Wednesday, March 7, 2012

1. PRO PARENTS of South Carolina Webinar Wednesday, March 7, 2012

2. Including Students with Disabilities in Statewide Assessments Suzanne Swaffield, Office of AssessmentAnne Mruz, Office of Assessment

3. Laws and Regulations Requiring Participation Reauthorization of Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 (ESEA) Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) South Carolina Education Accountability Act of 1998 (EAA)

4. Reauthorization of Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 (ESEA) Explicitly calls for participation in such assessments (high quality, yearly student academic assessments) of all students Requires that these assessments provide for the reasonable adaptations and accommodations for students with disabilities necessary to measure academic achievement April 2007 regulations mandate that state guidelines must require each child to be validly assessed and must identify, for each assessment any accommodations that would result in an invalid score

5. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) IDEA governs services provided to students with disabilities Specific requirements include: Children with disabilities are included in general state and district-wide assessment programs with appropriate accommodations, where necessary IEP includes a statement of any individual modifications in the administration of state or district-wide assessments that are needed in order for the child to participate in such an assessment and if IEP team determines that the child will not participate in a particular assessment, a statement of why that assessment is not appropriate and how the child will be assessed

6. South Carolina Education Accountability Act of 1998 (EAA) Adoption of educational standards in core academic areas For students with documented disabilities, the assessments developed by the Department of Education shall include the appropriate modifications and accommodations with necessary supplemental devices as outlined in the student’s Individual Education Program… 6

7. South Carolina State Assessments General Assessments • Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) – Grades 3-8 • High School Assessment Program (HSAP) • End of Course Examination Program (EOCEP) • English Language Development Assessment (ELDA)- Grades K-12 • National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Alternate Assessment • South Carolina Alternate Assessment (SC-ALT) *Students participating in Alternate Assessment who meet criteria for ELDA must at minimum attempt the speaking portion of the ELDA exam 7

8. Including All Students with Disabilities in State Accountability Assessments Decisions regarding the methods of assessing students with disabilities must be made on an individual bases by a student’s IEP team or 504 Accommodations Plan team and must be documented in the IEP or 504 Plan The IEP or 504 Plan team, which includes parents as an equal participant, is responsible for determining how students participate in statewide and district-wide assessment, not whether 8

9. Making Accommodations Determinations IEP or 504 team should review student’s: present level of performance, IEP goals and objectives, teacher collected data on the impact of accommodations used in the classroom, and reports from general and special education teacher The first option the team should consider is participation without accommodations Decisions about accommodations and alternate assessment must be made on an individual basis , not on the basis of category of disability or administrative convenience Testing accommodations should be those typically used to access general curriculum during routine instruction. It is important to be aware that some instructional accommodations may not be appropriate for state standardized assessments as they may change what is tested resulting in invalid scores 9

10. Five-Step Process For Selecting and Using Instructional and Assessment Accommodations 10

11. Academic content standards are educational targets outlining what students are expected to learn at each grade level. • Accommodations are provided during instruction and assessments to help promote equal access to grade-level content. • South Carolina has adopted Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts and Mathematics. CCSS present an unprecedented opportunity for educators to accomplish the goal of including all students with disabilities in grade-level content. 11

12. Accommodations provided to a student during state assessments must also be provided during classroom instruction, classroom assessments, and district assessments. However, some instructional accommodations may not be appropriate for use on certain statewide assessments. • Typically accommodations do not begin and end in school. Students who use accommodations will generally also need them at home, in the community and as they get older in postsecondary education and work. 12

13. Accommodation Categories Presentation Response Setting Timing Scheduling Commonly categorized in 5 ways: 13

14. Presentation Accommodations A student may require a test to be presented in a different format • Braille test booklets • Signed administration • Oral administration • Highlighting/cueing Examples include: 14

15. Response Accommodations A student may require an alternative method of responding to a test question • Typing responses • Responding in test booklet • Non-verbal indication of answer choices Examples include: 15

16. Setting Accommodations A student may require administration in a setting appropriate to his/her needs • Small group • Individual administration • Preferential seating Examples include: 16

17. Timing Accommodations South Carolina statewide assessments are not timed tests. A student may take as long as needed to complete each test during the school day when possible. • Frequent breaks • Extended breaks Examples include: 17

18. Scheduling Accommodations A student may take portions of the statewide assessments over several days, as long as all testing is completed by the last day of make-up testing. Students may not go back to previously completed sections of the test. • Afternoon administration • Multiple testing sessions per day • Multiple testing days Examples include: 18

19. Standard vs. Non-Standard Accommodations Standard Accommodations Non-Standard Accommodations • Do not reduce learning expectations • Practices and procedures that ensure that educators , students and parents have a valid measure of what students with disabilities know and can do • Attempt to level the playing field • Practices that change, lower, or reduce learning expectations • Change the underlying construct of an assessment • May have the unintended consequence of reducing a student’s opportunity to learn critical content • If students have not had access to critical, assessed content, they may be at risk for NOT meeting graduation requirements 19

20. Effective decision-making about the provision of appropriate accommodations begins with making good instructional decisions. Making appropriate instructional decisions is facilitated by gathering and reviewing good information about the student’s disability and present level of performance in relation to local and state academic standards. Accommodations should be chosen based on individual student need. Meetings in which the IEP team simply engages in checking boxes are neither conducive to sound decision-making practices nor do they advance equal opportunities for students to participate in the general education curriculum. 20

