N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Linking Curriculum Standards, Assessment, and Instructional Practices Martha L. Thurlow February 11, when Educating Children with Disabilities

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Standards Assessment Instruction

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Topics for Discussion Why talk about linking? Expectations and success Building blocks of success Some steps for you to take

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Why talk about linking? Standards-based reform Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 1997) No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB 2001)

Standards-Based Reform Context --- Everything else is negotiable --- schedules, place, time, structure, curriculum, instructional methods, methods of assessment...

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes IDEA a law created within the context of the standards- based reform movement...

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Key Provisions in IDEA 97 Statement of present levels, needs, and how they affect involvement and progress in general curriculum Annual goals and objectives to allow involvement and progress in the general curriculum

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Services needed to be successful in the general curriculum Modifications and supports to be successful in the general curriculum LRE statements Key Provisions in IDEA 97

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes General educator collaboration Assessment – full integration into standards-based reform Key Provisions in IDEA 97 The key provisions in IDEA 97 really address equity concerns – access to common standards, challenging curriculum, and effective instruction

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Standards! Content standards = what all children should know and be able to do Performance/achievement standards = how well children can demonstrate what they know and are able to do

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Status of Content Standards MA All regular states, except Iowa, have state-level standards PREL (Pacific Resources for Education and Learning) has good information on standards- based learning

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes AFT (2001) recommends that: Standards should be explained, along with the performance levels required to meet them Examples of standards and student work at various grades and performance levels should be available to teachers, students, parents, and the public so that there is a shared understanding of them

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Step 1: Dig into your state’s standards so that you know what they are like and understand them

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes No Child Left Behind... reinforces standards-based education for all students and introduces accountability for results

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Stated purpose of No Child Left Behind “…to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments”

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Key Provisions in NCLB Development of grade level standards and assessments aligned to those standards Inclusion of all students in assessments, including students with disabilities and limited English proficient students

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Key Provisions in NCLB A state accountability system that defines adequate yearly progress to ensure that all students reach proficiency by 2014 School improvement plans and consequences when AYP is not evident

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes AYP combines Test Data % Proficient + Advanced AND 95% tested Progress over time 12 Years to 100% Proficient Intermediate goals Annual measurable objectives Within a Content Area

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes This is high stakes! For the system – schools, districts, and states

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes The “why” is primarily about the LAW and assessments Is there more to it than that?

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Assessment will drive improvements in instructional programs For students with disabilities, participation in assessments will increase their access to the general education curriculum, thereby increasing their opportunity to learn to high standards.

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Students who are tested are those who get taught! When educators know that students will be tested, and that their scores will count, they are more likely to make sure that they learn what they need to learn – that they get the resources they need.

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Inclusion in assessments may result in other inclusive opportunities As students are included in assessments, the need to access to the general curriculum becomes more evident, and promotes the need to develop instructional activities that are more appropriate for all students.

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Negative effects of exclusion are avoided Inappropriate referrals to special education are often avoided – if special education is an avenue to exclusion

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Higher expectations emerge for students who have been suffered from low expectations Students in special education particularly have been subjected to low expectations (in the guise of protecting and caring for them), and these in turn has limited their opportunities to learn

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes We obtain data on student performance, so that we know whether students are learning and programs are working – for all students If we have no data to look at, we have no basis for making decisions, and we do not know whether students are learning and programs are successful in meeting the goals for students.

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Instructional programs improve (especially with professional development) and student learning improves! Evidence is now accumulating that indicates benefits to educators and to students.

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Recent article in the Boston Globe (December 22, 2002) Katie Bartlett has spent all of her 17 years exceeding the expectations the world placed on her when she was born with Down syndrome....Still no one was quite sure what would happen when Bartlett took the MCAS exam, now a requirement for a high school diploma in Massachusetts. This is what happened: She passed

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Other Data Also Coming to Light New York Regents Exam, 2001: Number of students with disabilities passing is higher than the number taking in the past Trend data across grades in large southern state – special education population changes over time mask closing of gap between special education and general education students

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes These success stories are related to the content standards, a defined general curriculum, aligned instruction, good assessments, and good assessment decision making

