NCLB: Accommodations and Alternative Assessments

Ilene Young, Esquire

Standards based school reform

Prior to NCLB, PA already started standards-based school reform.

Modified to meet NCLB requirements Pa state plan is found at PDE web site www.pde.state.pa.us

Creates interlocking laws

– Each state must develop & implement an official NCLB plan

Reviewed by US DOE

– Each public school and district must develop a plan

Reviewed by State DOE

AYP: Adequate Yearly Progress

States must use standardized tests to measure AYP

AYP: must meet fixed targets or significantly increase number of students passing.– In most cases, increase of 10% per year required– All students must have passing score by close of

2113-14 sy

I

Academic Content Standards

State required to adopt content standards– Math– Reading– Science

Section 6311(b)(1)

Public schools must follow the statewide standards.22 PA CODE section 4.4(a)

Requirements

Standardized high quality assessments All students to be assessed at grade level

standards across groups Reporting Consequences

12 year plan

After 1st yr warning After 2nd year Improvement I After 3rd year Improvement II After 4th & 5th Corrective action I & II After 6th year Restructuring

Assessment Requirements

The Title I regulations at 34 C.F.R. §200.2(b)(2) require that a State’s assessment system be “designed to be valid and accessible for use by the widest possible range of students, including students with disabilities and students with limited English proficiency.”

Assessment

Testing is required to be aligned with academic standards in math, reading and science

In PA the main test is the PSSA. Students with significant cognitive disabilities

take the PASA. Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment.

Pa academic standards 22 PA Code Chapter 4

Requirements

High technical quality requirements set forth in Sec. 200.2(b) and 200.3(a)(1)

including validity, reliability, accessibility, objectivity, and consistency with nationally recognized professional and technical standards

Aligning Curriculum and Testing

IN PA: The state has also published nonregulatory Assessment Anchors, identifying the most important academic standards tested on state assessments. – Detailing teaching to the test

– http://www.pde.state.pa.us (click Pre K-12 Schools, Assessment, and Assessment Anchors)

Assessment results

Of students in the school for a full year Used to calculate AYP for school Used to calculate AYP for the district Used to calculate AYP for the state Consequences for non-attainment of goals

NCLB and IDEA

All students, including children in special education, must take assessments– 20 USC section 5311(b)(3)(C) and 1412(a)(16)

Must be the same for all students in each grade unless– Accommodations or alternative provided in IEP

through regular IEP process

Reporting

Assessment results for each student must be reported to – Parents– Teachers– Administrators

State must issue report

Appropriate Accommodations

IEP based– ER based– PLEP based

Not such as would invalidate test instrument Not within list of forbidden accommodations Title I requires states to provide IEP teams with

guidelines for accommodations, and alternate assessments and achievement standards.

Accommodations Guidelines

States are required to have clear guidelines Invalid accommodations consequences

– Student is considered a non-participant, or;– Score is counted as below-basic

PA accommodations guidelines at PDE website

Types of Accommodations

Changes in test environment– Time– Place– Grouping– Special Arrangements– Typewriter/keyboard– Dictionaries/Reference – several forbidden– Special paper,lines,templates, window frames

Types of Accommodations

Adapted Test Forms– Audiotapes of directions– Student marks in test booklet adaptations– Highlighters

Types of Accommodations

Other– Reading aloud

Only directions w/ no definitions on reading assessment

– Marking answer book for student– Visual cues– Simplifying directions

Disallowed Accommodations

Helping students to answer items– Eliminating some multiple choice– Pointing or highlighting

Providing extra time where it invalidates test Allowing accommodations prohibited Failing to maintain test security

Testing Accommodations and IEP process

Accommodations are to the same as are used to make student successful in classroom

Query effect of greater accommodations for PSSAs vs. class work

Alternate Assessment

What is an alternate assessment?

Under NCLB, an assessment designed for the small number of students with disabilities who are unable to participate in the regular grade-level State assessment, even with appropriate accommodations.

Defined by characteristic of student, not test.

Alternative Assessment

can measure progress based on alternate achievement standards

can also measure proficiency based on grade-level achievement standards.

a State may employ more than one alternate assessment.

Alternative Achievement Standard

An alternate achievement standard sets an expectation of performance that differs in complexity from a grade-level achievement standard.

