Testing Students with Special Needs: A Model for Understanding the Interaction Between Assessment and Student Characteristics in a Universally Designed Environment

This article presents a model of assessment development integrating student characteristics with the conceptualization, design, and implementation of standardized achievement tests. The model extends the assessment triangle proposed by the National Research Council ( Pellegrino, Chudowsky, & Glaser, 2001 ) to consider the needs of students with disabilities and English learners on two dimensions: cognitive interaction and observation interaction. Specific steps in the test development cycle for including students with special needs are proposed following the guidelines provided by Downing (2006) . Because this model of test development considers the range of student needs before test development commences, student characteristics are supported by applying the principles of universal design and appropriately aligning accommodations to address student needs. Specific guidelines for test development are presented.     

The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same? A Response to the Audit Commission's Report on Statutory Assessment and Statements of SEN

This article provides a response to some of the issues raised by Anne Pinney's summary, published in the September issue of BJSE , of the Audit Commission's report on statutory assessment and Statements of Special Educational Needs. In developing her critique, Lani Florian, lecturer in special and inclusive education at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education and Editor of the Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs , asks a series of important and challenging questions. Can the broad notion of 'special educational needs' complement ideas about 'areas of need' or 'categories of handicap' and enable young people with severe, complex or long–term disabilities to have their needs met? Is SEN funding fairly distributed, among pupils with special educational needs in particular and across the education system in general? Should the relationship between the processes of formative and statutory assessment and Statements of Special Educational Needs be reconceptualised? Can the protection offered by the Statement be maintained in association with the development of good inclusive practices? And if there is to be a move away from provision designed to address children's individual difficulties, what forms of thinking, procedure and practice will enable staff to develop new ways of meeting the needs of all learners? I hope that the questions raised by this article will stimulate other commentators to contribute to the debate about our responses to special educational needs in the pages of BJSE     

A “conditional” sense of fairness in assessment

Standardizing aspects of assessments has long been recognized as a tactic to help make evaluations of examinees fair. It reduces variation in irrelevant aspects of testing procedures that could advantage some examinees and disadvantage others. However, recent attention to making assessment accessible to a more diverse population of students highlights situations in which making tests identical for all examinees can make a testing procedure less fair: Equivalent surface conditions may not provide equivalent evidence about examinees. Although testing accommodations are by now standard practice in most large-scale testing programmes, for the most part these practices lie outside formal educational measurement theory. This article builds on recent research in universal design for learning (UDL), assessment design, and psychometrics to lay out the rationale for inference that is conditional on matching examinees with principled variations of an assessment so as to reduce construct-irrelevant demands. The present focus is assessment for special populations, but it is argued that the principles apply more broadly.     

Different Strategies,Different Outcomes? The History and Trends of the Inclusive and Special Education in Alberta (Canada) and in Finland

This study compares the strategies and delivery of education for students with special educational needs in the province of Alberta, Canada, and in the country of Finland, in the European Union. The rationale for comparing these two jurisdictions is grounded by the idea that both of these areas have high general standards of living, a well-developed public education system, and top results in international school achievement tests. The data consists of available educational policy papers, previous research papers, and educational statistics. This article first describes the special education system development and the current situation, followed by the funding system and discussion about the implications and outcomes of different policies. The historical analysis shows that while many similarities exist between Alberta and Finland, there are also some culturally-bound elements present that have strongly affected the progress and the decision-making process related to the organization of the education for students with special needs.     

Design Research as a Mechanism for Consultants to Facilitate and Evaluate Educational Innovations

Schools across the nation are implementing innovative practices; however, questions remain regarding how to facilitate quality implementation. Research designs that emphasize high degrees of control over independent variables result in findings with internal validity, but that may not generalize to complex, dynamic educational systems. The purpose of this article is to propose a design research framework as a mechanism for consultants to facilitate and evaluate innovation implementation. Information on design research principles and processes is provided, and issues to consider when applying the framework are discussed. An illustration of how a design research framework was applied in a large-scale initiative to implement and evaluate Response to Intervention (RtI) implementation is also provided. Finally, issues and questions to consider relative to consultants' use of design research principles are explored.     

More Questions on Precision Teaching

In their second article on precision teaching E.C. Raybould, senior educational psychologist, Walsall Education Department, and J.E. Solity, lecturer in psychology and special educational needs, Warwick University, answer questions on the technical and procedural issues (b) and on implementation (c) which follow on from the principles and rationale (a) discussed in the March issue.     

