Alternate
Assessment and Accommodations in
Assessment
for Student with Disabilities
Michael A.
Rettig, Ph.D. and Gloria Dye, Ph.D.
Department
of EducationWashburn University
September, 2002
The
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 1997) has ensured that
all students with disabilities will be fully included in state and local
school district assessments.Students
with disabilities, who in the past may have been excluded from state and
district assessments, are now required to participate.
Another
closely related topic to alternate assessment involves the accommodations
provided to students with disabilities to complete assessments and to receive
instruction.In our experience, practioners
tend to lump these two related topics together when in reality each can
involve quite different things.The
purpose of this discussion is to review information relevant to alternative
assessment and accommodations in assessment.A
particular emphasis will be placed on the requirements in Kansas for alternate
assessment and on the decision-making processes for determining which of
the state assessments students will participate.
The
inclusion of students with disabilities in state and district-wide assessments
has been a challenge for many school districts.Determining
who these students are, when they should be assessed, how they are assessed
and when they should be assessed are among the questions states have had
to consider to come into compliance with IDEA.
States
are required to provide alternate assessments for any student who cannot
participate in district-wide assessments, even if those students are provided
with accommodations.This has usually
meant that the students with the most severe disabilities take alternative
assessments.In Kansas, the eligibility
criteria for alternative assessments are for students who score at or below
the fourth percentile on national, district or building level assessments.The
number was recently raised to the fourth percentile from two and a half
percentiles.
Determining
Assessment Participation
Kansas
has available four different ways in which students may participate in
state assessments.The decision on
the eligibility of a given student for either one of the four types of
assessment rests with the student’s IEP team.The
four types of assessment include:general
assessment, assessment with accommodations, assessment with modifications
and alternative assessment.
In
the general assessment the student is eligible to take assessment in reading
(grades 5, 8, 11), mathematics (grades 4, 7, 10), writing (grade 5), science
(grade 4, 7, 10) and social studies (grade 6, 8, 11).Assessment
with accommodations is provided if a student meets the following criteria
for eligibility: all of the accommodations are listed in the student’ IEP,
these accommodations are used for classroom instruction and classroom testing,
and these accommodations provide equity rather than advantage for the student
in comparison to other students.Student’s
getting assessment with accommodations take the Reading, Writing, Mathematics,
Science and Social Studies assessments.
Assessment
with Modifications is a third option.A
student must meet the following eligibility criteria to take the Kansas
Assessment with Modifications:the
student has an active IEP or 504 plan, and student is unable to take the
general assessment or assessment with accommodations, the student does
not meet the eligibility criteria for alternate assessment and the student
receives instruction in mathematics or reading that is significantly below
that of grade level peers.Students
getting the assessment with modifications will take the reading assessment
(grades 5, 8, 11) and/or mathematics (grades 4, 7, 10) and/or science (grade
4, 7, 10) and/or social studies (grade 6, 8, 11).
Various
accommodations are available for students who need them.Accommodations
for students with 504 plans or Imp’s should have these accommodations clearly
stated in these plans.Accommodations
cross three main areas including setting, assessment presentation and student
response.In the setting level accommodations
can include individual, small group or the use of a study carrel, testing
in a separate location, the use of special lighting or acoustics and frequent
breaks.Within the assessment presentation
level accommodations can include highlighting key words or phrases, templates,
large print, translating directions, reading items aloud, use of colored
filters or providing items on per page.At
the student response level accommodations can include: having the student
point to an answer, tape recording the answer, use of a scribe, or use
of a typewriter to word processor.In
should be noted, however, that not all accommodations are available for
each academic area.For example,
the option of reading items aloud is not available for the Reading assessment
and having a student point to an answer is not available for the Writing
assessment.A more general discussion
of assessment accommodations is provided later in this discussion.
Kansas
Alternate Assessments
Alternative
assessments in Kansas involve a comprehensive procedure to assess students
with the most severe disabilities.The
alternative assessments focus on the Extended Curricular Standards that
assess three areas: Reading, Writing and Mathematics.The
Extended Curricular Standards are organized by benchmarks in each of the
three areas and consist of instructional indicators and examples of student
behavior(Kansas Alternate Assessment
Information Booklet, 2002).
Eligibility
Criteria for Alternate Assessments in Kansas
To
be eligible for alternative assessments in Kansas a student must meet certain
criteria.First, the student needs
to have an active IEP and be receiving special education services at ages
10, 13, and 16 by September 1 of the assessment year.The
student must demonstrate the need for substantial adjustments in the curriculum
due to cognitive and adaptive behavior.The
student would require extensive instruction to learn, maintain and generalize
or transfer skills and the student will have scored at or below the fourth
percentile on a nationally or district-level normed assessment.A
student’s IEP team makes determination of participation in the alternative
assessments.
