Assessment Session 1

Introductions

Everyone thinks they can teach Most have been in school for at least 12 years They think that anybody can be a teacher Those that can Do, those that can’t….

Activity List Two occupations that you would consider professionals Then decide what it is that make these occupations professionals

Professions

What Makes Up a profession Experts in the filed say a profession has the following: A lifetime commitment to the profession A sense of public service A defined body of knowledge High prestige an economic standing Professional organizations that provide recognition for individual achievements A lengthy period of specialized training Control over licensing standards and entry requirements Autonomy in making decisions at work A set of standards for performance A responsibility for judgments Self Governing A code of ethics that clarify ambiguous matters

The Teaching Profession Everyone feels they can walk in off the street and be a teacher. Because there is the perception that you learn by doing and that there is no knowledge base to draw from… We as professionals need to rely on this knowledge base, refer to this knowledge base and challenge this knowledge base.

Professionals People Clearly feel That Doctors are professionals Although they question them., they meet the qualifications we just saw They uses dozens of assessments to determine what they need to do Watch this

Activity In your Groups, list some of the reasons we need assessments

Reasons for Assessments Identify a starting point to educate a child, – Do not want to reteach something if a child knows it Identify a child's strengths and weaknesses Identify children that need special help – As a country we have as much as 13% of school age children with special education – 75 % of sixth graders are 2 years behind in reading

Activity In your groups define Assessment Then define the purpose of assessment

Assessment defined Assessment is a process of collecting data for the purpose of making decisions about students or schools School personnel make decision about – What children should be taught – What they have learned

Assessment defined Assessment is used to – Gather information about schools Where are their strengths Where should they improve Are they meeting national and state expectations

Assessment defined Assessment is used to – Gather to see if students are making progress towards competencies Social Academic Behavioral

Assessment defined Assessment can be formal or informal Meet in your groups and develop a list of both types

Assessments Importance Assessment is used in all walks of life – You are assessed to see if you can drive – Assessed to see if you can be a teacher – Students are assessed to see if they are progressing like children nationally – Our country is assessed to see how we compare to other parts of the world

Assessments Importance Assessment can be positive or negative – Positive- if done correctly and used properly can be helpful – Negative if it is not given properly, interpreted wrong and used for reasons it was not designed to be used

Assessments Decisions Assessment decision are usually made when the assessment indicates that a child is having a problem or when the assessment indicates that a discrepancy exists – Academically – Behaviorally – Physically

Screening Screening is a form of assessment In many cases, the earlier a problem is identified, the greater the chance to rectify the problem

Activity In your groups, identify what are some screenings that schools use?

Screenings Vision Hearing Height, weight, BMI Universal screenings ( why is it called universal) – Reading – Gifted ( in some schools) – math

Activity Define what Progress monitoring is? – Who is it used with? – How often?

Progress Monitoring Originally just used with Special education to determine if a child was making progress Now used as part of RTI

Trajectory Line Use to determine progress

Monitoring Progress Can be done in Math or reading Can be done with all students Is instruction working – If not change Can be used to see if schools are making progress toward state goals

Monitoring Progress No child left behind and parts of IDEA specify that instructional tools should be evidence based or research based instructional practices

Monitoring Progress Sometimes assessment is used to determine the need for resources – If data proves that there is a weakness in a certain area of the curriculum or the teaching practice, resources should be allocated to fix the problem

Special education Before RtI, (RtII) entrance into special education was governed by assessment An assessment was done to determine that a disability existed And assessment was used to determine that a learning need existed Both were required in PA ( still are if using discrepancy model)

Program evaluation Assessment data are used to determine if different programs are effective – Two approaches to teaching can be compared – Can compare groups simultaneously or compare and before and after or two different groups on different years

AYP Assessment is used to determine AYP – Adequate Yearly Progress

Determining the type of assessment Different assessments are used for different purposes – Determining eligibility for special education – Planning for a lesson – Progress monitoring – Examine behavior – Can assess instruction or curriculum to determine if that is the problem

Ideally – Can assess instruction or curriculum to determine if that is the problem – Ideally you have good instruction – But you could have poor instruction and that is what is causing failure, or you could have poor curriculum

Tier I: Classroom/All Students - Core Class Instruction Tier II: Students not responding to Tier I efforts – group and individual interventions, Specialized Research- based Interventions Tier III: Students not responding to Tier I or II interventions – Sustained Intensive Individual Interventions Possible Special Education Identification for non-responders of Tier III interventions ~80% of Students ~15% ~5% Three Tiered Module

Activity In your groups Lets assume that the children in the Philomena School are all capable of learning. They all have average home lives and average or above average intelligence ( except 10% who are special needs) Yet they have an inverted triangle, 80 % are basic or below on state and national assessments, Determine what are some causes for this?

Activity Review Other include – Instructional environment Poor management – Poor curriculum – Poor instruction – Poor resources – Poor assessment conditions

Activity If you were asked to go in and determine what the problem is at Philomena school, what would you do, Devise a plan

Plan The plan could include a number of items including the following: – Observation of instruction; – Recollections Interview people who went there or taught there or are familiar with the school, use a structured interview – Test Good because they are very objective, and the same for all – Professional judgment Eventually, you will need to make some judgments based on your knowledge and experience about the situation

Assessment consequences What are some negative consequences that people or organizations can suffer because of assessment results?

Laws Much of the testing we do is based on many different laws Sometimes it is to deliver the law and meet the requirements of the law – We assess students to determine if they meet eligibility for special education

Laws Jig Saw activity Directions Each group will take an Area of the law and answer the following questions related to the division assigned. Fives- 504 Sevens- IDEA fours- NCLB Royals- GIEP Develop a two to three statement descriptive summary of the topic. What are the major parts of this law What impact do they have for learning

Laws Pl education for al handicapped children – Reauthorized in 1986, 1990 ( became- IDEA), 1997, Elementary and secondary School Act aka NCLB Section 504 of the rehabilitation Act of 1973

Section 504 “ No otherwise qualified handicapped individual shall, solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded from the participation in, denied the benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Section 504 Sometimes called 504 agreements Service agreements or other names Just as serious and in some ways more serious than an IEP If you do not follow, district can be denied federal funds and you can be sued personally Monitored by OCR

IDEA IDEA affects assessment in four ways: – Developing an IEP – Protection in evaluation – Education is provided in the LRE – Due process rights

IDEA Other concepts of IDEA – FAPE – Provide goals for students – Core team – Based on comprehensive assessment – Included in state and district assessment – Test accommodation must be established