ADMINISTRATION CODE/INCLUSION of SPECIAL POPULATIONS TRAINING

ADMINISTRATION CODE/INCLUSION of SPECIAL POPULATIONS TRAINING Kentucky Alternate Assessment Program 703 KAR 5:080 703 KAR 5:070 OAA/DSR/KO

Purpose of This Training • To review the appropriate practices for the state assessment system as defined in the Administration Code for Kentucky’s Educational Assessment Program (703 KAR 5:080) Revised May 2009 • To review the Inclusion of Special Populations in the State-Required Assessment and Accountability Programs (703 KAR 5:070) Revised October 2008 OAA/DSR/KO

End of Course K-PREP ACT Alternate Assessment PLAN Access KY Non- Academic Data EXPLORE OAA/DSR/KO

OVERVIEW • Part 1: • Rationale • Kentucky’s Alternate Assessment Program • Appropriate Assessment Practices • Alternate Assessment Participation Guidelines • Test Security • Administration Practices for each Alternate Assessment Component • Part 2: • Inclusion of Special Populations Information • Accommodations • Part 3: • Violation of 703 KAR 5:080 • Review of Secure Assessment Components • Part 4: • Alternate Assessment Code of Ethics • Signature Page OAA/DSR/KO

PART 1 • Rationale • Kentucky’s Alternate Assessment Program • Appropriate Assessment Practices • Alternate Assessment Participation Guidelines • Test Security • Administration Practices for each Alternate Assessment Component OAA/DSR/KO

RATIONALE This document describes the practices considered appropriate in preparing students for the assessments, in administering them, and in providing proper security of the assessment materials. FOCAL POINTS: • Professional Ethics • Educational Defensibility • Student Ownership OAA/DSR/KO

Kentucky’s Alternate Assessment Program • Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) 1990-mandated an inclusive assessment system. • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 1997- mandated that all children with disabilities would be included in all general, state and district wide assessments with appropriate accommodations or an alternate assessment. • No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) 2001-mandated that all students would be tested in grades 3-8 and once in high school for both reading and mathematics. Requires link to grade level content and standards for alternate assessment. • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004-reauthorized IDEA that integrated requirements between NCLB and IDEA. • Alternate Assessment Program Modification (2011-2012) - KY revised the Alternate Assessment; added the Attainment Tasks to all content areas and made no changes to the Transition Attainment Record. OAA/DSR/KO

Kentucky’s Alternate Assessment Program • 2 Components: • ATTAINMENT TASKS-Performance events that require students to complete a task, working step by step as directed by the teacher. • TRANSITION ATTAINMENT RECORD- A checklist which evaluates the student’s readiness in reading/language arts, mathematics, and science. OAA/DSR/KO

Appropriate Assessment Practices • Requires annual training for all individuals involved in any component of the state assessment • Annuallyread and comply with documents and manuals specific to the state-wide assessment • Training includes “documents and administration manuals specific to state-required assessment components” OAA/DSR/KO

APPROPRIATE PRACTICES • KRS 158:6455 requires that the school accountability system shall be inclusive of all Kentucky students. Any student not completing the state-wide assessment without proper permission will be assigned a zero (0) and the score of non-performance level (novice low). • Training from this Administration Code shall be provided to ALL (administrators, supervisors, teachers, instructional assistants, parents, and/or volunteers) completing or assisting in the administration of the alternate assessment. OAA/DSR/KO

PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES • Any student determined eligible by the Admissions and Release Committee (ARC) must meet and adhere to all requirements set forth by the Kentucky Alternate Assessment Participation Guidelines. • To review or access the Alternate Assessment Participation Guidelines refer to the following site: http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Administrative+Resources/Testing+and+Reporting+/District+Support/Kentucky+Alternate+Assessment+Program/ OAA/DSR/KO

TEST SECURITY • DACs, administrators, and teachers shall ensure the security of the Alternate Assessment materials before, during, and after administration. • When assessment materials are not being used, they shall be stored in a secure, “Double Locked” location. The same rules apply for alternate assessment, as tests provided for the general assessment. • EXAMPLE: ATTAINMENT TASKS OAA/DSR/KO

