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Students in the Gap: Understanding Who They Are &
How to Validly Assess Them
Findings from Two Projects
Montana Modified Achievement Standards Pilot
1 Year Technical Assistance on State Data Collection Grant
New England Compact Study of Students in the Gap
NH, ME, RI, VT
2 Year Enhancing State Assessment Grant
Montana Modified Achievement Standards Overview
Developed and administered a pilot alternate assessment
Based assessment on modified achievement standards
Evaluated feasibility of incorporating it into the statewide assessment system
New England Compact (NEC): Students in the Gap
Looking at Gaps in Large-Scale Assessment Systems:
Two Percent… or Two Gaps?
NEC Enhanced Assessment Grant
Funded by US Department of Education
Four states: NH, ME, RI, VT
2005-2007
Challenge: describe students in gap, and design an assessment that will meet needs of students in gap
8th grade mathematics– 8th grade to look at complexity– Mathematics to avoid reading
comprehension issues
Project history
Original goals− Identify students in the gaps− Develop varied assessment modules− Pilot/validate assessment modules
Issues we faced– Not easy to identify the gap, or the
students– Impossible to develop an
assessment without knowing target students’ needs
Revised goals
• Identify students in the gaps through multiple methods, triangulating evidence
• Define common criteria for identifying students in the gap
• Plan and develop task module assessment strategies (assessment prototypes)
• Recommend core components of an assessment structure that would lessen the gaps
• Disseminate products to others considering assessments for students in the gap
Accountability context
• Project began February 2005• Modified achievement standards
announced April 2005• Proposed “2%” regulations released
December 2005• Studies were designed before 2%, not
in response to 2%• Findings speak to needs of all students
not effectively assessed in current system, not necessarily dovetailing with 2% definitions
Big questions• Who are the students in the gaps?
• Of all the students who are not proficient, how can states identify those who are in the assessment gaps?
• What are the attributes of students in the gaps, and how do these students perform?
• What issues in the assessments themselves contribute to the gaps?
• Are there specific aspects of multiple-choice items used in state assessments that contribute to the assessment gaps?
Gap identification processConduct exploratory
interviews with teachers to identify the assessment
gaps
Review student assessment data
Review teacher judgment data
Operationalize gap criteria
Conduct focused teacher interviews to
confirm gap criteria
Parker and Saxon: Teacher
views of students and assessments
Bechard and Godin: Finding the real assessment
gaps
The process for investigating gap profiles
Bechard and Godin: Who
are students in gaps?
Conduct focused teacher interviews to confirm gap criteria
Investigate characteristics of students in gap 1
Investigate characteristics of students in gap 2
Investigate achievement patterns of students in gap 1
Investigate achievement patterns of students in gap 2
Develop profiles of students in gap 1
Develop profiles of students in gap 2
Alternative test itemsHypothesize alternate test
items
Decompose items into requisite skills/
knowledge
Provide alternative formats:Item format Item content Visuals Multimedia
Review with mathematics
experts
Pilot and evaluate items
Russell and Famularo: Utility of a prototype assessment
Dolan et. al.: Providing
students with choice
Session Goals
Consider:
How we define “students in the gap”
If and how we alter achievement standards for “students in the gap”
How we assess “students in the gap”
Participants• Judy Snow, MT Office of Public Instruction
– Lessons from MT Modified Achievement Standards Project
• Carrie Parker, EDC– Teachers’ Views of Gaps in Large-Scale
Assessment
• Sue Bechard, Measured Progress– Using State Assessment Data to Identify Students in
the Gap
• Bob Dolan, CAST– What Literature Tells Us about Math Instruction and
Assessment
• Mary Ann Snider, RI Department of Education– State Director of Assessment
• Gaye Fedorchak, NH Department of Education– Moderator, State Supervisor of Alternate Assessments
?
New England CompactStudents in the Gap:
Final Questions
• How can we discriminate between the instruction gap and the assessment gap?
• Should students be taught the skills that help to close the context gap between classroom and assessment?
• Are different assessment approaches needed for either gap group?
Final Questions (cont.)
• Can a test developed for the 2% option stretch low enough to reach students in gap 2?
• How should expectations be adjusted? The items? The accommodations or choices provided? The achievement standards?
• If you were in charge of a state assessment program, what else would you need to know before deciding how to proceed?
• What would the students say?
2% Flexibility• Students in Gap 2 not tested on what they
are taught
• Students in Gap 2 are performing far below grade level
• Regulations won’t allow off-grade level tests for Gap 2
• A modified assessment to Gap 1 or non-Gap 1 would mean lower standards for students who could be at grade level
• Conclusion: The 2% flexibility option will not increase the validity or relevance of the test for students in either gap