How to Choose and Use Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Professional Development for IEP Teams

1. How to Choose and Use Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Professional Development for IEP Teams STAFF

2. Introduction • Find out what we know about accommodations • Learn five easy steps to implementing accommodations • Training package brought to you by: NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

3. 5 Important Steps… • Expect students to meet grade level academic content standards • Learn about accommodations for instruction and assessment • Choose accommodations with students • Administer assessment accommodations • Evaluate and improve accommodations use NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

4. Step One Expect students to meet grade level academic content standards – New Mexico Content Standards and Benchmarks & Expanded Performance Standards NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

5. Student Participation in Assessments Participation of students with disabilities is required by the following federal and state laws: • No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) • NMAC 22-2C-4 (D) NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

6. Assessments for Accountability Assessments for accountability help to measure: • How successful schools are in including all students in standards-based education • How well students are achieving standards • What needs to be improved for specific groups of students NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

7. Include All Students in Assessments To include all students in standards-based assessments: • Provide accommodations to increase access • Use alternate assessments for students with significant cognitive disabilities • Follow state guidelines for decisions about the provision of alternate assessments NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

8. 3 Conditions for High Expectations • Teachers certified in content areas and trained to differentiate instruction for diverse learners • IEPs that provide specialized instruction, such as reading strategies, study skills, etc. • Accommodations designed to increase access to instruction and assessment NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

9. Equal Access to Grade Level Content • Think about ways to provide access to NM Content Standards and Expanded Performance Standards as the goal • Every IEP member must be familiar with NM content standards • IEP team members must know how to tie instructional goals to the NM content standards • Collaboration between general and special educators is key NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

10. Benefits of Collaboration • Definition: General and special education teachers as a team for the benefit of students with disabilities • Promotes understanding of general and special education teacher roles and responsibilities • Provides opportunities to gain new skills, such as knowledge of the NM content standards and instructional differentiation • Serves as a support-building process that fosters the creation of a collaborative school culture NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

11. Step Two Learn about accommodations NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

12. Definition of Accommodations • Accommodations are procedures in the areas of setting, scheduling, presentation, and response that provide equitable instructional and assessment access for students with disabilities. • Accommodations mediate the effects of a student’s disability and do not reduce learning expectations. NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

13. Accommodations Applications • The use of accommodations is linked through each of these areas: Home, School, & Community Classroom Assessments Classroom Instruction State/District Assessments NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

14. Accommodations Categories • Timing – Change the allowable length of test or assignment and may change the way the time is organized. (No longer applicable to NMSBA system) • Presentation – Allow students to access information in ways that do not require them to visually read standard print (visual, tactile, auditory). • Response – Allow students to complete assignments, tests, and activities in different ways. • Setting – Change the location in which a test or assignment is given or the conditions of the assessment setting. (Allowable for all students) NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

15. Modifications • Changing, lowering, or reducing learning or assessment expectations • May result in implications that may adversely affect a student throughout his or her educational career • Examples include: • Requiring a student to learn less material • Revising assignments or tests to make them easier NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

16. Modifications to the New Mexico Statewide Assessment Program • Modifications to any subtest invalidate the results of the subtest, student is reported as “not proficient” • If a student is provided with modifications they will not count toward participation rates for AYP • IEP teams have been instructed not to choose modifications, but have the right to do so… NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

17. Step Three Choose accommodations NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

18. What Doesn’t Work… • Checking every accommodation available on the IEP form, hoping something will work • What else doesn’t work? NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

19. Questions to Consider • What are the student’s strengths and needs? • How do the student’s needs affect the achievement of grade level content standards? • What specialized instruction does the student need to achieve state standards? • What accommodations will increase the student’s access to instruction and assessment? NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

20. Review Current Accommodations • Accommodations currently used by the student in the classroom and on tests • Test and assignment results when accommodations were used and not used • Effective combinations of accommodations • Difficulties of accommodations use • Student’s perception of how well accommodations “worked” • Perceptions of parents, teachers and specialists about how well accommodations “worked” NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

21. Based on the Review… Decide whether the student should: • Continue using an accommodation “as is” • Use an accommodation with changes • Discontinue an accommodation NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

22. Considerations for New Accommodations • A list of the student’s access needs and possible accommodations to try • Of the accommodations that match the student’s needs, consider: • The student’s willingness to learn to use the accommodation • Opportunities to learn how to use the accommodation in classroom settings • Conditions for use on assessment NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

23. Planning New Accommodations • Plan how a student will learn to use each new accommodation • Be sure that at least three months for a student to learn to use an assessment accommodation are provided before test day • Plan for the ongoing evaluation and improvement of accommodations use NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