21. Documenting Accommodations on a Student’s IEP With the information obtained from the required summary of the student’s present level of academic achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP) the process of identifying and documenting accommodations should be fairly straightforward The PLAAFP is the section where the IEP team must state how the child’s disability affects his/her performance in the general education curriculum 21

22. The Decision-Making Process The decision-making process should include at least 3 factors: • Student Characteristics • Individual test characteristics • State accommodations policies 22

23. Accommodations Use Accommodations should not be used for the first time on a state test. Sometimes accommodations used in instruction can’t be used on an assessment. In this instance the student should have ample opportunity to perform tasks without use of the accommodation. 23

24. Potential Consequences of Accommodations Use Assessment accommodations that result in adverse consequences are referred to as non-standard accommodations For South Carolina state assessments, the term non-standard accommodation refers to a change in the testing environment, procedures or presentation that may alter the construct the test measures or change the meaning of test score. The student’s permanent record and any other school documents that contain scores from a non-standard administration must state that the student used non-standard accommodations As the student plans for post-secondary choices, this may factor into the nature of accommodation choices and availabilities open to them. 24

25. An accommodation may not be used solely during assessment, the student must be provided the accommodation during instructional periods 25

26. Collecting and analyzing data on the use and effectiveness of accommodations is necessary to ensure the meaningful participation of students with disabilities in state and district-wide assessments. Data on the use and impact of accommodations may reveal information about accommodations use as well as support the continued use of some accommodations or the rethinking of others. The evaluation of accommodations is not the responsibility of just one individual. The entire IEP Team should contribute to the information gathering and decision-making processes. 26

27. Post Secondary Implications College and career readiness is an important outcome for all students. As students with disabilities plan for their transition to post-secondary settings, it is important for IEP teams to have documented the student’s use of accommodations so that the student can continue to use them as needed in college and career settings. Colleges and universities may allow fewer accommodations than were available in K-12 settings, so it is important for students to document their need to use accommodations. This may also be true for students who transition into vocational and other workplace settings. 27

28. South Carolina Alternate Assessment (SC-Alt) Alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards. For students with significant cognitive disabilities who cannot participate in PASS, EOCEP, or HSAP even with accommodations. For students with significant cognitive disabilities (intellectual disabilities) who participate in a school curriculum that includes functional and life skills as well as academic instruction. 28

29. Purpose To ensure that these students have the opportunity to participate in a challenging standards-based curriculum, and To meet IDEA and ESEA (NCLB) requirements. 29

30. Who Participates? Students who meet the participation criteria for alternate assessment and Who were between the ages of 8-13 or 15 on September 1 of the assessment year. 30

31. Participation Criteria Significant cognitive disability and adaptive skills that result in performance that is substantially below grade level expectations; Access the state-approved curriculum standards at less complex levels and with extensively modified instruction; and Adaptive skills requiring extensive direct instruction and practice in multiple settings; 31

32. Participation Criteria (cont.) Inability to apply or use academic skills across natural settings when instructed solely or primarily through classroom instruction; and Inability to achieve state grade-level achievement expectations is not the result of excessive or extended absences or social, cultural, or economic differences. 32

33. What is to be Assessed? Grade-level academic standards At a less complex or prerequisite skill level Links to the grade-level academic standards are provided through extensions to the academic standards 33

34. SC-Alt Design Series of performance tasks that allow students to respond in a variety of ways Pointing/eye gazing to the answer choice Specific script Individually administered by the student’s teacher Linked to grade-level academic standards in grade bands 3–5, 6–8, and 10 34

35. Grade-Band Forms • Elementary School Form: ages 8–10 • Middle School Form: ages 11–13 • High School Form: age 15 (Age on September 1, of the tested year ) 35

36. Content to be Assessed • English Language Arts • Mathematics • Science • Social Studies • High School Biology 36

37. Extended Academic Standards Foundation for the development of assessment tasks and items. Basis for classroom instruction. Link to students’ communication level. 37

38. Examples of Communication Levels • PRE-SYMBOLIC • Pre-symbolic: Communicates with gestures, eye gaze, purposeful movement to object, sounds; communication is purposeful (e.g., holds up cup for drink). • Awareness: May communicate by crying, vocalizing; communication may be difficult to interpret; no clear cause and effect. • SYMBOLIC • AbstractSymbolic: Uses vocabulary of signs, pictures, words to communicate. Recognizes some sight words, numbers, etc. Some symbols are abstract (e.g., yesterday, happy). • ConcreteSymbolic: Beginning to use pictures or other symbols to communicate; primarily concrete symbols (e.g., eat, drink, outside, play, more). 38

39. Example of Extended Standard • Science Academic Standard Grade 3 3.2 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the structures, characteristics, and adaptations of organisms that allow them to function and survive within their habitats.Extended Standard:The student will demonstrate an understanding that organisms have special traits and characteristics that allow them to survive in their habitats throughout the stages of their life cycle. 39

40. Standard 3-2 40

41. Link to Extended Standards www.ed.sc.gov http://ed.sc.gov/agency/programs-services/48/SC-AltExtendedStandards.cfm • Click on: • Agency • Divisions • Accountability • Assessment • S.C. Alternate Assessment 41

42. Additional Resources on the Website Sample Tasks: http://ed.sc.gov/agency/programs-services/48/documents/Task_PartsWholes.pdf Support Guide Examples of Instruction Literacy Instruction for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities More resources: www.sc.edu/scatp 42

43. Contact Information South Carolina Alternate Assessment: Suzanne Swaffield 803-734-8274 sswaffie@ed.sc.gov Accommodations to the General Assessment: Anne Mruz 803-734-8034 amruz@ed.sc.gov 43