors, identifying the most important academic standards tested on state assessments. – Detailing teaching to the test
– http://www.pde.state.pa.us (click Pre K-12 Schools, Assessment, and Assessment Anchors)
Assessment results
Of students in the school for a full year Used to calculate AYP for school Used to calculate AYP for the district Used to calculate AYP for the state Consequences for non-attainment of goals
NCLB and IDEA
All students, including children in special education, must take assessments– 20 USC section 5311(b)(3)(C) and 1412(a)(16)
Must be the same for all students in each grade unless– Accommodations or alternative provided in IEP
through regular IEP process
Reporting
Assessment results for each student must be reported to – Parents– Teachers– Administrators
State must issue report
Appropriate Accommodations
IEP based– ER based– PLEP based
Not such as would invalidate test instrument Not within list of forbidden accommodations Title I requires states to provide IEP teams with
guidelines for accommodations, and alternate assessments and achievement standards.
Accommodations Guidelines
States are required to have clear guidelines Invalid accommodations consequences
– Student is considered a non-participant, or;– Score is counted as below-basic
PA accommodations guidelines at PDE website
Types of Accommodations
Changes in test environment– Time– Place– Grouping– Special Arrangements– Typewriter/keyboard– Dictionaries/Reference – several forbidden– Special paper,lines,templates, window frames
Types of Accommodations
Adapted Test Forms– Audiotapes of directions– Student marks in test booklet adaptations– Highlighters
Types of Accommodations
Other– Reading aloud
Only directions w/ no definitions on reading assessment
– Marking answer book for student– Visual cues– Simplifying directions
Disallowed Accommodations
Helping students to answer items– Eliminating some multiple choice– Pointing or highlighting
Providing extra time where it invalidates test Allowing accommodations prohibited Failing to maintain test security
Testing Accommodations and IEP process
Accommodations are to the same as are used to make student successful in classroom
Query effect of greater accommodations for PSSAs vs. class work
Alternate Assessment
What is an alternate assessment?
Under NCLB, an assessment designed for the small number of students with disabilities who are unable to participate in the regular grade-level State assessment, even with appropriate accommodations.
Defined by characteristic of student, not test.
Alternative Assessment
can measure progress based on alternate achievement standards
can also measure proficiency based on grade-level achievement standards.
a State may employ more than one alternate assessment.
Alternative Achievement Standard
An alternate achievement standard sets an expectation of performance that differs in complexity from a grade-level achievement standard.
Requirements
Must be – aligned with State’s academic content standards– Promote access to the general curriculum– Reflect professional judgment of the highest
achievement standards possible (34 C.F.R. sec 200.1(d))
Query
How does this “Cadillac” language reconcile with IDEA “floor of opportunity”
Alternate Achievement Standard
State is not required to develop Title I requires State to adopt challenging
student achievement standards Apply same standards to all schools and
children in the state Does not require alternate achievement
standards
Alternate Achievement Standard
A state may set more than one alternate achievement standard
Pennsylvania’s system of alternate assessment is the PASA system
State must employ commonly accepted professional judgment to define standards
Alternate Achievement
State must document relationship among the alternate achievement standards
Part of the coherent overall assessment plan 1.0 cap on all proficient scores
Who is tested?
Only students with “most severe cognitive disability”
No new disability category is meant to be created
It is responsibility of State to define which students fall into this category
Most severe cognitive disability: who are they?
Federal regulations clarify: small number of students who are:– Within one or more of the existing IDEA
categories– Cognitive impairments may prevent them from
attaining grade level achievement standards, “even with the very best instruction.”
Emphasis added 34 CFR part 200 RIN 1810-AA95
Query
How does this Cadillac language align with the students rights under IDEA to a floor of opportunity?
How does this relate to the “plateau” effect? What is the definition of “very best
instruction”?
UNDERLYING PREMISES
What’s the philosophy behind inclusive testing?
Premise #1: Accountability for everyone in the system
Nonexclusion of students with disabilities Best education possible to each and every
student Three critical elements require full
participation:– Academic content standards, academic
achievement standards, assessments aligned to those standards
#2: Mechanism
Assessment and data reporting, coupled with consequences for failure to attain goals, is the best mechanism for determining success.
#3:Expectations
Students with disabilities will accrue positive benefits by being included
Documented that when students with disabilities are excluded from accountability, rates of referral to special education increases dramatically. ( National Center for Educational
Outcomes Synthesis 26)
#4: Equal Attention
Exclusion of students with disabilities has the consequence of their failure to receive academic attention.
Review of Alternate Assessments
Alternate assessments developed for Title I will be reviewed through the DOE peer review of State Assessment system.– www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/saaprguidance.doc
Alternate Assessments
Usual types– Portfolio– Performance– Checklist
Recent study of teacher’s perceptions– Do not agree with premises.
Types defined
Checklist: teacher observation of the student,
Portfolio: samples of student work produced during regular classroom instruction
Performance: standardized performance tasks produced in an ``on-demand'' setting, such as completion of an assigned task on test day.
Alternate Assessment
must be aligned with the State's content standards
must yield results separately in both reading/language arts and mathematics
must be designed and implemented in a manner that supports use of the results as an indicator of AYP.
Out of level testing
Testing of a child not at his grade level Permitted in some circumstances as
alternate assessment
Requirements
clearly defined structure, guidelines for which students may participate, clearly defined scoring criteria and procedures, report format that clearly communicates student
performance in terms of the academic achievement standards defined by the State.
Same high technical quality requirements as regular assessments.
Out of level testing requirements
State must use a documented and validated standards-setting process to set the standard
Achievement standard must be aligned with the State’s academic content standards, promote access to the general curriculum, and reflect professional judgment of the highest achievement standards
Out of level requirements, cont.
Scores of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who take an out of level test based on alternate achievement standard must be included within the 1.0 percent cap.
One percent cap
Much confusion Regs revamped in late 2003 to try to address
the difficulties Based on number of students enrolled in
tested grades No more than 1% of students may be
alternate assessment for purposes of AYP
The exception to the 1.0 percent cap
Criteria: incidence rates of students with the most significant
cognitive disabilities; circumstances in the State that explain a higher
incidence rate (such as specialized health programs or facilities);
and documentation of safeguards that limit the inappropriate use of alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standard
Alternate achievement numbers
Federal Department of Education expects that no more than 9.0 percent of students with disabilities will participate in an assessment based on alternate achievement standards.
Recent study showed up to 40+% of students with disabilities were excluded from the most recent NAEP reading assessment, (Nation’s Report Card)
IEP TEAM RESPONSIBILITY
Determine what evaluations are necessary Determine need for accommodations
– Accommodations for testing should mirror those in classroom
Determine need for alternate assessment Determine need for alternate standard Communicate all consequences to parent