gap

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How do we keep kids from being stuck in our gap?
A frame, a series of discussion questions, and
some possible answers Panelist Rachel
Quenemoen, NCEO
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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

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Purpose of Assessment Requirements of IDEA

• Improve results for student with disabilities
  through improved teaching and learning
• Raise expectations for students with disabilities
• Increase access to the general curriculum
• Provide parents information about their childs
  achievement in relationship to the performance of
  other children in their school

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Issues in both NCLB and IDEA

• Students with disabilities previously exempted
  from assessment and accountability system
• Students with disabilities previously received
  instruction in separate curriculum
• Change from low to high expectations for students
  with disabilities
• State leadership in fostering school and district
  accountability

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Assessment Options

• General assessment
• General assessment with accommodations (or
  modifications)
• Alternate assessment on grade level achievement
  standards students have mastered the
  grade-level content, but cant show it on general
  assessment
• Alternate assessment on alternate achievement
  standards assuming best instruction and access,
  there is compelling evidence the students learn
  grade-level content differently

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Observation
Interpretation
The assessment triangle (Pellegrino et al., 2001)
Cognition
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HOW these students learn and show what they know

• Assumption
• Students affected by gap issues generally learn
  and show what they know MORE like students in the
  general assessment than like students in the
  alternate assessment for students with MOST
  significant challenges

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WHO are the students who are affected by a gap of
some kind?Common question How many can
achieve at grade level, with the best instruction
and access?Kevin McGrew studies
http//www.iapsych.com/index.htm
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Alternative question How many schools currently
ensure every child has the services, supports,
and specialized instruction necessary to succeed
in the grade-level curriculum?
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How has the IEP process been traditionally
construed?

• Identify the services, supports, and specialized
  instruction necessary so that the student can be
  successful in the grade level curriculum
• OR
• Negotiate what the school can offer and the
  parents will accept to avoid conflict define
  how to lower expectations for this student

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WHAT should these students know and be able to do?

• What does access to, participation and progress
  in the general curriculum mean?
• What has it meant in your schools and districts?

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• Assumption Many of these students have been
  failed by our system the policy goal is first
  and foremost to correct that situation.
• Assumption Some (unknown number) will not
  achieve to proficiency at grade level by high
  school, even with the best possible instruction
  and instruction, but we dont know which ones.

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HOW WELL students must perform to be proficient

• Assumption We need to transition students in the
  first category out of the gap and really push
  practice to make that occur as quickly as
  possible!
• Assumption All students, including those in the
  second category, have the right to be taught as
  if they can succeed, even if they do not
  ultimately achieve proficiency in all areas.

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What are the other questions?

• Concern about AYP? Safe harbor provisions,
  played out, provide flexibility that means in
  2014 you may have _at_75 of a subgroup at
  proficiency, and NEVER miss AYP
• Concern about cost of teaching to grade level?
  Then lets have that discussion
• Concern about lawsuits? Case law already makes
  you vulnerable (reread Rowley in the context of
  standards-based reform) what can give you and
  families common understanding?

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What can we do in our assessment and
accountability policies and practices to move
MOST students into general assessment, and to
ensure all students achieve at the highest level
possible?
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One part of the answer Progress Monitoring in
an Inclusive Standards-based Assessment and
Accountability System
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PM AS BROADLY CONCEIVED

• (1) Curriculum-Based Measurement
• (2) Classroom assessments (system or
  teacher-developed)
• (3) Adaptive assessments constrained to grade
  level and
• (4) Grade-level large-scale assessments used
  during the year to monitor growth of individual
  students and groups of students

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CAUTION!!!!!!

• Aligned to GRADE LEVEL content - CONSTRAINED to
  grade level
• The myth of below grade level instruction
• Blind trust in statistical magic black box
  faith
• Remediation vs. acceleration

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Challenges

• Strategies for scoring, analyzing, and tracking
  data.
• Quick turn-around of scores necessary to
  provide feedback for instruction.
• INTENSIVE training on deriving meaning from the
  data to develop effective improvement plans.
• Many (most?) teachers, school psychologists,
  IEP team members do NOT know how to do this!
• Needed New models for classroom integrated
  assessments on grade level content for this
  purpose (Pellegrino et al., 2001).

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Resources Available

• National Center on Student Progress Monitoring
  Improving Proven Practices in the Elementary
  Grades
• phone [phone] fax [phone]
• TTY 877.334.3499
• e-mail studentprogress_at_air.org
• http//www.studentprogress.org
• Research Institute on Progress Monitoring
• Phone [phone] fax [phone]
• e-mail walla001_at_umn.edu
• NCEO http//nceo.info quene003_at_umn.edu