Testing Students with Disabilities

Office of AssessmentUpdate

Suzanne Swaffield Anne Mruz

November 20121

Existing Resourcesfor Teachers

The Office of Assessment resources available online:

• Accommodations Manual

• Test Administration Manuals (TAMS)

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Accommodations Manual

• Provides guidance for the selection, administration, and evaluation of accommodations use

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Five Step Processfor Selecting and Using Instructionaland Assessment Accommodations

Step 1: Expect students with

disabilities to achieve grade-level academic

content standards

Step 2: Learn about accommodations for

instruction and assessment

Step 3: Select accommodations for

instruction and assessment for

individual student

Step 4: Administer accommodations

during instruction and assessment

Step 5: Evaluate and improve use of

accommodations

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Step 1: Expect Students with Disabilities to Achieve Grade Level

Academic Content Standards

• IEP teams must ensure equal access to grade-level content standards

• Accommodations are provided during instruction and assessment to help promote equal access to grade level content

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Step 2: Learn About Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment

• Understand what accommodations are

• Know who is involved in accommodations decisions

• Understand the difference between standard and non-standard accommodations

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Standard vs. Non-StandardAccommodations

Standard

• Do not reduce learning expectations

• Meet specific needs of the student

• Allow educators to know that measures of student’s work are valid

Non-Standard

• Change, lower, or reduce learning expectations

• Change of the underlying construct of an assessment

• May yield invalid results

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Considerations for Selecting Accommodations

• Student characteristics

• Instructional tasks expected of the student to demonstrate proficiency of grade-level content

• Consistency with standards-based IEP for classroom instruction and assessment

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Step 3: Select Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment for

Individual Students

• Accommodations should always be chosen based on individual student need

• Document accommodations on a student’s IEP or 504 Plan

The Decision Making Process

Instructional

• Student characteristics

• Instructional tasks

• Consistency between accommodations documented for use in classroom instruction and assessment

Assessment

• Student characteristics

• Individual test characteristics

• State accommodations policies and consequence of decisions

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Step 4: Administer Accommodations During Instruction and Assessment

• Accommodations during instruction

• Accommodations during assessment

• Administering assessments and accommodations

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Step 5: Evaluate and Improve Accommodations Use

• Collect and analyze data on use and effectiveness of accommodations

• Involve students in the decision process

• Adjust accommodations based on data and student feedback

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Additional Features of the Accommodations Manual

• Category of accommodation fact sheets

• Accommodations based on student characteristics

• Teacher tools

• Glossary of accommodation terminology

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Test Administration Manuals (TAMS)

• Available for each statewide testing program

• Appendix C of all TAMS addresses accommodations for Students with Disabilities

• Important Reference for determining standard and non-standard accommodations for testing programs

• Outlines procedures which must be used to administer accommodations during testing

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New ResourceNow Available

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Oral Administration

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Oral Administration FAQ

• Available online as a guidance document to assist IEP teams in the consideration of Oral Administration

• The guidelines are the same, the FAQ focuses on the clarification of the accommodation and the process to determine if a student is a non-reader

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Questions Addressedin the Oral Administration FAQ

• Which students should be considered

• How an IEP team determines if a student is a non-reader and requires oral administration

• Documentation to be considered in the decision making process

• Delivery of the oral administration accommodation

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Participation of Students with Disabilities in Statewide Testing

• 43,639 students with disabilities (SWD) were tested in grades 3-8 in 2012 (includes PASS and SC-Alt students)

• SWD students made up 13.2% of all students tested in grades 3-8

• 7.1% of SWD students were tested with SC-Alt

• The number of students tested with SC-Alt was 0.9% of all students tested with PASS and SC-Alt (SWD and Non-SWD)

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Commonly Used Assessment Accommodations

StandardAll Content Areas Grades 3-8 with Exceptions Noted

• Setting

• Timing

• Scheduling

• Oral/ Signed Administration (except ELA grades 3-4)

• Use of calculator with Math (except grades 3-4)

• Response Options

• Supplementary Materials or Devices

Non- Standard

• Oral or Signed Administrations of ELA in grades 3-4

• Use of spell/grammar check or word prediction software

• Use of calculator in math in grades 3-4

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Use of Accommodations with PASS 2012

Content Area

Percent of SWD Students Using Accommodations Grades 3-8 or 5-8 as Noted (*)

Any Accommodation

Oral/Signed Administration

CalculatorNon-Standard Accommodation

ELA 69.7 46.1* 1.9

Writing 70.7 51.6 0.04

Math 72.3 56.7 31.3* 0.16

Science 69.6 56.6

Social Studies

69.9 56.6

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Percent of SWD ReceivingOral Administration of ELA

by Grade 2009-2012

Gr 3 Gr 4 Gr 5 Gr 6 Gr 7 Gr 80

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

22.224.9

30.3

36.8 37.734.8

3.6 4

32.7

37.1 40.638.7

2.3 2.5

36.2

42.9 43.743.7

1.8 1.9

40.7

47.6 49.1 47.6

2009

2010

2011

2012

Per

cent

of

Stud

ents

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Rates of Oral Administration for Grades 5-8 by Disability Group

• By disability group percentage, mild and moderate intellectual disability students had the highest oral administration rates (76 – 80%)

• Used by 50% of learning disability students, and being the largest disability group, made up approximately 72% of all students receiving oral administrations

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Link for FAQs and Accommodations Manual

Link for testing programs. TAMS can be located under “Information for DTCs, STCs, and TAs” within a testing program’s page

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Link for page containing FAQs

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South Carolina Alternate Assessment

(SC-Alt)

SC-Alt

• State alternate assessment on alternate achievement standards

• For students with significant cognitive disabilities

• For students who participate in a school curriculum that includes functional and life skills as well as academic instruction

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SC-Alt• Curriculum is linked to the state academic

standards through extensions.

