NATIONAL CENTER ON EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES University of Minnesota

1
NATIONAL CENTER ON EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMESUniversity
of Minnesota

• Rachel Quenemoen
• Cammy Lehr
• Martha Thurlow

2
ASSESSING EDUCATIONAL RESULTS - TOUGH ISSUES FOR
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

• Understanding standards, assessments, and
  accountability
• Addressing issues related to assessment
  accommodations, what we know
• Facing tougher graduation requirements, and
  other issues

3
Accountability Systems for All

• Improving Americas Schools Act
• Goals 2000
• Revised Individuals with Disabilities Education
  Act With IDEA
  1997, special education is moving to a system
  with accountability for both services and for
  student learning

4
IDEA Accountability Requirements

• Performance goals and indicators goals and
  standards for students with disabilities are
  consistent, to the maximum extent appropriate to
  those set for all children
• Students with disabilities are included in
  general State and district-wide assessment
  programs, with appropriate accommodations, where
  necessary

5
IDEA Accountability Requirements, cont.

• Alternate assessment aligned to general
  curriculum standards, beginning not later than
  July 1, 2000
• Reporting to public for ALL students, numbers and
  performance levels, aggregated and disaggregated
• IEP documentation of decisions

6
Accountability Means...

• ...a systematic method to assure those inside and
  outside the educational system that schools are
  moving in desired directions
• Currently there is a shift from
• Is the student getting services?
• To also
• Is the student learning?

7
Assessment is one Part of Accountability

• Assessment for instructional planning
• VS.
• Assessment for accountability

8
Accountability System Components

• Goals (Content Standards)
• Indicators of Success (Performance Standards)
• Measures of Performance
• Reporting
• Consequences

9
Purposes

• To make decisions about student competence
• To provide data for making policy decisions
• To make comparisons among local education
  agencies or schools and
• To provide data for criterion-referenced
  accountability

10
SYSTEM acCOUNTability

• Are ALL students learning to high standards?
• Need to pull apart results - are there GROUPS of
  students failing? What are possible reasons?
  No opportunity to learn? No accommodations to
  learn or to show what theyve learned? No
  appropriate interventions to ensure learning?
  Low expectations?

11
HIGH STANDARDSALL KIDSacCOUNTability

• Everything else is negotiable . . . Instructional
  methods, place, structure, schedules, time . .
• If groups of students are not achieving high
  standards, INTERVENE!!!!!
• School improvement efforts are key - be sure ALL
  kids count in school improvement

12
STUDENT Accountability

• AFTER system is held accountable, THEN we hold
  the student accountable
• Appropriate assessment measures
• Multiple measures, includes large scale test
  scores, but also other performance measures as
  appropriate
• Decisions made by team, documented on IEP

13
Why Is Inclusion in General Accountability System
Important?
For accurate picture of education
To make fair comparisons
To meet legal requirements (e.g., Title I, Goals
2000)
To avoid unintended effects
To promote higher expectations
To benefit from reforms
14
We Treasure What We Measure
15
. . . the purpose of assessment and
accountability is to improve the quality of
instruction in schools and school systems, rather
than simply to measure and report school
effectiveness.

• Committee on Title I Testing and Assessment
  Report, 1999

16
Participation Issues www.coled.umn.edu/NCEO It is
not IF all students participate, it is HOW they
will participate.