Lessons Learned from the 2.1 Functional Independence English Language Arts Item Tryouts

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Lessons Learned from the 2.1 Functional
Independence English Language Arts Item Tryouts

• MI-Access
• Coordinator Conferences
• Fall, 2004

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In this session, we will discuss

• the timeline for the development of the 2.1
  Functional Independence assessments
• the purpose of the 2.1 Functional Independence
  Tryout
• the lessons learned from the 2.1 Functional
  Independence English Language Arts Tryout
• the newly developed sample assessment booklets
  for ELA

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Michigan Educational Assessment System (MEAS)

• MEAP
• ELL-Access (under discussion)
• MI-Access
• Participation (2002)
• Supported Independence (2002)
• 2.1 Functional Independence (2005-2006)

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2.1 Functional IndependenceAssessment
Development Activities

• Summer 2003 BETA developed items for MDE
• Fall 2003 CAC/SRC reviewed items
• April-June 2004 Item Tryout
• June-July 2004 MDE and BETA completed review of
  Expressing Ideas prompts and scoring of student
  responses
• July 2004 CAC/SRC reviewed items and
• their data

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2.1 Functional IndependenceAssessment
Development Activities

• Fall 2004 Finalize draft Extended Grade Level
  Content Expectations (EGLCE)
• Fall 2004 Develop and distribute sample
  assessment booklets
• Winter 2005 Administer required Pilot for ELA
  and mathematics assessments
• Fall 2005 Administer operational assessment
  forms for first time

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What is the purpose of the 2.1 Functional
Independence Tryout?

• Informs the MDE about how well the items measure
  what students know and are able to do
• Gives students and staff opportunity to evaluate
  test items and materials
• Enables staff to see how students react to and
  perform on the assessment
• Provides MDE with valuable feedback for improving
  assessment items and materials

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Which students should take the 2.1 Functional
IndependenceAssessment?

• Test is designed for students
• whose IEP teams have determined it is not
  appropriate for them to take part in MEAP, MEAP
  with accommodations, MI-Access Participation, or
  MI-Access Supported Independence
• who have, or function as if they have, mild
  cognitive impairment

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Which students actually took the 2.1 Functional
IndependenceAssessment?

• 60 of students tested were categorized as
  non-learning disabled (non-LD), cognitively
  impaired, and/or physically disabled
• 40 of students tested were categorized as
  learning disabled (LD)
• The MI-Access Functional Independence 2.1
  assessment is NOT appropriate for most LD
  students

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Additional Tryout Information

• Assessment was administered last spring
• Five forms per grade in ELA and mathematics were
  administered
• Approximately 200 students took each form
• Accommodated versions were available
• (enlarged print, Braille, and audio versions)

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English Language ArtsTryout Blueprint

• Accessing Print
• 24 Word Recognition Items
• 3 Text Comprehension Passages
• 9 items each
• Expressing Ideas
• 1 prompt that students respond to

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Accessing Print Tryout Information

• Overall, non-LD students performed well/exceeded
  state and field expectations
• Student performance data was gathered on
• LD/non-LD student performance
• male/female student performance
• black/white student performance
• SRC/CAC committees reviewed the items and their
  data
• reviewed items for bias and content issues
• recommended revisions to items, if necessary, to
  refine and improve them

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Expressing Ideas Tryout Information

• Again, non-LD students performed well/exceeded
  state and field expectations
• Reviewed 80 prompts and scored student responses
• Only Non-LD responses were reviewed for clarity
  and discrimination
• Non-LD prompts that elicited a range of student
  responses that discriminated skill levels across
  the student population were accepted for use on
  future assessments

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Sample Booklets for ELA 2.1 Functional
Independence Assessments

• ELA sample assessment booklets provided for
• Grade 3
• Grades 4-5 (available now)
• Grades 6-8
• Grade 11
• Sample assessment booklets for other grades will
  be available in December, 2004.

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Review of Grades 4/5 Sample Assessment Booklet

• Reflects representative items
• range of item types and item difficulty
• Reflects content and length of pilot and future
  operational assessment forms
• 20 Core Word Recognition items
• 4 embedded items
• 3 Core Text Comprehension passages/7 questions
  each
• 1 embedded passage/7 questions
• 1 Core Expressing Ideas prompt
• 1 embedded prompt

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Required Pilot Testing in Spring 2005

• Is required to ensure technical quality of the
  items and the overall assessment.
• Will include embedded items, which are included
  for data-gathering purposes only.
• Students will take only the ELA or mathematics
  assessment (not both)
• Pilot assessment window
• February 21-March 31, 2005

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Functional Independence 2.1 Reporting

• Tryout Reporting
• State level frequency reports and an Expressing
  Ideas Summary Report will be posted in the
  Functional Independence Assessment category at
  
• www.mi.gov/mi-access
• Pilot Reporting Still under discussion
• Operational Reporting
• For ELA, two scores will be provided
• one for Accessing Print and one for Expressing
  Ideas
• The overall score will be used for AYP purposes

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New Draft Extended GLCE

• Included in conference binder
• Posted online for review and comment in the
  Functional Independence Assessments category of
  the MI-Access website
• www.mi.gov/mi-access
• Communicate your comments with the online survey
  until November 5, 2004.

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Useful Websites and Contact Information

• Michigan Department of Education
• www.mi.gov/mde
• MI-Access Information Center
• www.mi-access.info
• MI-Access Web Page
• www.mi.gov/mi-access
• Michigan Educational Assessment Program
  www.meritaward.state.mi.us/mma/meap.htm
• Peggy Dutcher, Coordinator, Students with
  Disabilities Program
• dutcherp_at_mi.gov
• MI-Access Hotline and E-mail Address
• 1-888-382-4246
• mi-access_at_tasa.com
• Alison Peterson, Project Manager for Item
  Development, BETA, Inc.
• alipeterson1129_at_aol.com