The Role of Assessment in the Transition to Adult Life Process for Students With Disabilities

Students with disabilities must have a statement of transition service needs in their individualized education programs (IEPs) by age 14. Transition service needs must be based on students' needs, preferences, and interests. Transition assessment is an ongoing process that can help students with disabilities gain an understanding of their needs, interests, and preferences in relation to educational, vocational, and postschool environments. In addition, it can provide secondary personnel with a framework to meet the mandates for transition services in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997. The legislative foundation, purposes, and uses of transition assessment in the middle and high school years are discussed in relation to transition planning. In addition, the competencies needed by personnel involved in this assessment process are highlighted along with IEP team members who may be involved in transition planning activities.     

Student perceptions of their IEP targets

The 2001 Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs ( DfES, 2001 ) explicitly states that students with IEPs should have an active role in the writing and implementing of them. A research project was conducted in which 19 Year 8 students in three schools were interviewed, with the findings cross‐referenced against an examination of their individual education plans (IEPs) and interviews with the SENCos. Very few students were able to communicate a clear understanding of IEPs. Students' stated targets mostly reflected mainstream target‐setting: very few stated targets matched with those in their IEPs. Consistent with these findings is literature which argues that meaningfully involving students in the IEP process takes considerable time and effort, which would appear to imply that the number of students with IEPs in any one school must be limited. Against this are pressures, particularly from OFSTED but also from examination boards, to have IEPs available as evidence that students' needs are being met. The article concludes by suggesting that SENCos look to limit the number of IEPs issued, alongside a robust defence of the school's special educational needs policy within the school evaluation form to ensure that students' needs are met and also are seen to be met.     

Considerations in the identification,assessment, and intervention process for deaf and hard of hearing students with reading difficulties

Problematic assessment and intervention issues present substantial challenges when making educational decisions for deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) students who are experiencing reading difficulties. These students present a diverse set of language acquisition skills, hearing ability, and orientation to early school learning activities that are different from the hearing student population. Given the importance of selecting assessment approaches that lead to effective interventions for D/HH students, three assessment procedures for identification of at‐risk children and learning disabilities within the D/HH population are examined. Assessments reviewed are teacher referral, norm‐referenced testing, and student response to intervention. Challenges to each process and the need for additional assessment and empirically validated treatment options are discussed. Finally, a case example is presented to illustrate a framework that may help school psychologists promote early identification of learning problems and outline interventions that meets a D/HH child's unique needs by focusing on reading outcomes in the curriculum. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Health Literacy of Students with and without Individualized Education Programs: A Brief Report

While much is known about the educational, behavioral, and social needs of adolescents receiving school-based special education services, one critical domain, health literacy, has been largely unexamined. Given the impact of health and health management on the well-being of all persons, and the likelihood of additional challenges for students receiving special education supports, this study sought to examine and compare the health needs and transition preparedness of 341 adolescents with and without Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Survey items were selected from widely used health literacy, health risk, and health related quality of life measures. Findings revealed that for students with IEPs, the risk for having limited health literacy was 128% higher than for their peers without IEPs. Students with IEPs were also significantly more likely to demonstrate risk across indicators of health related quality of life, health risk, and access. Limitations, research recommendations, and implications are addressed.     

Evaluation of curriculum and student learning needs using 360 degree assessment

This research used a 360 degree assessment tool modelled from the competing values framework to assess the curriculum. A total of 100 Master’s of Business Administration students and 746 of their work colleagues completed the 360 degree assessment tool. The students were enrolled in a course on leadership and management. The results of the assessment demonstrated similar patterns of strengths and development needs between the mean self-assessment of the students and those of their work colleagues, although work colleagues tended to assess the students slightly higher. The patterns revealed development needs in soft skills such as conflict management and mentoring, as well as in strategic management and project planning. Gender effects were evident with women needing particular development in competencies related to developing and communicating a vision, setting goals and objectives and designing and organising. The results provide evidence-based approach to assessing curriculum. As many programmes use a variety of assessment tools in their programmes, collecting data across cohorts can be a valuable evidence-based strategy to assess and evaluate curriculum content against real learner needs.     