Productive pedagogies and the challenge of inclusion

Julie Allan is Professor of Education at the Institute of Education, University of Stirling, where she also directs the Participation, Inclusion and Equity Research Network. In this article, she explores the challenges involved in achieving an inclusive education system. Her argument draws on recommendations from two separate studies, undertaken in Queensland, Australia and Scotland, which are attempting to shape inclusion policy and practice. The Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study identified a set of productive pedagogies in which issues of social justice, equity and inclusion are foregrounded. The Scottish Parliamentary Inquiry into special needs, to which Professor Allan was adviser, recommended a number of changes aimed at establishing an inclusive education system for all pupils. Comparisons of the two sets of recommendations, which formed the basis of a series of workshops with teachers, school leaders and administrators within Education Queensland, have prompted two major questions which are addressed in this paper: what gets in the way of inclusive practice and what will it take to be inclusive? Julie Allan's responses to these questions take account of the ways in which we think about ‘special education’ teacher training and professional development; and educational policies and practices. She represents a fascinating set of ‘double‐edged responsibilities’ that will challenge practitioners, policy makers and teacher educators to refocus and reframe their thinking about special educational needs and inclusion.     

‘Asking how instead of why’: exploring inclusive approaches to teaching and learning through pupil and teacher responses to a school link project

The association of inclusive education with an equity discourse means that the question of ‘how’ to include is one currently faced by many teachers in the UK. Written by Eve Griffiths, who teaches English, literacy, media studies and drama in a special school in Wolverhampton, this article constructs a set of inclusive principles for teaching and learning and reports on pupil and teacher responses in mainstream and special schools to a three‐week literacy project in which these approaches were implemented. Research diaries and small group‐based interviews were used in both educational settings to access the opinions of 20 pupils with a Statement of special educational needs. The research found that the pedagogical approaches were successful in breaking down some barriers to inclusion between the two groups of pupils, but Eve Griffiths concludes that significant changes would need to be brought about for there to be any longevity in the eradication of these obstructions.     

Special links? Partners in provision? Collaboration between ordinary and special schools

Link arrangements between special and ordinary schools can provide a base for the full- or part-time integration of pupils with special educational needs and encourage the exchange of those ideas which lead to mutually beneficial curriculum development. A recent research project at the National Foundation for Educational Research has surveyed the current situation. Felicity Fletcher-Campbell, a Senior Research Officer at the NFER, outlines some of the findings and addresses some of the issue arising.     

我国特殊需要儿童教育诊断评估的研究现状与发展趋势

教育诊断评估是特殊需要儿童教育的起点,也是特殊需要儿童教育质量的保障。本文对近十年(1997-2006)国内关于特殊需要儿童教育诊断评估的研究成果进行分析、梳理、总结、概括,探讨国内特殊需要儿童教育诊断评估的研究现状及发展趋势,从而为我国特殊需要儿童的诊断评估的发展、完善提供借鉴。目前我国特殊需要儿童教育诊断评估研究反映出四个特征、六个问题与六个发展趋势。     

Implementing the 2014 SEND reforms in England: perspectives from SENCOs

This article is based on research conducted within two years of the 2014 SEND (special educational needs and disability) reforms being in force and reports on the experiences of five SENCOs (special educational needs coordinators) on implementing the reforms in London schools. The research was conducted primarily to inform professional practice and improve delivery of the principles underpinning the reforms. The research deployed an adapted version of SWOT analysis as a tool for seeking the views of SENCOs on the perceived benefits and challenges of the SEND reforms. The findings demonstrate that SENCOs broadly support the principles of the reforms. However, SENCOs find some of the procedures in the 2015 SEND Code of Practice as proving problematic. There still remains a significant focus on managing administrative processes, rather than bringing about a fundamental change to school culture and educational provision. The article concludes by making several recommendations on ways to reduce bureaucracy for SENCOs and increase their focus on classroom practice.     

Precision Teaching … and all that!

Doubts and questions about precision teaching continue to haunt teachers. Two exponents of the approach, E.C. Raybould, senior educational psychologist, Walsall Education Department, and Jonathan Solity, lecturer in psychology and special educational needs, Warwick University, offer their answers to questions about the principles and rationale in the first of two articles.     

Special educational needs across two decades: survey evidence from english primary schools

Abstract The article considers the perceived prevalence of special educational needs in English primary schools and changes in this prevalence over two decades and relates these to issues in education policy, teacher practice and the concept of special educational needs. The studies considered are two major surveys of schools and teachers, the first conducted in 1981 and the second conducted in the same schools in 1998. Important features of both studies were their scale and the exceptionally high response rates achieved. Two central findings were the perception of teachers that special educational needs were widespread and of an increase in special educational needs over time: perceived levels of special educational needs were one in five children in 1981, which had risen to one in four children in 1998. Learning difficulties were by far the most common aspects of special educational needs but many children had multiple difficulties, and behavioural difficulties were seen by teachers as the main barriers to inclusion. The very high figures for prevalence raise questions about the continued usefulness of the concept of special educational need distinct from broader issues of achievement.     