• These extended standards are basis of instruction and assessment.

• The assessment includes a series of performance tasks.

• Student response is made in the student’s typical mode of communication.

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SC-Alt• Only assesses academic learning.

• IEP reports and other assessments provide information on how students are doing related to other areas of instruction.

• Eligible students must take the SC-Alt in all content areas.- ELA- Math

- Science

- Social Studies

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Participation Criteria

• Demonstrates a significant cognitive disability and adaptive skill deficits, which result in performance that is substantially below grade-level achievement expectations even with the use of accommodations and modifications;

• Accesses the state-approved standards at less complex levels and with extremely modified instruction;

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Participation Criteria (cont.)

• Posses current adaptive skills requiring extensive direct instruction and practice in multiple settings to accomplish the application and transfer of skills necessary for application in school, work, home, and community environments;

• Is unable to apply or use academic skills across natural settings when instructed solely or primarily through class room instruction; and

• The inability to achieve state grade-level achievement expectations is not the result of excessive or extended absences or social, cultural or economic differences.

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SC-Alt Participation

• Students who meet the participation criteria for alternate assessment and

• Who are between the ages of 8-13 or 15 on September 1, of the testing year.

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New Guidanceon Eligibility Criteria

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SC-Alt Participation2007 – 2012

Group 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20122007 to 2012

Change

Mod-ID 992 987 973 913 868 888 -104 -10%

Autism 406 452 519 614 700 784 378 +93%

Sev-ID 273 274 325 321 301 325 52 +19%

Mild-ID 546 640 673 723 846 884 338 +62%

OI 82 59 77 68 68 80 -2 -2%

OHI 78 102 90 134 134 161 83 +106%

LD 19 19 15 38 67 81 62 +326%

DD* 13 73 119 119*

Other 80 118 87 118 118 109 29 +93%

All Students 2476 2651 2759 2942 3175 3431 955 +39%

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Statewide Percent of All Studentsby Disability Group Taking the SC-Alt

• Severe Intellectual Disability – 100%

• Moderate Intellectual Disability – 96.5%

• Autism – 36.9%

• Mild Intellectual Disability – 30.8%

• Traumatic Brain Injury – 26.7%

• Orthopedic Disability – 23.8%

• Developmentally Delayed – 17.5%

• Other Health Impaired – 2.8% 34

ELA Scores for SC-Alt 2012 by Disability Group

Group Number Percent Level 4

Percent Proficient

(3 & 4)

Learning Disability 80 95.0 97.5

Mild ID 881 88.5 97.7

OHI 161 73.3 87.0

Developmental Delay

118 68.6 88.1

Orthopedic 77 52.0 71.4

Autism 780 48.6 81.4

Moderate ID 881 42.8 81.3

Severe ID 324 4.9 24.1

All Students 3414 56.7 80.9

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Math Scores for SC-Alt 2012 by Disability Group

Group Number Percent

Level 4

Percent Proficient (3 & 4)

Learning Disability

80 86.3 98.8

Mild ID 875 51.1 95.6

Developmental Delay

117 45.3 82.1

OHI 161 38.5 84.5

Autism 772 24.7 73.4

Orthopedic 78 16.7 46.2

Moderate ID 875 12.1 58.1

Severe ID 323 2.2 12.4

All Students 3394 29.1 73.9

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Contrasts in District SC-Alt IdentificationNumber Tested and Percent of All

Grade 3-8 Students:

DistrictSC-Alt

N%

Tested

% with Prof

Scores

% of Autism Group

% of Mild ID Group

A-1 125 0.7 0.4 40.0 4.8

A-2 237 0.7 0.5 24.5 29.5

A-3 136 0.8 0.6 41.4 25.2

A-4 93 0.9 0.7 28.3 1.4

F-1 49 3.8 3.7 87.5 63.9

F-2 58 2.8 2.4 80.0 47.3

F-4 162 2.3 2.0 52.6 85.7

F-5 63 2.2 1.9 75.0 51.7

F-7 134 1.8 1.7 67.4 45.937

Guidance for IEP Teams on Determining Participation

in the South Carolina Alternate Assessment

(SC-Alt)

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Significant Cognitive Disability

• Characterized by ability scores on both verbal and non-verbal scales that are at least 2 ½ ─ 3 standard deviations below the mean

And

• Deficits in adaptive behavior skills (skills that enable people to function effectively in their everyday lives) are at least 2 ½─3 standard deviations below the mean in two out of three domains.

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Manual Features

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• Introduction

• Description of SC-Alt Assessment

• Eligibility Criteria

• Eligibility Descriptors

Manual Features(cont.)

• Considerations for IEP Teams

• Description of Sources of Evidence

• Initial Determination of Eligibility Participation Worksheet (Appendix A)

• Review of Eligibility Participation Worksheet (Appendix B)

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SC-AltGuidance Document

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http://ed.sc.gov/agency/programs-services/48/documents/SC-AltParticGuidanceForIEPteams.pdf

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Anne MruzAmruz@ed.sc.gov

803-734-3923

South CarolinaDepartment of Education

Office of AssessmentSuzanne SwaffieldSswaffie@ed.sc.gov

803-734-8274

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