Requirements

Must be – aligned with State’s academic content standards– Promote access to the general curriculum– Reflect professional judgment of the highest

achievement standards possible (34 C.F.R. sec 200.1(d))

Query

How does this “Cadillac” language reconcile with IDEA “floor of opportunity”

Alternate Achievement Standard

State is not required to develop Title I requires State to adopt challenging

student achievement standards Apply same standards to all schools and

children in the state Does not require alternate achievement

standards

Alternate Achievement Standard

A state may set more than one alternate achievement standard

Pennsylvania’s system of alternate assessment is the PASA system

State must employ commonly accepted professional judgment to define standards

Alternate Achievement

State must document relationship among the alternate achievement standards

Part of the coherent overall assessment plan 1.0 cap on all proficient scores

Who is tested?

Only students with “most severe cognitive disability”

No new disability category is meant to be created

It is responsibility of State to define which students fall into this category

Most severe cognitive disability: who are they?

Federal regulations clarify: small number of students who are:– Within one or more of the existing IDEA

categories– Cognitive impairments may prevent them from

attaining grade level achievement standards, “even with the very best instruction.”

Emphasis added 34 CFR part 200 RIN 1810-AA95

Query

How does this Cadillac language align with the students rights under IDEA to a floor of opportunity?

How does this relate to the “plateau” effect? What is the definition of “very best

instruction”?

UNDERLYING PREMISES

What’s the philosophy behind inclusive testing?

Premise #1: Accountability for everyone in the system

Nonexclusion of students with disabilities Best education possible to each and every

student Three critical elements require full

participation:– Academic content standards, academic

achievement standards, assessments aligned to those standards

#2: Mechanism

Assessment and data reporting, coupled with consequences for failure to attain goals, is the best mechanism for determining success.

#3:Expectations

Students with disabilities will accrue positive benefits by being included

Documented that when students with disabilities are excluded from accountability, rates of referral to special education increases dramatically. ( National Center for Educational

Outcomes Synthesis 26)

#4: Equal Attention

Exclusion of students with disabilities has the consequence of their failure to receive academic attention.

Review of Alternate Assessments

Alternate assessments developed for Title I will be reviewed through the DOE peer review of State Assessment system.– www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/saaprguidance.doc

Alternate Assessments

Usual types– Portfolio– Performance– Checklist

Recent study of teacher’s perceptions– Do not agree with premises.

Types defined

Checklist: teacher observation of the student,

Portfolio: samples of student work produced during regular classroom instruction

Performance: standardized performance tasks produced in an ``on-demand'' setting, such as completion of an assigned task on test day.

Alternate Assessment

must be aligned with the State's content standards

must yield results separately in both reading/language arts and mathematics

must be designed and implemented in a manner that supports use of the results as an indicator of AYP.

Out of level testing

Testing of a child not at his grade level Permitted in some circumstances as

alternate assessment

Requirements

clearly defined structure, guidelines for which students may participate, clearly defined scoring criteria and procedures, report format that clearly communicates student

performance in terms of the academic achievement standards defined by the State.

Same high technical quality requirements as regular assessments.

Out of level testing requirements

State must use a documented and validated standards-setting process to set the standard

Achievement standard must be aligned with the State’s academic content standards, promote access to the general curriculum, and reflect professional judgment of the highest achievement standards

Out of level requirements, cont.

Scores of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who take an out of level test based on alternate achievement standard must be included within the 1.0 percent cap.

One percent cap

Much confusion Regs revamped in late 2003 to try to address

the difficulties Based on number of students enrolled in

tested grades No more than 1% of students may be

alternate assessment for purposes of AYP

The exception to the 1.0 percent cap

Criteria: incidence rates of students with the most significant

cognitive disabilities; circumstances in the State that explain a higher

incidence rate (such as specialized health programs or facilities);

and documentation of safeguards that limit the inappropriate use of alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standard

Alternate achievement numbers

Federal Department of Education expects that no more than 9.0 percent of students with disabilities will participate in an assessment based on alternate achievement standards.

Recent study showed up to 40+% of students with disabilities were excluded from the most recent NAEP reading assessment, (Nation’s Report Card)

IEP TEAM RESPONSIBILITY

Determine what evaluations are necessary Determine need for accommodations

– Accommodations for testing should mirror those in classroom

Determine need for alternate assessment Determine need for alternate standard Communicate all consequences to parent