24. Involve Student in Choice-Making • Involve students in the process of choosing and using accommodations • The more say students have in choosing their accommodations, the more likely the accommodations will be used • Students should see accommodations as adding value to their daily life – not only in school – but for postsecondary, career, and community life goals as well NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

25. Documenting Accommodations Accommodations can be documented in 3 areas of the IEP: • Consideration of Special Factors – assistive technology devices and services • Supplementary Aids and Services – aids, services, and other supports • Participation in Assessments – how a student will participate in state and district-wide assessments NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

26. Step Four Plan for the administration of assessment accommodations NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

27. Coordinating the Logistics… • Logistics of providing the actual accommodations must be mapped out • Teachers and other IEP team members are often given the responsibility for arranging, coordinating, and providing assessment accommodations • Prepare for the implementation of accommodations at least three months prior to test day, on test day, and after test day NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

28. Following Through on Test Day… • A key logistical aspect for providing assessment accommodations is following through on test day • Accommodation request forms and databases can be used to monitor the implementation of accommodations on test day • Test administrators must understand the importance of: • Ethical testing practices • Standardization • Test security NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

29. Ensuring Standardization • Standardization: The adherence of uniform administration procedures and conditions • Strict adherence to guidelines detailing instructions and procedures for the administration of accommodations is necessary to ensure that test results reflect actual student learning • The objective of providing assessment accommodations is to make fair comparisons with other students taking the tests NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

30. Test Security with Special Test Formats • Test security: Ensuring the confidentiality of test questions and answers • Vital in maintaining test integrity and validity • Can become an issue when accessible test formats are used or when someone other than the student is allowed to see the test • To ensure test security and confidentiality: • Keep all test content confidential • Keep testing materials in a secure place • Return all materials as instructed NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

31. Ensuring Ethical Testing Practices • Ethical testing practices : Interactions between test administrators and students taking the test • Unethical practices include: • “coaching” students during testing • editing student work • giving clues in any way • allowing a student to answer fewer questions • reducing the number of responses required • changing the content by paraphrasing or offering additional information NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

32. Step Five Evaluate and improve accommodations use NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

33. Using Formative Evaluation • Use formative evaluation to “turn over useful information quickly to make improvements” • Useful information can be obtained from members of the IEP planning team – evaluation is a team effort. • Formative evaluation is based on the premise of using information for continuous improvement NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

34. Why Evaluate Accommodations Use • To ensure the meaningful participation of all students in state and district-wide assessments • To reveal questionable patterns of accommodations use • To identify IEP/504 team members, test administrators, or others in need of additional training and support NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

35. Questions to Guide Evaluation at the School or District Level • How many students with IEPs or Section 504 are receiving accommodations? • What types of accommodations are being provided – are some being used more than others? • Are students receiving accommodations as documented in their IEP/504 plans? • Are there procedures in place to ensure that test administrators adhere to directions for the implementation of accommodations? NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

36. Questions to Guide Evaluation at the School or District Level (cont) • Are there policies in place to ensure that test administration procedures are not compromised with the provision of accommodations? • Are there policies to prevent the disclosure of test answers to unauthorized persons? • Are there policies to ensure that ethical testing and security practices followed before, during, and after the day of the test? NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

37. Questions to Guide Evaluation at the Student Level • What accommodations are used by the student in the classroom and on tests? • What are the results of classroom assignments and tests when accommodations are not used? • What is the student perception of how well the accommodation “worked”? • What seem to be effective ‘combinations” of accommodations? • What are the difficulties encountered in the use of accommodations for a student? • What are the perceptions of teachers and others about how the accommodation appears to be “working”? NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

38. Where to Get More Information • Other training sessions – November 2005 • School district assessment coordinators • Online resources: • http://www.cast.org/ncac/ • http://education.umn.edu/NCEO/ • http://www.studentprogress.org/ • NMPED websites: http://www.ped.state.nm.us/seo/index.htm http://www.ped.state.nm.us/seo/assessment/index.htm NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

39. Summary • Found out what we know about accommodations • Learned how accommodations are used for instruction, assessment, and life after school • Used 5 steps to choosing and using accommodations for students with disabilities NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training

40. Feedback?? • Any remaining questions? • What future needs do you anticipate? • How was today’s training helpful? • How could it have been improved? Do not hesitate to contact the SEB if you have any further questions or concerns (505) 827-3506 dan.farley@state.nm.us NMPED Special Education BureauAccommodations Training