Format
and Implementation
The
alternate assessment involves the student’s IEP team who carries out the
assessment process.The IEP team
will include a team leader, an examiner and respondents who collect information
and conduct evaluation interviews.An
evidence file is compiled that includes a collection of observations, anecdotal
reports, work samples and other academic information that describes student
performance.
An
IEP team meeting will be held not later than September 15 of the assessment
year to determine eligibility for a given student.The
team first determines if a student is eligible and if so the team informs
the building principal.The team
also selects a team leader who mange’s the evidence file and coordinates
the assessment.The team leader is
usually one of the student’s teachers or case manager.The
team leader keeps the evidence file and ensures that this information is
confidential.The team also selects
an examiner.The examiner must be
a certified professional trained to give and interpret standardized assessments.Examiners
are often school psychologists but can also be social workers, special
education teachers or administrators.It
is not necessary for the examiner to know the student prior to the alternative
assessment.
Three
professionals are also selected to serve as respondents.Individuals
selected as respondents can include general education teachers, related
services providers, parents, home care providers and may include one classroom
paraeducator.Other than parents
who may be serving as respondents, all professionals are required to collect
information for the evidence file.At
least two respondents must observe and record information on student performance
for each of 15 target indicators selected for a given student and this
information will be included in the evidence file.Respondents
submit information and data to the evidence file.Information
can also be included from other individuals who have contact with the student.Evidence
of performance and skills from different settings is encouraged.
The
evidence file should contain at least two types of documentation for each
target indicator selected.Evidence
can include a wide variety of information including such things as:formal
and informal assessments, worksheets and classroom projects, data sheets
charts, CBM’s, photographs, audiotapes or videotapes, vocational work samples
or products and assessment information from related services providers.The
evidence provided must show the level of attainment of the student and
can include information compiled throughout the assessment year.
A
total of 15 indicators from the two broad content areas (Reading/Writing
and Mathematics) are to be selected for each student.These
indicators must include emerging skills and skills identified for maintenance.At
least nine of these indicators should measure emerging skills.The
specific target indicators are recorded on the IEP with the eligibility
for the Alternative Assessment.The
present level of educational performance section of the IEP serves as a
guide for the selection of target indicators.
An
evaluation interview is conducted by the examiner with each of the respondents.The
examiner interviews each respondent who in turn reports on their direct
observation of the student’s performance on the target indicators.Each
respondent will be asked to provide information on the student’s performance
on the specific target indicators selected for that student.Respondents
will be asked to provide a rating of the student’s performance on a scale
that include 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.These
ratings provide an indication of the degree of mastery or independence
the student demonstrates on each indicator.The
quality of performance and the degree of assistance provided to the student
are both considered in the ratings.
Some
Considerations in Selecting Strategies for Individual Students can include:
The
nature of the disability – different disabilities will require different
alternative assessment methods.What
a student with learning disabilities needs will be different than a student
with a physical impairment.
The
type of assessment – differences in alternative assessment strategies may
be needed based on the type of assessment given.Differences
may be due to multiple choice questions, essay questions or matching questions.
The
nature of the course or subject - consider the course or subject, how much
reading, writing or problem solving is required.
The
student’s usual work methods – what does the student often used as an accommodation
or means of assistance in getting schoolwork completed?This
may involve personal computers, calculators, spell check or interpreters.
Information
from consultation with the student - Student’s should be involved in decisions
regarding what kind of accommodations are most effective and reasonable.The
student should be interviewed and observed.
Information
from consultation with the student’s parents.Parent
concerns should be considered.
Assessment
Accommodation Checklist (Elliott, Kratochwill & Schulte, 1998)
Motivation
– provide external motivators for students to perform their best (example
– verbal encouragement of a student’s effort).
Providing
assistance prior to administering test – help to familiarize them with
the format of the test or test related procedures (example – teach test-taking
skills)
Scheduling
– consider factors such as fatigue or breaks, how quickly they work to
complete tasks (examples – extra time for testing; space testing over extra
days)
Setting
– may be an alternative location to take assessment, consider special lighting
or specialized equipment, limit distractions (examples – individual test
administration; provide adaptive furniture; provide a distraction-free
environment)
Assessment
Directions - may not be able to read to interpret directions, students
need to understand the test directions (examples – reread directions for
each subtask; simplify language in directions)
Provide
Assistance During the Assessment - what can reasonably be done during the
assessment to assist the student regarding such factors as their ability
to understand the questions, turn pages, or respond to questions in the
standardized manner (examples - allow a teacher to administer the test;
turn pages for the student; record the student’s response using a tape
recorder)
Using
Aids - any item or technology that can assist (examples – a computer with
a speech synthesizer, pencils adapted in size or grip)
Changes
in Test Format and Content – a student may not be able to write in a test
booklet, read regular sized print or be overwhelmed by the number of pages
(examples – audiotape questions, Braille or large print editions of the
test)
Common
Accommodations
Accommodations
should be based on the documented needs of individual students.A
wide variety of accommodations are possible including:
Student
preparation
Staff
preparation
Interpreter
Reader
Scribe
Personal
assistant
Oral
Examinations
Use
of assistive technology
Additional
time
Flexible
time
Rest
breaks
Student
Preparation
Prior
to testing we need to discuss with students the purpose the assessment
and address any concerns or questions the student may have about the process.We
should address such things as test anxiety, how they will respond to test
questions, distractibility and attention concerns, test taking skills and
even helping to ensure that they had a good nights sleep the night before
the testing.
