Developing an Aligned Alternate Assessment System

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Developing an Aligned Alternate Assessment System

• Iowas Alternate Assessment for 2006-07
• October 6, 2006

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Developing an Aligned Alternate Assessment System

• Steve Maurer
• Martin Ikeda, Ph. D.
• Iowa Department of Education

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Todays Presentation

• Handouts
• Taping
• Presentation will be emailed to AEA and UEN Iowa
  Alternate Assessment (IAA) Contacts

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Why are you here today?

• Understand the enhancements to the Iowa Alternate
  Assessment for 2006-2007
• Federal NCLB Peer Review
• Standard Setting
• Evaluation from the field

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ICN Protocol for today

• If you are having problems at your site, use the
  phone in your room to contact ICN
• Due to the number of participants, we will not be
  stopping to answer questions live
• As you have questions, email or fax them
• Email questions to mary.sullivan_at_iowa.gov
• Fax to Mary Sullivan _at_ [phone]

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Outcomes

• Understand federal requirements for alternate
  assessments
• Steps in the IAA for 2006-2007
• Examples of how to document and keep evidence
• What to do on Monday

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Acknowledgements

• Material in this presentation was developed and
  adapted from work done by
• Steve Maurer, IDE, Project Contact
• Tom Deeter, IDE
• Mary Sullivan, IDE
• Marty Ikeda, IDE
• Mike Burdge and Jean Clayton, ILSSA
• Jerry Tindal, University of Oregon
• United States Department of Education
• National Center for Educational Outcomes
• Stephen Elliott, Vanderbilt University

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A Regulatory Perspective

• General Assessment (ITBS/ITED) with or without
  accommodations
• Iowa Core Content Standards and Benchmarks
  (ICCSBs)
• Alternate Assessment I
• alternate achievement standards for 1 of the
  population (most significant cognitive
  disabilities)
• Alternate Assessment II
• modified academic achievement standards for 2 of
  the population

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Remember

• The materials you are seeing are in DRAFT format.
• Process and materials piloted the week October
  16th
• Materials in final format will be sent out in
  November

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Requirements for Alternate Assessment (August
2005)

• http//www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/altguidance.pd
  f

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A-1. Why should students with disabilities,
including those with the most significant
cognitive disabilities, be included in State
assessment and accountability systems?

• Its the law
• Students with disabilities, including those with
  the most significant cognitive disabilities,
  benefit instructionally from such participation
• To ensure that appropriate resources are
  dedicated to helping these students succeed,
  appropriate measurement of their achievement
  needs to be part of the accountability system

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B-5. May a State use student progress on IEP
goals or an assessment of functional life skills
to meet the Title I regulation requirements?

• No.

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First, IEP goals are individualized for each
student, and a students progress toward each
goal is measured for purposes of reporting
progress to parents and for making individualized
decisions about the special education and related
services a student receives
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Second, as required by Title I, schools are
accountable for student achievement only in the
content areas of reading/language arts and
mathematics. IEP goals may address a broad range
of individualized instructional needs, as well as
behavioral and developmental needs, and might not
be based on the States academic content
standards.
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Guidance also adds
students with the most significant cognitive
disabilities should have access to the general
curriculum
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Common Approaches to Alternate Assessment

• Portfolio Assessment
• Performance Assessment
• Comprehensive Rating Scales of Achievement

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Portfolio Assessment

• is an organized collection or documentation of
  student-generated or student-focused work
  typically depicting the range of individual
  student skills.

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Performance Assessment

• is a task or series of tasks requiring a student
  to provide a response or create a product to show
  mastery of a specific skill or content standard.

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Comprehensive Rating Scales of Achievement

• are rating scales anchored by descriptive
  rubrics for quantifying teacher judgments of
  students knowledge and skills based on repeated
  direct and indirect observations situated in a
  number of school settings.

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Commonalities Across Alternate Assessment
Approaches

• Collection of Evidence Samples
• Alignment or linkage to state grade level content
  standards.
• Evaluation of evidence samples for reliability
  and validity
• Scores that can be summarized by a proficiency
  level descriptor

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Alternate Assessment Approaches
Rating Scales are most amenable to traditional
metrics of reliability. Safeguards for validity
need to be built in.
Tasks are more amenable to traditional metrics of
reliability and validity. Pose issues around test
security and multiple forms
Portfolios are difficult to establish traditional
metrics of validity and reliability
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Good Evidence Creates aPicture of Performance!

• Think of each dot of color in the picture as a
  piece of classroom evidence or a response to a
  test item.
• To get a clear and complete picture of a
  students performance takes a good sample of
  evidence.
• Some alternate assessments do a better job of
  sampling information from both the foreground
  and the background of students skills.

