Donna Parker, GSEG Project Manager

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Using the New 2 TCAP-MAAS for Students with
Disabilities What You Need to Know to Get
Started

• Donna Parker, GSEG Project Manager
• Division of Special Education, TNDOE
• Lori Nixon, Special Education Assessment
  Consultant
• Office of Assessment, Evaluation, and Research
• (some slides adapted with permission from a
  presentation by Marianne Perie, National Center
  for the Improvement of Educational Assessment,
  February 4, 2009, titled Understanding the
  AA-MAS How does it fit into a state assessment
  and accountability system?)

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Background on TCAP-MAAS

• Federal regulations released in April 2007
  allowed states to develop an additional
  assessment for students with disabilities through
  which another 2 of students may be counted as
  Proficient under NCLB.
• The TCAP-MAAS is an assessment that covers the
  same grade-level content as the general
  assessment with expectations for content mastery
  modified.

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States were given the responsibility to determine
What are their barriers to demonstrating
understanding?
How do they process information and learn?
Who are the students?
How will they be assessed?
What does proficiency mean?
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Defining the Population

• According the US ED, there is a small group of
  students whose disability precludes them from
  achieving grade-level proficiency and whose
  progress is such that they will not reach
  grade-level proficiency in the same time frame as
  other students. What this really means is they
  have concluded that some additional provisions
  should be made for students with disabilities.
• But who is this small group?
• Ground rules provided by Federal guidelines, and
  then
• states must further refine by analyzing data and
  gathering information from the field.

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Ground Rules Eligibility

• US ED guidance stipulates
• There must be objective evidence demonstrating
  the students disability has precluded the
  student from achieving grade-level proficiency.
  DATA
• The students progress to date in response to
  appropriate instruction, including special
  education services designed to meet the
  individual needs of the student, is such that
  even if significant growth occurs, the IEP team
  is reasonably certain the student will not reach
  grade-level proficiency within the year covered
  by the IEP. Progress monitoring
• The students IEP must include goals that are
  based on the academic content standards for the
  grade in which the student is enrolled.
  Standards-Based IEP

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Discussion Point from Regs

• The assumption is that many students eligible
  for an alternate assessment based on modified
  academic achievement standards are in a regular
  classroom with children of the same chronological
  age they are receiving instruction in the
  grade-level curriculum but because of their
  disability are not likely to meet grade level
  academic achievement standards in the year
  covered by their IEPs.

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How Does the AA-MAAS Fit with the AA-AAS and the
General Assessment?
TCAP-MAAS IS an alternate assessment. Now it is
appropriate to refer to two alt assessments
TCAP-Alt Portfolio and TCAP-MAAS. The portfolio
is based in alternate standards. The MAAS is
based in regular curriculum standards with
modifications made to the achievement standards.
Fields very similar to those set up for
TCAP-Portfolio are being loaded into Easy IEP and
will guide IEP Teams in making decisions. IEP
Teams can make the recommendation using an
addendum process.
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AA-MAAS in Accountability

• Every state can count up to 2 of students with a
  Federal disability category as proficient using
  the AA-MAAS (can be 2 if havent counted full
  1 Portfolio). Although students classified as
  Functionally Delayed will be allowed to take the
  assessment, their scores cannot count as
  proficient and they will be counted as
  non-participant. That ruling from Federal
  Programs contact at Federal level.
• The IEP Team is in charge of making the
  recommendation for each child based on that
  childs individual needs. Although schools
  should stay generally aware of the numbers of
  students being recommended for the test, IEP
  Teams are not responsible for policing and
  controlling numbers. Special education teachers
  worry about this and should be told that it is
  not their responsibility to serve as a gatekeeper
  for numbers.