Administration Practices General Instructions “Do your best” “Stay on task” Assistance or Evaluative Comments “You can do better.” “You can write more.” OAA/DSR/KO

ADMINISTRATION PRACTICES • To identify the specific administration practices for the components of the alternate assessment, visit the appropriate administration guide. All administration guides describe the specific requirements set forth by the Kentucky Department of Education and are a required part of the administration process. To access the administration guide, visit the following site: • http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Administrative+Resources/Testing+and+Reporting+/District+Support/Kentucky+Alternate+Assessment+Program/Administration+Guide.htm OAA/DSR/KO

PART 2 • Inclusion of Special Populations Information for Alternate Assessment Students • Accommodations OAA/DSR/KO

Students with Accommodations • Accommodations for assessment shall be consistent with a student’s current IEP, 504 Plan or PSP. • Accommodations for one student shall not interfere or influence the assessment of another student. • Students who exhibit disruptive behavior prior to or during testing may be tested in a different location from their peers. OAA/DSR/KO

INCLUSION OF ALTERNATE ASSESSMENT STUDENTS Any student is eligible for alternate assessment if the following guidelines have been met: • Alternate Assessment Participation Guidelines were completed and fully agreed upon by the ARC • Under 21 years of age (unless district approval has been granted) OAA/DSR/KO

STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN ALTERNATE ASSESSMENT • Make up less than 1% of Kentucky’s student population being assessed • Include students receiving home/hospital services (unless they have been medically exempt) • Receive reportable scores for all content areas assessed based on the student’s current grade placement OAA/DSR/KO

STUDENTS 21 OR OLDER • If a student with disabilities turns twenty–one (21) years old during a school year, the student may “Age Out” of school without completing the school year and participating in the state -required assessment. • The district makes the decision to allow the student to complete the year if they turn 21 mid year or release them. Students granted permission to complete the year by the district must also complete the required assessments. OAA/DSR/KO

GRADE PROMOTIONS/RETENTIONS • Any student permitted to “skip” a grade for any reason determined by the ARC must complete any assessment required for the grade they were moved too, in addition to any grade that was skipped. • If an ARC determines that a student should repeat a grade, the student is required to complete the assessment for the grade again. OAA/DSR/KO

TRANSITION TO ADULT LIFE • Students who participate in the alternate assessment may be considered to have made a successful transition to adult life if they obtain a Certificate of Attainment. • If a student completes all 12 grade - assessment requirements before reaching the age of 21, he/she is permitted to transition to grade 14, which allows him/her to focus on transition only, with no assessment requirements. OAA/DSR/KO

STATE AGENCY CHILDREN • “State agency children” shall have the same assessments administered as other public school youth and shall be included in the accountability system as specified in 703 KAR 5:040. • “State agency children” should have their materials sent as part of their educational records when the youth transition from the state agency program back to their home location. OAA/DSR/KO

MEDICAL EXEMPTIONS • If participation in the state required alternate assessment would jeopardize a student’s physical, mental or emotional well being, a school or district shall submit a request for a medical exemption which must be approved by the Department of Education. The school or district must describe in detail the medical condition along with the assessments for which the exemption is being requested. • An identified disability or handicapping condition alone shall not be considered sufficient reason for granting a medical exemption. • An approved medical exemption shall be excluded from state required assessments and state/federal accountability calculations. OAA/DSR/KO

MEDICAL EMERGENCIES • Students who become injured or develop an ailment before or during the testing window may be allowed appropriate accommodations to allow their participation in the state-required assessment. • A form describing the situation and what accommodations are provided shall be kept on file in the district. OAA/DSR/KO

ACCOMMODATION GUIDELINES Accommodations provided for the alternate assessment follow the same guidelines as those implemented for the general education for both instruction and assessment. Those guidelines must: • Be age appropriate and related to student disability and specially designed instruction described in the IEP or 504 Plan. • Be based on individual student needs and not a disability category. • Take into consideration the use of technology for student independence before providing adult accommodators (if feasible). • Ensure that accommodations are part of the student’s instructional program and not introduced for the first time during the assessment window. OAA/DSR/KO

