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Effective Assessment for Students With Special Needs
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Effective Assessment for Students With Special Needs
A Practical Guide for Every Teacher


March 2006 | 144 pages | Corwin

At last, a practical guide to the what, how, when, and where of effective assessment!

When determining whether or not a student should receive special education services, what the specific nature of the student's instruction should be, or the extent to which a student is making educational progress, it is critical to know not only what sort of assessment method is most appropriate, but how, when, and where it should be administered.

Including a pretest, posttest, and key vocabulary terms, Effective Assessment for Students With Special Needs helps educators make these weighty decisions with highly practical information such as:

  • Formal and informal methods of data collection
  • When to use various assessment practices and what they can show an evaluator
  • Standards for conducting assessments to ensure accuracy
  • Using data to make decisions about the education of students with disabilities and those who are gifted and talented

A Practical Approach to Special Education for Every Teacher: The 13-Book Collection equips educators with practical knowledge and methods that will help them to better engage students in exploring-and meeting-their fullest potential.

Also see:


 
About A Practical Approach to Special Education for Every Teacher
 
Acknowledgements
 
About the Authors
 
Self-Assessment I
 
Introduction to Effective Assessment for Students With Special Needs
 
1. What Should Every Teacher Know About Assessment for Decision-Making Purposes?
Screening Decisions

 
Decisions to Provide Special Help or Enrichment

 
Referral to an Intervention Assistance Team

 
Decisions to Provide Intervention Assistance

 
Decisions to Refer for Evaluation

 
Exceptionality Decisions

 
Decisions About Special Learning Needs

 
Decisions About Eligibility or Entitlement

 
Instructional Planning Decisions

 
Progress Evaluation Decisions

 
Program Evaluation Decisions

 
Accountability Decisions

 
 
2. What Are the Most Common Assessment Practices?
Curriculum-Based Assessment

 
Curriculum-Based Measurement

 
Instructional Diagnosis

 
Academic Time Analysis

 
Assessment of Instructional Environments

 
Outcomes-Based Accountability

 
Performance Assessment

 
 
3. How Is Assessment Data Collected?
Methods for Collecting Data

 
Tests

 
Observations

 
Interviews

 
Work Portfolios

 
 
4. Which Methods of Assessment Should Be Use to Sample Certain Behaviors and Abilities?
Intellectual Ability

 
Academic Achievement

 
Sensory Acuity

 
Adaptive Behavior

 
Language Development

 
Psychological Development

 
Perceptual-Motor Development

 
 
5. What Standards Must Be Met To Ensure the Accuracy of an Assessment?
Reliability: Is Performance Consistent?

 
Representativeness: Does the Instrument Adequately Sample the Behavior?

 
Validity: Does a Procedure Measure What it is Supposed to Measure?

 
 
6. What Concerns Do Parents, Students, and the General Public Have About Assessments?
Test Fairness

 
Acceptability

 
Consequences

 
 
7. What Are the Assumptions Underlying Assessment Practices?
The Examiner is Skilled

 
Future Behavior Can Be Inferred From Present Behavior

 
Assessment Is Relatively Free From Error

 
Students Have Comparable Acculturation

 
 
8. What Guidelines Should Be Followed for Appropriate Assessment?
There Is No One Way To Do It Right

 
There Is No One Cause of School Problems

 
Assessment Must Do More Than Describe Problems

 
Assessment Must Be Directed At Improving Instruction

 
Assessment Should Occur Often During Teaching

 
Assessment Should Concentrate on Relevant Variables

 
Assessment Should Occur Where The Behavior Occurs

 
Tests Should Be Adapted To Accommodate Students

 
 
9. Assessment in Perspective
Assessment in the Classroom

 
The Effects of Assessment

 
 
10. What Have We Learned?
Key Points

 
Key Vocabulary

 
Self-Assessment II

 
Answer Key for Self-Assessments

 
On Your Own

 
 
Resources
Books

 
Journals & Articles

 
Organizations

 
 
References
 
Index
Key features
  • Practical, accessible, research-based information and advice distilled from a highly-successful textbook
  • Numerous case studies
  • Practical, age-appropriate strategies for the classroom
  • Reflection/professional development exercises
  • Resources – books, articles, organizations
  • Linked to IDEA 2004

Sample Materials & Chapters

About the Series

Introduction

Chapter 1


For instructors

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