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Ground Rules Standards

• Content standards must remain unchanged
• Modified academic achievement standards
  (expectations) may not be based on academic
  content standards that have been modified or
  restricted
• Only the achievement standards may be modified
• Proficient performance on an AA-MAS must
  represent understanding of grade-level content,
  albeit through a less rigorous assessment

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Regulation 200.1 Modified Achievement
Standards must

• Be aligned with a States academic content
  standards for the grade in which the student is
  enrolled
• Be challenging for eligible students, but may be
  less difficult than grade-level academic
  achievement standards
• Be developed by grade level, not grade span
• Include at least three achievement levels
• Be developed through a documented and validated
  standard-setting process that includes broad
  stakeholder input
• persons knowledgeable about States academic
  content standards
• special educators knowledgeable about children
  with disabilities

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Types of Modifications

• Enhancements
• Providing hints, definitions, simple examples
• Adding visuals, graphic organizers to aid
  conceptual understanding or focus
• Revisions
• Simplifying Language/Vocabulary Load
• Eliminating Extraneous Text/Words

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Types of Revisions

• Simplify language in question/stem and/or
  distracters
• Simplify graphics, visuals, etc.
• Eliminate extraneous information
• Substitute another (more familiar) word without
  changing the construct
• Reformat items or passages (e.g., adding more
  white space, size of text)
• Adjust layouts (e.g., reorder items or passages)
• Order items to support engagement (e.g., easier
  items before more difficult items simple
  applications of concepts before more complex
  applications)
• Separate reading passages into segments, followed
  by related questions

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Sample Mathematics Item (change format
simplify reading load) for illustration purposes
only

• BEFORE
• Mary has six white shirts, four blue shirts, and
  five red shirts in her dresser. If she randomly
  chooses

• AFTER
• Mary has
• 6 white shirts
• 4 blue shirts
• 5 red shirts
• If she randomly chooses

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Sample Reading Item for illustration purposes
only (underlining key word simplifying
distracters)

• Before
• Which best describes Jasons father?
• a. strict and unwilling to listen to Jason
• b. curious and puzzled by the empty box
• c. angry and sad that Jason hid
• d. understanding and patient with Jason

• After
• Which best describes Jasons father?
• a. unwilling to listen
• b. puzzled by the empty box
• c. angry that Jason hid
• d. understanding Jasons feelings

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Segmenting Reading Passages

• Chunking reading passages is a type of
  organizational scaffold that reduces the load on
  working memory
• Divide into conceptually meaningful subparts
  whenever possible
• Otherwise, chunk passages into equal lengths

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What Should Not Be Considered

• Adapting passages in any way that would make them
  below grade level
• Significantly reducing the number of items per
  passage or adding many more items to fewer
  passages
• Ratio of items to passages should stay
  approximately the same although the overall
  number can change
• Revising questions or answer options in such a
  way as to change the nature of the item and/or
  the construct

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Important Points

• Modifications should increase access not just
  reduce difficulty
• The modification may serve to lower the reading
  level of a test question, or it may in some other
  way make the question more accessible
• However, the content being measured must be
  retained and the construct cannot change
• To accomplish this goal effectively we need to
  understand better how students with disabilities
  process information and learn

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Conclusions Regarding AA-MAAS

• We are still learning how to design a good
  AA-MAAS and revisions will occur on a regular
  basis.
• The TCAP-MAAS must be submitted for peer review
  prior to full approval for use.
• Understanding this population, how they learn
  (and how it may be different from those without
  disabilities), and designing a quality assessment
  for them remains the challenge.
• Standards-Based IEPs and access to the general
  curriculum are the driving forces behind the
  TCAP-MAAS.

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The Division of Special Education Recommends

• Continue to promote inclusive practices.
  Technically, access to the general curriculum
  means access to curriculum, not a particular
  setting, BUT a special education teacher cannot
  be expected to cover the entire curriculum. Best
  done in the general ed classroom with supports of
  special ed.
• Promote special education LEA professional
  development in the area of curriculum standards,
  use of large-scale and formative assessment data
  to design IEPs, writing Standards-based IEPs, and
  increased expertise in the content areas.

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For more information on Standards-Based IEPs

• Go to www.projectforum.org to access A Seven-Step
  Process to Creating Standards-based IEPs and its
  companion document, Standards-based
  Individualized Education Program Examples.

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Watch for Additional Training and Guidance

• Check the Division of Special Education website
  www.tennessee.gov/education/speced
• E-mail questions and comments to
• Donna.Parker_at_tn.gov and Lori.Nixon_at_tn.gov