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Alternate Assessment 2006-07

• Body of Evidence will include
• Learner Characteristics Inventory
• Rating Scale in Reading, Mathematics and Science
• Supporting Evidence
• Teacher selected
• Standard Task

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Learner Characteristics Inventory

• Purpose
• to understand the characteristics of students in
  the Iowa Alternate Assessment
• 12-item scale (handout)
• Developed by the National Alternate Assessment
  Center
• Timeframe

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Rating Scales

• Development
• Iowa Core Content Standards and Benchmarks
• Other States frameworks
• Standards frameworks from National Organizations
  (McRel, NCTM)
• Input from content specialists

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Steps in the IAA 2006-2007

• Step 1 Complete the Learner Characteristics
  Inventory
• Step 2 Read the items on the rating scale.
• Step 3 Document evidence of proficiency for each
  CCSB. Keep 2 samples of evidence for each CCSB on
  the appropriate Portfolio Evidence form
• Step 4 Administer Performance Task
• Step 5 Record results of performance task on
  Performance Event form
• Step 6 Use performance task and classroom
  evidence to rate student on all items
• Step 7 Summarize Proficiency Scores
  Proficiency Level Decisions
• Step 8 Report Results
• Step 9 Reliability Check and Audit

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Step 1. Complete the Learner Characteristics
Inventory

• You will need
• State ID number that is entered into Project
  EASIER.
• Someone in your school buildings office should
  be able to help you locate the students ID
  number.
• Check with building principal on how to access
  appropriately
• Three options for returning inventory

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Step 1. Complete the Learner Characteristics
Inventory

• Three options
• Online
• Complete the fillable form.
• Hard copy

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Step 2. Read the Items on the Rating Scale

• Start thinking about which items you will have
  naturally occurring opportunity to teach and
  could enter into the Portfolio Evidence Forms
• Rating scales will be sent out electronically in
  late October or early November

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Step 3. Document Evidence of Proficiency for
ICCSBs

• Record students performance between November and
  February
• Rating scale for Reading, Mathematics, and
  Science
• Portfolio Evidence Form
• Evidence is gathered over the course of the year
  and just not during February and March

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Step 3. Document Evidence of Proficiency for
ICCSBs

• Portfolio Evidence FormReading
• (Grades 3-8 and 11)
• One Standard
• Many entries
• Total 2-4 Total (To be determined) pieces of
  evidence

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Step 3. Document Evidence of Proficiency for
ICCSBs

• Portfolio Evidence FormMathematics
• (Grades 3-8 and 11)
• Four Standards
• Many entries
• 2 pieces per Standard
• 8 TOTAL

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Step 3. Document Evidence of Proficiency for
ICCSBs

• Portfolio Evidence FormScience
• (Grades 5, 8, and 11)
• Four Standards
• Many entries
• 2 pieces per Standard
• 8 TOTAL

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Step 3. Document Evidence of Proficiency for
ICCSBs

• Steps to Document Evidence
• Date
• Write the item number that the evidence
  corresponds to on the Portfolio Evidence Form
• Summarize students accuracy of performance

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Evidence

• or 2 years or grades
• Recent
• Representative
• Relevant
• Reliable

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Recent

• Collected during the current school year

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Representative

• Typical performance of knowledge and skills with
  classroom materials, instruction, and
  accommodations

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Relevant

• Is linked to a rating scale item

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Reliable

• If another person would examine
  performance/evidence they would come to the same
  conclusion

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Step 4. Administer Performance Tasks

• Developed by Iowa Department of Education
• targeting late February to send out
• tasks cover grade spans
• tasks cover many benchmarks
• Performance Task Form

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Step 5. Record Results of Performance

• The Performance Event form is used to summarize
  performance on the standard task
• Rate the students performance

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ABC District
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Step 6. Rate the Students Performance

• Using the entries in the Portfolio Evidence Forms
  and the Performance Task forms, complete the
  rating scale
• For Reading, Mathematics (Grades 3-8 and 11) and
  Science (Grade 5, 8, and 11)

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Step 7. Summarize Proficiency

• Proficiency Scores
• Proficiency Levels

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Step 8. Report Results

• Share with Parents
• Make appropriate decisions for IEP, instruction,
  and assessment for 2007-08

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Step 9. Reliability Check and Audit

• 50 of Portfolios
• April 2007
• Trained Raters
• Report Results
• Make changes for 2007-08

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Questions

• Fax to Mary Sullivan (515-242-6019)
• Email to mary.sullivan_at_iowa.gov

We will be back with answers to some questions
atXXXX
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What to do Monday

• Student State ID numbers
• Make sure building and/or district administrators
  are aware of the IAA process
• Review the Participation Guidelines
• Examine Iowas Core Content Standards and
  Benchmarks (ICCSBs)
• Examine your districts standards and benchmarks
  for natural links to the ICCSBs

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What to do Monday

• Talk to parents about the process
• E-mail additional questions to steve.maurer_at_iowa.g
  ov

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Thank You