Use of Alternate Assessment Results in Reporting and Accountability Systems: Conditions for Use Based on Research and Practice (NCEO Synthesis Report)
TITLE Use of Alternate Assessment Results in Reporting and Accountability Systems: Conditions for Use Based on Research and Practice. Synthesis Report. INSTITUTION National Center on Educational Outcomes, Minneapolis, MN. SPONS AGENCY Special Education Programs (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC. REPORT NO NCEO-43 PUB DATE 2002-05-00 NOTE 37p.; In collaboration with: the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE). CONTRACT H326G000001 AVAILABLE FROM National Center on Educational Outcomes, University of Minnesota, 350 Elliott Hall, 75 East River Rd., Minneapolis, MN 55455. For full text: http://education.umn.edu/NCEO/OnlinePubs/ Synthesis43.html. PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom (055) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Accountability; *Disabilities; Educational Assessment; *Educational Testing; Elementary Secondary Education; *Evaluation Methods; Program Development; Scoring; Standards; Student Evaluation; Student Participation; Testing Accommodations IDENTIFIERS Kentucky; North Carolina; Wyoming
What Are the Consequences? Validation of Large-Scale Alternate Assessment Systems and Their Influence on Instruction.
In conjunction with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (IDEA), the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB) calls for specific enhancements to existing assessment and accountability systems within definite timelines. The NCLB Act also stresses the use of reliable and valid data for decision making. The purpose of this study was to examine the consequential validity of the alternate assessment system in one Midwestern state. Three hundred and four teachers completed a survey designed to measure their perceptions of the alternate assessment's influence on instruction and to see where future training might need to focus in order to improve instruction and alternate assessment results. Findings indicate the alternate assessment influenced instruction to a greater degree than Individualized Education Plan development. A longitudinal analysis of the scoring distribution for alternate assessment results from the 1997-2002 school years was also conducted. Findings and implications are discussed. An appendix contains the teacher survey. (Contains 2 figures and 39 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Running head: WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES? IV What Are the Consequences? Validation of Large-Scale Alternate Assessment Systems and Their Influence on Instruction Elizabeth A. Towles Brent Garrett Paula Burdette Mike Burdge University of Kentucky U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Odic f Educational Research and Improvement ED ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. EST COPY AVAILABLE 2 1 Validity 1 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY E. Towles TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
Putting Alternate Assessments into Practice: What to Measure and Possible Sources of Data
The reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that states have alternate assessments in place by the year 2000. Personnel in departments of education are working on the development of alternate assessments that are to be used in accounting for the performance and progress of students with disabilities who do not participate in the typical state assessments. In this article, we define alternate assessment, describe methods that can be used to collect data, and describe domains in which data should be collected. We report the results of a focus group study in which teachers delineated ways in which data might be collected using each of the methods in each of the domains. We provide a set of initial thoughts that could serve as a starting point for designing alternate assessments.