Staff
Preparation
Staff
need to be prepared to give the assessment and implement any accommodations.
Who will be responsible for giving the assessment, being sure the staff
member(s) are familiar with test procedures and guidelines and addressing
any language differences are among the things we need to consider prior
to testing.
Interpreters,
Readers, Scribes or Personal Assistants
Interpreters,
readers or scribes may be necessary for individuals who are deaf, blind
or whose physical impairment is such that writing is not a reasonable option.
A
personal assistant may be needed to assist with such things as turning
pages or inserting a disk in a computer, changing paper in a printer or
to assist in movement or toileting needs.
Oral
Examinations
Some
students may benefit from oral examinations in which questions, answers
or both are provided orally instead of in written form.Students
who process information better in an auditory format would benefit from
having questions read to them.Students
who have difficulty with writing can provide answers orally.When
using oral examinations as an accommodation it may be helpful to tape record
what the student has said for later reference.It
would also be helpful to have more than one staff member conduct the examination
to be sure that there is agreement on the student’s performance.When
reading questions to students be sure to give the student time to respond.The
length of time provided for the student to think about the answer should
be considered carefully and be consistent.When
the student does respond with an answer the examiner should not indicate,
verbally or nonverbally, that the students’ response was correct or incorrect.
It
is important that the staff member reading questions to the student read
the questions exactly as they are stated in the assessment booklet.One
issue that we have noticed with staff in the schools involves teachers
who may do more than just read the question.It
should be made clear and documented how the staff will handle questions
on the part of the student who, for example, may not understand some of
the words in the test question.
Assistive
Technology
Assistive
technology can involve any low-tech or high-tech accommodation that can
assist a student in completing an assessment.The
use of high-tech technologies might involve the use of personal computers
for word processing, grammar checks, or dictionaries as long as these do
not give a student an unfair advantage.Depending
on the needs of the student adaptive keyboards, large print screen displays
or voice synthesizers may be helpful.How
this assistive technology is to be used should be based on documented student
needs and consistent with how the technology is used in their daily instruction.
Additional
Time, Flexible Time and Rest Breaks
One
common type of accommodation involves additional time to complete assignments
or assessments. However, there does not seem to be consensus about how
much additional time should be provided to individual students.
There
have been concerns expressed about the use of additional time because it
is felt that it gives students an unfair advantage.Fuchs,
Fuchs, Hamlett, Binkley & Crouch (2000) found that extended time is
one of the most common accommodations provided to students with learning
disabilities.However, it was not
found to benefit these students anymore than students without learning
disabilities.In fact, it was found
the students with LD may get an unfair advantage and that the scores on
assessments may be “inflated” because of the extended time provided.It
was noted that all students can benefit from this particular accommodation
and that the accommodation was not targeted
directly enough at students
with LD.
If
the use of extended time is seen as a viable accommodation, the time frame
selected needs to consider the nature of the disability and observation
of the student to know about their typical work patterns.Observation
of individual students should provide information on how much longer it
takes them to complete assignments, read, write or think about questions
and answers.Once this information
if obtained and documented a specific amount of extended time can be implemented
in both instruction and assessment.It
may be helpful and necessary to document how many additional minutes is
to be provided for reading, perusal of answers, and writing.
Rest
Breaks
Rest
breaks may be needed so that instruction or assessment does not become
and “endurance” test.Decisions on
the timing, frequency and length of rest breaks should be based on prior
knowledge and experience with the student and should be consistent across
instruction and assessment.It should
also be clearly documented where rest breaks will occur and what activities
are and are not permitted during these breaks.
References
Elliot,
S., Kratochwill, T. & Schulte, A. (1998).Teaching
Exceptional Children, 31(2), 10-14.
Fuchs,
L, Fuchs, D., Eaton, S., Hamlett, C., Binkley, E. & Crouch, R. (2000).Using
objective data sources to enhance teacher judgements about test accommodations.Exceptional
Children, 67(1), 67-81.
Kansas
Alternate Assessment Information Booklet (2002, April).Kansas
Department of Education, Student Support Services, Topeka, Kansas
For more information on this page contact Michael Rettig, Ph.D. Department of Education, Washburn University, Topeka, KS