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Access to the General Curriculum is essential, but:  Is the general curriculum linked to the content/curriculum standards?  Has the general curriculum been defined? General curriculum does NOT = books General curriculum does NOT = regular classroom placement

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Step 2: Identify the linkages among standards, especially grade to grade, then define the general curriculum Define access, participation, and progress in the general curriculum for students with disabilities

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Building Blocks State system of academic content standards What all students should know and be able to do for future success Curriculum and instructional plans What and how all students will learn – varied and rich, multiple settings, resources, authentic applications in the general curriculum Individual student needs, strengths considered Services and supports to be successful Assessment of student performance Appropriate assessments to document knowledge and skills rather than disabilities

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Assessment Requirements Aligned with challenging State standards Adequate technical quality for the purpose Involve multiple up-to-date measures, including measures of higher-order thinking and understanding Measure achievement against State standards in at least mathematics, reading/language arts, and (beginning in ) science No Child Left Behind

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Reminder: Types of Assessments – All Important Classroom Tests Eligibility Assessments Large-Scale Assessments District-wide Statewide National

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Ways to Participate in Assessments  Same way as other students  With accommodations  In an alternate assessment But, this does not mean that it is simple

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes  School accountability systems  High stakes for students  Bubble of students without access to the general curriculum, high expectations  Lawsuits that suggest new ways of thinking about accommodations and other alternatives

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Step 3: Recognize the importance of individualized assessment decisions – evaluate these decisions and revisit them

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Accommodations Accommodations are changes in assessment materials or procedures that allow the student’s knowledge and skills to be assessed rather than the student’s disability. Setting, Timing, Scheduling, Presentation, Response, Other Clarify what is okay and not okay!

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Good Accommodations Decisions Start with good instructional decisions Raise systematic questions about accommodations for individual students Use data to aid decision making What helps student learn or perform better? What has student or parents told you? What gets in the way of the student showing skills? What has the student been taught to use?

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Individualized accommodation decisions should be linked to the standard, the construct assessed, the nature of instruction or the assessment, and the student’s characteristics Purposeful reading – reading to select and apply relevant information for a given task Does this allow different modes of print interaction? And, what are the implications of these different modes for accommodations?

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Universally-Designed Assessments Be part of the movement toward assessments designed from the beginning for the widest range of students – not to assess different standards but to better assess the standards that we have During item development During item tryouts During item reviews

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Step 4: Push for universally designed assessments. Participate on item review teams

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Alternate Assessments First introduced in IDEA 97 - for students unable to participate in general state assessments

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Alternate Assessments Developmental approaches – 1970s Functional approaches – 1980s Academic approaches – 1990s Vary from state to state Reflect shifting goals for students with significant cognitive disabilities

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Alternate Assessments: Examples of Current State Practices Portfolio, body of evidence - Kentucky Performance assessment – Colorado and Louisiana Checklist – Montana, and in one portion of Oregon’s alternate assessment IEP analysis/multiple measures – Vermont

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Step 5: Explore your state’s alternate assessment, even if you do not work with the students in the alternate assessment

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Getting back to instruction... This is the critical cog in the system!

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes AFT recommends: Teachers involved in development of grade- by-grade curriculum aligned to standards Specify the learning continuum in the core subjects to show the progression and development of critical knowledge and skills from grade to grade Use information on instructional strategies or techniques to help teach the standards

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Develop and use performance indicators of the quality of student work required for mastery of the content standards Create lesson plan data banks that include exemplary lessons and student work related to standards-based instruction AFT recommends:

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes NEA book suggests: Identify needed instructional accommodations on an individual basis Instruct students to identify their own accommodation needs Maintain positive attitude and high expectations Use effective instructional techniques Reflect on test results

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Thurlow, Ysseldyke, and Elliott recommend: Carefully examine existing state and district assessment data Explore trends in performance over time Identify and obtain other data... all to inform programmatic decisions

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes Elliott and Thurlow recommend: Integrate transition needs and standards- based requirements Prioritize learning without sacrificing the foundations for later learning Don’t fall prey to teaching-to-the test unless it is meaningful narrowing of the curriculum Create collaborations and support within and outside

N C E O National Center on Educational Outcomes

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