Changing policy and legislation and its effects on inclusive and special education: a perspective from England

This article, by Brahm Norwich of the Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter, sets the recent legislative changes in the special education system in England, the Children and Families Act (2014), in the context of wider changes in the school system, such as changes in curriculum–assessment, the governance of schools and inspection arrangements. It also sets out the recent legislative changes in terms of the recent history of the Labour period of government, with its adoption of market principles with social inclusion as key policy commitments. A case study of a secondary school is presented to illustrate some of these points. Despite the new legislative system being described as a radical approach involving aspiration and support for special educational needs, the article argues that proposed changes promise to be marginal and defined by policy commitments to markets and small government. Moreover, there are continuing and unresolved issues from the Labour Government period that are still to be fully addressed. Research is also presented on the distribution of pupils with Statements in secondary schools and the recent rising pattern of special school placement for the first time in 30 years.     

Defying the Stereotypes of Special Education: Home School Students

This article discusses cases from my 9-year longitudinal study of 100 home school students. The article focuses on students who have been identified as exhibiting learning disabilities and giftedness. There has been widespread concern that parents who are not trained in special education cannot adequately teach children with special needs. This article chronicles the academic development of 6 special education students and examines their parents' educational backgrounds and pedagogical approaches. I conclude that these students have not followed the expected patterns for students with their classifications and they have not been taught with the same assumptions and techniques used by special educators. These cases raise serious questions about the stereotypes that influence current practices in special education.     

From vocational training to open learning environments: vocational special needs education during change

This paper describes the development of education of students with special needs in vocational education. The paper is based on a case study research conducted in 2001–2005 in Jyväskylä Municipal Federation of Vocational Education in Central Finland. The study consisted of two parts: firstly of the historical analysis of special educational stages, and secondly of the contemporary analysis of special educational challenges in the research target. The Developmental Work Research model was used in attempting to get a systemic view of different factors affecting a special educational entity. The study showed the importance of a holistic view. The special educational system in the research target seems to be strongly linked to the general structure of vocational education, its goals, learning principles, legislation and personnel structure. The development of vocational special education in Jyväskylä followed the strongly regulated national guidelines set for vocational special education until the end of the 1990s. At that time new legislation, structural reforms and the change from norm‐based towards an autonomous information‐based self‐government opened doors for new special educational implementation. From the perspective of teachers specialized in special educational needs (SEN‐teachers) a clear change can be seen from an autonomous, defined work towards a loss of an expertise position. However, the strong linkage between general and special education in vocational education offers possibilities for inclusive education. In order to face the new challenges, the work of SEN‐teachers has to be redefined to clearly broaden the perspective from teaching towards new expertise in each educational establishment.     

面向社区教育的数字化课程资源的通用教学设计

以多媒体和网络技术为核心的信息技术的飞速发展及其在社区教育领域的广泛应用,为通用教学设计在社区教育中的应用提供了技术支持。在运用通用教学设计方法对社区数字化课程资源进行设计的过程中,应以认知科学的新近研究成果中关于脑学习的三大区域——识别网络、策略网络和情感网络为依据。在理解三大学习网络上学习的特殊需求、认知能力的差异性、数字媒体的互动方式的基础上,对社区数字化课程资源的对象、目标、内容、策略、评价等进行通用教学设计,并在学习内容、支持工具、学习情境等方面整合多媒体技术,为社区学员提供多样化的选择,促进社区每个成员的发展。     

Special Education in Parliament

Research projects, the content of teacher training, feasibility and comparative studies were a noticeable focus of answers to questions on special educational needs in the House of Commons in the three months up to the beginning of July.     

Mental health and special educational needs: exploring a complex relationship

The relationship between mental health and special educational needs is both complex and misunderstood. In this article, Richard Rose, Professor of Special and Inclusive Education, Marie Howley, Senior Lecturer, Ann Fergusson, Senior Lecturer, and Johnson Jament, a PhD student, all from the Centre for Special Needs Education and Research directed by Richard Rose at the University of Northampton, discuss findings from a national research project which explored the perceptions of pupil mental health needs by staff working in residential special schools. Teachers and other professional colleagues often feel ill-prepared to address mental health difficulties experienced by their pupils. This is, at times, exacerbated by a wider confusion when atypical behaviours are attributed to a diagnosed learning difficulty rather than being recognised as symptomatic of a mental health problem. The article suggests a need for clarification of the relationship between complex special educational needs and mental health and for increases in training opportunities and the development of resources for teaching about and supporting mental health and emotional well-being.