1. An Overview of Cross-Agency Coordinated Assessment for Transition Age Students

2. What is Transition Assessment?
Transition assessment is the ongoing process of collecting information about a youth’s interests, preferences and needs as they relate to the current and future demands of working, education, living, personal and social environments. This information provides a common thread across the transition process and forms the basis for goal setting and identification of service needs that can support the individual in achieving their desired post school outcomes.

3. Collaboration in Transition Assessment
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Rehabilitation Act as amended by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) in 2014, both place a strong emphasis on collaboration and coordinating transition services and pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS) for students and youth with disabilities using an outcome-oriented process to promote post-secondary education, vocational training, and competitive integrated employment (Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, 2017). Active student involvement, family engagement, as well as coordination and collaboration between Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) and the State Education Agency (SEA), and local education agencies (LEAs) are essential in the creation of a seamless transition process for students and youth with disabilities.

4. Misunderstanding Assessment
Assessment data is often used to identify limitations rather than strengths of individuals.
Oftentimes practitioners pick one assessment tool to be used in the transition planning process, rather than recognizing the ongoing multi-dimension nature of assessment to help drive transition.

5. Misunderstanding Assessment
Assessment can be used in a derogatory fashion deeming an individual “incapable” or “unemployable” rather than identifying strengths with a focus on accommodations, supports, and assistive technology.
There is a misconception that only formal testing counts, without recognizing that ecological and informal assessment is often more authentic.

6. Determining What to Assess
Determining Stakeholders
Selecting Appropriate Assessments
Conducting Assessments
Analyzing Assessment Results
Using Assessment Data
The Big Picture
Results from initial assessments should be the starting point for transition planning
Driving force for determining individualized services that help ensure youth with disabilities have the skills needed to achieve in-school and post-school goals
Serves as a guide for instruction and activities, while simultaneously helping youth make informed choices and take charge of their transition planning process
Results from initial assessments should be the starting point for transition planning and remain the driving force for determining individualized services that help ensure students with disabilities have the skills needed to achieve in-school and post-school goals. The ultimate goal of transition assessment is to generate a comprehensive appraisal of a student’s goals, skills, aptitudes, and needs in relation to the students’ future environments (e.g., work, education, living) that will serve as a guide for instruction and activities, while simultaneously helping students make informed choices and take charge of their transition planning process (Mazzotti et al., 2009; Neubert & Leconte, 2013). Incorporating transition assessment into the curriculum is beneficial both for students with disabilities and peers without disabilities. Using transition assessments to identify students’ strengths, interests, needs, and preferences provides an abundance of information to teachers as they prepare students to be college and career ready (Neubert & Leconte, 2013).

7. Goals of Transition Assessments
Results of transition assessments should be used in making recommendations for instructional strategies, accommodations, and environments to meet the student’s strengths and needs
Results should also help students to make a connection between their individual academic program and their post-school ambitions
(Kortering, Sitlington, and Braziel, 2004) 7

8. When assessing youth and young adults continually pose these questions:
What is the student/youth learning from assessment? Is it helpful, meaningful, and positive—does it lead to growth?
Where are gaps in transition planning?
Does the youth understand the ‘why’s’ of assessment?
Are his or her goals realistic, and, if not, how can they become so?
Which stakeholders (family, adult service providers, related service personnel) can assist in assessing, identifying gaps, implementing steps to positive outcomes?

9. When assessing youth and young adults continually pose these questions:
Have we created and/or selected the most appropriate assessment activities?
How are assessment results integrated in reports such as IEPs, IPEs, ISPs? (Interpreted and Utilized?)
Are “next steps” clearly apparent to all stakeholders and the youth regarding assessment and transition implementation?
How is assessment information from outside agencies interpreted and utilized?

10. Transition Assessment is strengthened….
When education, VR, and other agency staff collaborate to conduct transition assessments related to specific content areas
When families and students are involved in the process
The transition assessment process is strengthened when teachers across the curricula collaborate to conduct transition assessments related to specific content areas (Mazzotti & Rowe, in press). Transition assessment should include four broad topics: (a) academic achievement, (b) self-determination, (c) vocational interest and exploration, and (d) adaptive behavior and independent living (Walker, Kortering, Fowler, Rowe, & Bethune, 2013). Neubert and Leconte (2013) suggested transition assessment information is further strengthened when it includes both skills and aptitudes a student has and skills needed to be successful in the next environment are examined. Transition assessments:
provide information useful in career counseling;
help students choose an appropriate course of study;
allow ongoing assessment of performance in coursework and community experiences;
help determine appropriate instructional settings; and
assist with determining necessary accommodations, supports, and services.

11. NTACT, WINTAC and Y-TAC – Currently working on developing the Cross-Agency Coordinated Assessment Guide
The guide will build upon the Age Appropriate Transition Assessment Toolkit (NTACT, 2016; NSTTAC, 2007) and is being developed in accordance with the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehab Act), as amended by title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

12. The Cross-Agency Coordinated Assessment Guide
The Guide will include the following sections: Section 1 - Transition Assessment Definitions and Requirements Section 2 - Assessment Planning Practices Section 3 - The Transition Assessment Process Section 5 - Sample Instruments Section 6 - Appendix of Definitions Section 7 - Informative Links and other Sources of Information Section 8 - Assessment Supplement Section for Families Section 9 - Assessment Supplement Section for Student

13. The Guide is Designed to:
Assist State Educational Agencies (SEAs) and State VR agencies in defining their roles and responsibilities around transition assessment
Support Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and local VR personnel in outlining their specific roles and responsibilities and develop collaborative partnerships to provide and align assessment activities

14. The Guide is Designed to:
Guide LEAs and local VR personnel in determining how best to provide and operationalize the implementation of a collaborative and coordinated assessment continuum including information from families
Support State and local level agencies in providing professional development related to assessment for secondary transition age youth.

15. Assessment Supplement Section for Families
Families know their student better than anyone; consequently, the importance of involving families in the assessment process is critical in order to have a holistic understanding of the student and their post-school goals.
This section of the Guide is designed for families so they have a basic understanding of the purpose of transition assessments as well as how their involvement in the transition assessment process can assist their child in making informed choices about their future.

16. Assessment Supplement Section for Families
The majority of this section is being developed from information contained in the Minnesota Secondary Transition Toolkit for Families: A Guide to Preparing Your Child with a Disability for Life Beyond High School which is available on the Pacer website.
This section will also contain a sample Family/Guardian Transition Planning Questionnaire that has been utilized by IEP teams in transition planning and IEP development.

17. Participant Discussion
What strategies' have you found helpful in including families in the assessment process?
How could education and VR improve their processes to increase families involvement in the assessment process?
Do you have any tools or resources that you have found helpful for families?

18. Transition Assessment
Post School Goals
Transition Services
Annual IEP Goals
Transition Assessment
Remember: Transition Assessment is The Common Thread

19. Thank You for Participating in Today’s Discussion

20. Contact Information
Ruth Allison Michael Stoehr