Norm-Referenced Tests• Norm-Referenced Tests
– Compare an individual’s performance to the performance of his or her peers
– Emphasis is on the relative standing of individuals rather than on absolute mastery of content
– Designed to separate the performances of individuals so that there is a distribution of scores
Norm-Referenced Tests• Useful for eligibility decisions
• Students with DCD– Measures of intellectual functioning– Measures of adaptive behavior
Criterion-Referenced Tests• Rather than indicating a person’s relative
standing in skill development--measure a person’s development of particular skills in term of absolute levels of mastery
• Recommended for the purpose of assisting in planning appropriate programs for children
• Identifies the specific skills that the student does or does not have (mastery)
Criterion-Referenced Tests• Information obtained from criterion-
referenced tests facilitate the writing of objectives
• Test items sample sequential skills--identifying where to begin instruction and to understand the instructional sequence
Brigance Assessments• Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of
Basic Skills• Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of
Essential Skills• Brigance Diagnostic Life Skills
Inventory• Brigance Diagnostic Employability
Skills Inventory
Brigance Diagnostic Comprehensive Inventory of Basic
Skills• Assessment of 203 skill
sequences in: • Readiness• Speech• Listening• Reading• Spelling• Writing• Research and study
skills• Graphs & Maps• Math
• Primarily used to:– Assess elementary and
middle school students• Prekindergarten to grade
nine
– Assess basic academic skills
• Measurement is:– Criterion-referenced
• Focus on the content rather than comparison to others
Brigance Basic SkillsMath Skills
• Grade placement• Numbers• Number facts• Computation
• Fractions• Decimals• Percents• Time• Money• Measurement
Brigance Basic SkillsInventory may be used as:• Assessment Instrument
– Identify areas of strength and weakness
– To identify basic skills within areas
– Identify instructional objectives
• Instructional guide– Objectives stated in functional
and measurable terms
• Record-keeping and Tracking System
• The instrument:– Gives continuity to
your program of basic skills
– Simplifies and combines the processes of assessing, diagnosing, record-keeping, and instructional planning
Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Basic Skills
• Administration– Too extensive to be
administered in its entirety
– Decide what assessment will provide the most valuable data within reasonable time
– Initiate assessment at the skill level where student can be successful (refer to grade levels in manual)
• Student Record Book– Color coding
• Ongoing, graphic, specific, and easily interpreted record (see overheads)
Brigance Inventory of Essential Skills
• Two parts--– Section A through T--basic academic skills– Sections U through Z--applied skills– Applied Skills
• Health & Safety• Vocational• Money & Finance• Travel & Transportation• Food & Clothing• Oral Communication & Telephone Skills
Brigance Inventory of Essential Skills
• Includes:– 186 skill sequences– 10 rating scales
• Easy to follow format
• Has two forms (A&B)
• Easily adapted to accommodate different assessment situations
Brigance Life Skills Inventory
• Areas assessed:– Listening– Speaking– Reading – Writing– Comprehending– Computing
• Within context of everyday life situations
Brigance Life Skills Inventory
• Subscales– Speaking & listening skills
– Functional Writing Skills
– Words on common signs and warning labels
– Telephone Skills
– Money and finance – Food
– Clothing
– Health
– Travel & transportation
Brigance Employability Skills Inventory
• Subscales– Reading grade placement– Career Awareness and Self
Understanding– Job seeking skills & knowledge– Rating scales
• Self concept, attitudes, responsibility, self-discipline, motor coordination, thinking skills, job-interview
– Reading skills (in relation to employment)
– Speaking & listening skills– Preemployment writing– Math skills & concepts
Checklist of Adaptive Living Skills (CALS)
• Criterion-referenced, individually administered measure (infants to mature adults)
– Tool for program planning• Determine instructional needs
• Develop individualized training objectives
• Monitor progress of learners
• Can be used:– each time the learner’s long-term goals are evaluated– each time learner experiences major change in environment– each time there is need to select new or different skill areas for
evaluation
Checklist of Adaptive Living Skills (CALS)
• 800 specific adaptive behaviors• Four domains
– Personal living skills– Home living skills– Community living skills– Employment skills
• Broad domains subdivided into 24 specific skills modules
• Items arranged in order of progressive difficulty
LCCE Knowledge Battery• Standardized, Criterion-Referenced
Assessment
• Developed to be used with 7-12 grade students
• 200 multiple choice questions that cover 20 of the 22 competencies
• Sample of basic knowledge
LCCE Performance Battery• Nonstandardized, criterion-referenced
instrument
• Assesses 21 of the competencies
• Items are performance based
Selecting Curriculum Areas
• Communication
• Socialization
• Personal management
• Leisure and Recreation
• Selected Academics
• Home
• School
• Community
• Vocational
Additional Learning Outcomes
• Step 2 designed to identify learning outcomes beyond the priorities selected during the Family Interview (top 8 priorities)
• Additional learning outcomes may come from:– Coach items that were not previously prioritized– General education
General Supports• Step 3 is designed to determine and
document general supports that are necessary for the student to access and participate in his or her individualized education program
• They clarify what other needs to do to or for the student
Scheduling Matrix• The purpose of this step is to explore
scheduling possibilities by comparing the student’s educational program components to general class activities.
Assessment Overview• Brigance Scales
– Assess basic skills, life skills, employability skills (direct assessment with some indirect with rating scales)
• Checklist of Adaptive Behavior (CALS)– Criterion-referenced adaptive behavior assessment (indirect assessment)
• LCCE Batteries– Knowledge Battery-direct assessment of students’ knowledge of like skill
issues– Performance Battery-direct assessment of students’ performance relative
to life skills (with some rating scales)
• COACH– Assessment process that identifies & prioritizes student needs, additional
learning outcomes, and general supports to include addressing how needs can be addressed in the general education classroom