ACCOMMODATION GUIDELINES • Accommodations should provide students access to the curriculum by demonstrating what they know and are able to do. (Provides Equal Opportunity) • Any changes in the administration of the assessment or the way student responses are documented should be consistent with the routine in which the student is most familiar and has used throughout the entire year for both instruction and assessment. • Accommodations should in “No Way” inappropriately impact the content being measured or lead the student to a correct response. • Accommodations should be considered a temporary strategy and should focus on fading them over time. OAA/DSR/KO

AVAILABLE ACCOMMODATIONS • Assistive Technology • Readers • Scribes • Paraphrasing • Extended Time • Reinforcement and Behavior Modification Strategies • Manipulative • Prompting and Cueing • Interpreters OAA/DSR/KO

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY • An assistive technology (AT) device, as defined by (PL 105-394), is “any item, piece of equipment or product system whether acquired commercially, off the shelf, modified, or customized that is used to increase or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.” • AT can be as small as a pencil grip or as large as a TV screen reader. OAA/DSR/KO

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY OAA/DSR/KO

READERS READERS MAY: • read directions, prompts, situations, passages, and stories as written unless the student meets criteria for paraphrasing. • not lead the student to information needed for answering the open–response items or multiple-choice questions. • re-read directions, prompts, situations, passages, and stories ONLY AT THE STUDENT’S REQUEST. • not point out parts of the task, questions or parts skipped by the student and • read individual words and abbreviations that are mispronounced by text/screen readers. OAA/DSR/KO

SCRIBE’S ROLE • To record the student’s work • To allow the student to show what they know and are capable of while providing the student with an alternative means to express his/her thoughts and knowledge without changing the measure of the student’s response OAA/DSR/KO

USE OF SCRIBES Before providing a scribe, ARC or 504 committees • Must determine under what conditions a scribe will be permitted. • Make sure the scribe will be used on a routine basis during instruction throughout the year. • Determine that the scribe is not being used as a replacement for writing instruction or assistive technology. OAA/DSR/KO

PARAPHRASING • Is used to restate printed text or oral communication with other words that put printed text and oral communication into simpler terminology. • IS NOT used as a replacement for reading, listening and oral communication instruction or assistive technology. OAA/DSR/KO

PARAPHRASING Paraphrasing for the state-required Assessment and Accountability Programs shall be consistent with classroom instruction and includes: • Repeating or rephrasing the on-demand tasks, directions, prompts, or situation. • Breaking directions and sentences into parts or segments or using similar words or phrases. • Should not include defining words or concepts or telling a student what to do first, second, etc. • Stories (reading passages) and content passages may NOT be paraphrased (CONTENT CANNOT BE CHANGED). OAA/DSR/KO

EXAMPLES OF PARAPHRASING Good example of paraphrasing: Directions: “Compare and contrast two different versions of “The Three Little Pigs”. -----Proctor says, “Tell how two stories are alike and different”. Bad example of paraphrasing: Item: Billy’s mother told him he was really “in a pickle” now. What did she mean? ----Proctor says, “That means he was in trouble”. OAA/DSR/KO

EXTENDED TIME • The accommodation is part of students daily instruction. • Student must be making constructive progress on completing his or her responses and under proper supervision. • Extended time is offered for the day the assessment takes place. • Use of extended time must adhere to rules applicable to the assessment. OAA/DSR/KO

REINFORCEMENT & BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION STRATEGIES If ANY student’s behavior impacts the performance of other students, then school staff may remove the student from the assessment environment. • A student may complete the assessment if….. • he/she is moved to another location, • standards for appropriate testing are followed, • test security is maintained, and • He/she finishes in the same day. OAA/DSR/KO

MANIPULATIVES • Used on the state-required assessment as a strategy to solve problems • Part of daily instruction • Student initiated OAA/DSR/KO