Investigating Efficacy,Moderators and Mediators for an Online Mathematics Homework Intervention

Abstract

We report on a randomized controlled trial of an intervention that leverages the availability of laptops for all public-school students in the state of Maine. The intervention, called “ASSISTments,” provides feedback to students as they solve mathematics homework problems and automatically prepares reports for teachers about student performance on daily assignments. Teachers received training and coaching on formative assessment. Data was collected from 43 schools, 87 teachers, and 2769 7th grade students. Planned analyses describe use of the intervention, analyze the impact of the intervention on an end-of-year standardized assessment, and explore variables that may moderate or mediate impacts. Findings indicate that students in the schools assigned to use ASSISTments learned more and the impact was greater for students with lower prior mathematics achievement. Although evidence shows that teachers used the intervention to target instruction to students’ needs, the mediating role of this practice was unclear. We also examined the generalizability of the findings and found generalizability to be limited due to the setting in Maine. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.     

The symbiotic roles of action research,lesson study and learning study seen in a social–emotional intervention for males with behavioural needs

ABSTRACT

To help a group of nine adolescent boys with behavioural needs improve their social-emotional skills, the researcher designed and conducted a longitudinal intervention at a public secondary school in British Columbia. In order to complete this task, the researcher drew on the various strengths of action research, lesson study and learning study. Together their distinct attributes acted as an organizational framework and were seen to provide an effective and robust approach to school-based research. The action research component of the study ensured that the intervention had a deep understanding of the problems facing male students with behavioural needs, that stakeholders’ voices were considered in the research and that the personal role of the researcher was acknowledged. Learning study established positive masculinity as the intervention’s primary object of learning; and it helped influence the content and approach of individual sessions. Finally, lesson study’s fluid and collaborative approach to assessment allowed for ongoing guidance and a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the study’s results. Although there are similarities between action research, learning and lesson studies, the research discussed in this article demonstrates the efficacy and benefit in allowing their distinctive strengths to be used in conjunction for a longitudinal intervention.     

Relationship between IEP Characteristics and Test Scores on an Alternate Assessment for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

Although many studies have examined the alignment of state standards with large-scale assessment and instruction, fewer have attended to alignment concerning alternate assessments for students with significant disabilities. This study was designed to (1) compare expectations in one state's alternate assessment (AA) with curricular priorities reflected in students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and (2) consider the effect of this relationship on AA scores. The study was conducted in a state whose AA consisted of standardized performance tasks measuring reading comprehension (RC) and number systems (NUM). Archival data, including AA scores and IEPs for 292 students, were analyzed. The average IEP emphasized speaking, writing, and measurement, and objectives primarily required simple recall skills. Half of IEPs contained no objectives aligned with RC. More than one third of IEPs did not align with NUM. Assessment–IEP alignment had a moderate effect on Reading test score, but not Math test score. Recommendations are made for future investigations of the taught curriculum for this population, and professional development to improve alignment of instruction with assessments.     

Exploring classroom assessment practices: the case of teachers of English as a foreign language

The research investigated the factors which underlie the perceptions and usage of alternative assessment procedures among EFL teachers in Israel. The research was conducted within the framework of an earlier model by Hargreaves and colleagues comprising four perspectives – technological, cultural, political and postmodern – to account for teachers’ assessment practices and beliefs. The sample included 113 EFL teachers who responded to a self‐report questionnaire. The model’s four perspectives were validated using a two‐stage factor analysis. Results show that the predominant factor related to the usage of alternative assessment is the technological one, followed by the cultural and postmodern perspectives. The political perspective yielded mixed results. The findings highlight the complexity of teachers’ assessment practices reflecting not merely a testing approach but a social and educational paradigm encompassing micro constraints (technological), macro influences (political), ideologies and commonly‐held beliefs (cultural) as well as evidence of critical pedagogy (postmodern).     