PROMPTING AND CUEING • The use of these strategies and guides for assessment shall be student initiated and not teacher initiated. • Prompting and cueing documents are personal to the student and not generic. • Collection of tools to assist a student with a disability in accessing the general curriculum. • Organizers for his or her thinking and work. • Management strategy to assist a student in organizing his or her learning and memory devices. OAA/DSR/KO

Visual Prompt Example boy bird dog jump run fly The _______ can _______ . OAA/DSR/KO

INTERPRETERS FOR STUDENTS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS • Signing shall not be a replacement for technology or reading instruction. • Interpreters cannot indicate correct answers to test items. • Interpreters who are also scribes must follow the policies on scribing. • NOTE: American Sign Language must adhere to the grammatical equivalent of English without adding to or elaborating on the content. OAA/DSR/KO

PART 3 • Violation of 703 KAR 5:080 • Violation of 703 KAR 5:070 • Review of Secure Assessment Components OAA/DSR/KO

VIOLATIONS OF THE ADMISTRATION CODE • Anyone involved in the administration of the alternate assessment must comply with the Administration Code/Inclusions of Special Populations for Kentucky’s Educational Assessment Program. • Provided on the next page(s) are steps to be followed for any alleged state testing violation. OAA/DSR/KO

VIOLATIONS OF THE ADMISTRATION CODE • STEP 1: An allegation of inappropriate testing practices received at the Kentucky Department Of Education (KDE) shall be referred to the Testing Allegations Coordinator (Patsy Kenner). • STEP 2: KDE staff shall manage the process for investigating each allegation of inappropriate testing practice. In order to make an investigation possible, an allegation shall include at least the name of the school or school district and a specific violation. An anonymous allegation should: • Be submitted in writing • Identify school name • Identify those allegedly committing inappropriate practice OAA/DSR/KO

VIOLATIONS OF THE ADMISTRATION CODE • STEP 3: The Testing Allegations Coordinator shall report all findings for each allegation to the Board of Review. Board members are appointed by the Commissioner of Education and represent various KDE divisions. • STEP 4: The Board of Review shall review the findings and make a recommendation to the Commissioner of Education. • STEP 5: The Commissioner of Education shall make a final determination and then notify the school district superintendent of this determination. • STEP 6: After a local school district receives the letter from the commissioner of the action to be taken by the department, the school may challenge the action through an appeal. OAA/DSR/KO

Review of Secure Materials • Parents and Others not employed by a Kentucky Public School District must: follow district guidelines for reviewing secure materials(this applies to Alternate Assessment only). Districts should contact KDE to report any discrepancy regarding materials. • A nondisclosure statement mustbe signed before reviewing secure assessment components. OAA/DSR/KO

PART 4 • Alternate Assessment Code of Ethics • Signature Page OAA/DSR/KO

CODE OF ETHICS PROFESSIONAL ETHICS: • Do not engage students in activities that have no link to instruction or do not positively contribute to students’ overall well-being. • Do not establish punitive consequences related to testing which result in students being excluded from educational opportunities. • Do not re-organize the test sequence with the Attainment Tasks or Transition Attainment Record. • Do not develop work samples for assessment purposes only. Work samples must come from daily instruction. OAA/DSR/KO

CODE OF ETHICS PROFESSIONAL ETHICS: • Do not provide the Attainment Tasks without providing breaks to students as directed in the instructions sent with the Attainment Tasks materials. • Do not provide the Transition Attainment Record student and team interviews independently. • Do not provide rewards or motivational strategies inconsistent to those provided for the general assessment and compliant with testing protocol. • Do not use local school board funds or cash awards from school activity funds generated by students to influence students. OAA/DSR/KO

CODE OF ETHICS EDUCATIONAL DEFENSIBILITY: • Do not provide test preparation to the student with the purpose to increase test scores on the alternate assessment without simultaneously increasing the student’s ability to apply the content tested to real life or simulated real-life situations. • Do not provide activities created or implemented with the sole purpose of increasing test scores and that not contribute to the students overall education. • Do not reproduce, in any way, any part of secure testing materials. OAA/DSR/KO

ADMINISTRATION CODE/INCLUSION of SPECIAL POPULATIONS TRAINING