Judgement-based performance measures of literacy for students with additional needs: seeing students through the eyes of experienced special education teachers

This article describes the development of judgement-based performance measures to support the instruction of students with additional learning needs. The focus of the research was the design of assessment materials and protocols to help teachers recognise and respond to students’ proficiency in foundational literacy skills. It drew on the expertise of special education teachers to provide all teachers with an evidence framework against which to observe their students’ learning. The assessment materials were trialled in 53 schools and used to monitor literacy learning for 547 students, who ranged in age from 3 to 18 years and represented children and young people with a wide diversity and severity of disabilities. The article reports a new approach to judgement-based performance measurement which directs teachers’ observations to meaningful shifts and transformations in foundational literacy skills for students with additional needs.     

Embedded Assessment in Project‐based Science Courses for the Gifted: Insights to inform teaching all students

The present study of gifted students’ views of assessment is aimed at understanding how the employment of Embedded Assessment for Learning (EAfL) framework in science courses for the gifted affects the students’ views throughout the learning process. The participants were 86 students in three programmes for the gifted who elected project‐based science courses. The data included questionnaires, distributed at the beginning and at the end of the assessment processes in each science course, and in‐depth interviews with 12 students, which were analysed according to three main themes: general view of assessment; assessment modes; and relationships between assessment and learning. The students viewed the EAfL framework as an integral part of the learning process, and perceived it as a means of expressing autonomous learning and a range of performances; characteristics that correspond with the students’ unique needs. In addition, students addressed cognitive and social processes they had undergone. This implies that assessment which is explicitly designed to promote learning in science courses is a powerful tool for teachers as well as for students, and contributes to meaningful learning.     

Sustainable assessment revisited

Sustainable assessment has been proposed as an idea that focused on the contribution of assessment to learning beyond the timescale of a given course. It was identified as an assessment that meets the needs of the present in terms of the demands of formative and summative assessment, but which also prepares students to meet their own future learning needs. This paper reviews the value of such a notion for assessment; how it has been taken up over the past 15 years in higher education and why it might still be needed. It identifies how it has been a successful intervention in assessment discourse. It explores what more is needed to locate assessment as an intervention to focus on learning for the longer term. It shows how sustainable assessment can help bridge the gap between assessment and learning, and link to ideas such as self-regulation, students’ making judgements about their own work and course-wide assessment.     

浅谈大学英语听力教学中存在的问题及对策

经济的全球化使各个国家之间的关系更为密切。英语作为一种国际语言,对于成功的贸易交流起着非常重要的作用。大学英语听力教学的目标旨在培养适应社会需求的、具备较高听说能力的人才,但当前的课堂教学中还普遍存在“应试”、“灌输”等现象,未能很好地分析学生的焦虑,教会学生应用听力策略。要提高学生的听说能力,须以听力课堂为突破口,增加学生接触英语、应用英语的机会;课堂的设计应充分考虑到相关听力策略的应用;还应因材施教,以学生为中心。     

Generating Vocabulary Knowledge for At-Risk Middle School Readers: Contrasting Program Effects and Growth Trajectories

We tested whether urban middle-school students from mostly low-income homes had improved academic vocabulary when they participated in a freely available vocabulary program, Word Generation (WG). To understand how this program may support students at risk for long-term reading difficulty, we examined treatment interactions with baseline achievement on a state standardized test and also differential effects for students with (n = 398) and without (n = 1,395) individualized education plans (IEPs). Students in this unmatched quasi-experiment (5 WG and 4 comparison schools) completed pre- and postvocabulary assessments during the intervention year. We also retested student vocabulary knowledge after summer vacation and the following spring on 11 target words to construct a longitudinally consistent scaled score across 4 waves of data. Growth models show that students experienced summer setback. Although there were no average underlying differences in growth or differences in summer setback for students by baseline achievement, better readers improved more from program participation. IEP status did not predict differential benefits of program participation, and students with IEPs maintained gains associated with participation in WG; however, participation in the program did not change underlying growth trajectories favoring students who did not have IEPs.