Unit 3- Eligiblity Process PDF

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Unit 3: Eligibility Process: Module 3: Progress Monitoring and Evaluation Process Progress Monitoring: ● Progress monitoring is one of the first steps in the RTI process. ● Progress Monitoring is used "to assess student progress or performance in those areas in which they were identified by universal screening as being at-risk for failure." What is Progress monitoring: ● Is the collection of data that are used to determine the impact of instruction and intervention over a certain period of time. ● Progress monitoring can be used to measure progress toward grade-level standards and towards individual goals. ● Purpose of progress monitoring: ○ To check students response to instruction ● Progress monitoring can be used to determine whether or not a student has mastered a skill(s) in a particular topic. ● Progress monitoring can be useful in measuring progress toward set goals, helping develop annual IEP goals, and making instructional decisions about student when they aren’t making pre-determined progress. Effective progress monitoring includes: ● Direct measurement of basic skills ● Representative samplings of knowledge and skills expected to be learned across the selected time period. Benchmark: ● Help to set appropriate goals

General Outcome measure (GOM): ● A type of measurement tool that is typically used to measure progress toward a long-term goal ● Such as an annual reading goal

Tools for progress monitoring: Examples of Progress monitoring Tools: ● Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM): ○ Involves a standardized set of procedures that allow one to directly measure important skills in a relatively short amount of time. ● General Outcome Measures (GOMs) ○ A type of measurement tool that is typically used to measure progress toward a long-term goal ● Skill based Measures: ○ Although similar to GOMs in that they may be created to measure progress toward an end-of-year goal, skill-based measures allow for measurement of skills in a slightly more isolated manner. They often require students to demonstrate some coordination of multiple subskills, but not to the same extent as GOMs. ● Subskill mastery Measures: ○ Subskill mastery measures (SMM) typically involve measurement of a subskill that is linked to SBMs or GOMs. For example, further analysis of results from an SBM may suggest that a student hasn't mastered singledigit subtraction. ● Computer Adaptive testing:

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items are selected for administration as the student completes the test. If a student fails to correctly answer an item, an easier item is presented. If a student correctly answers an item, a more difficult item is presented. Setting Goals:

● Rate of Improvement: ○ The difference between two scores of a student at two different times, divided by the elapsed time ● Benchmark: ○ represents a reference standard for minimally accepted performance. ○ Students who are described as “meeting benchmark” are often described as making adequate progress. ● Standard Referenced Benchmark: ○ Some existing progress monitoring tools include benchmarks that are connected to state or common core standards, such that a student’s performance according to these stan- dards can be evaluated ● Norm-Referenced Benchmark: ○ information gathered on the performance and typical growth of thousands of same-grade peers from across the nation ● Growth Perticile: ○ comparing the target student's growth to the growth of similar peers who scored at the same initial level as the target student. ● Level vs Growth: ○ Approach to setting instructional goals that includes both performance and rate of improvement ● Comparison Approaching: ○ Approach to setting instructional goals that relies on benchmarking.

● While goals should not be too challenging, setting ambitious goals has been shown to be more successful than setting more moderate goals.

Preparing for and Managing Testing: ● Mandated testing: ○ When districtwide and statewide assessments are conducted, they generally occur within classrooms. Teachers usually have advanced notice about when various mandated tests will occur, how long they will take, and how they are to be administered. ○ To prepare for mandated testing, teachers need to become familiar with expectations for their role in the assessments; seek training if needed; check IEPs for type of assessment, adaptations, accommodations, and alternative assessment needs ○ ensure students know how to use any required technology prior to testing day; provide students with advanced knowledge of the test to reduce anxiety; and gather any needed supplies like pencils, timers, and answer sheets. ● Teachers can do 5 things to make testing less time consuming: 1. Establish testing routines a. Establishing a consistent testing routine brings predictability for students. 2. Create assessment stations a. An assessment station is a place where individual testing can occur within a classroom b. An assessment station should be large enough for an adult and student to work comfortably and be free of distractions. 3. Prepare Assessment materials a. The first consideration in preparing assessment materials is that the assessment must match the instruction. b. Unless there is a good match between what is taught and what is tested, test results will lack validity. 4. Organize assessment material/Maintain assessment files a. When assessment materials have been developed and perhaps revised, the major management problem is retrieval —both remembering that there are materials and where those materials are located. b. This problem is solved by organizing materials and maintaining a filing system. (Colored coded is a good way) 5. Involve other adults, students, and technology in the assessment process when possible. ● Characteristic of effective testing programs: ○ Efficiency:

■ Since time spent in testing takes away from instruction time, the least amount of time spent testing is best. ○ Ease: ■ Easy testing programs from the teacher’s perspective are those that minimize teacher time and effort in all aspects of testing (that is, necessary training, preparation, administration, scoring, and record keeping). ○ Integration: ■ Assessment activities can be integrated into the school day in two ways. ■ First, teachers can monitor pupil performance during instructional activities. For example, basic skill drills can be structured to provide useful assessment information about accuracy and fluency, or computers can be used to manage instruction. ■ Second, teachers can establish a regular schedule for brief assessments, such as daily one-minute oral reading probes.

● Formal Testing: ○ Educators are sometimes expected to administer more formalized individual testing for students to determine if they are eligible for special education services. ○ Only Formal testing can determine Eligibility for special education

● Basal and Ceiling Rules: ○ Basal Rule: ■ provides information on how many consecutive items a student must correctly answer in order for earlier items (that are consequently not administered) to be scored as correct. ■ For example, if a test has a basal rule of "5," then the examiner will begin with the suggested starting point, and if the student answers any of the first five items incorrectly, the examiner must administer items before the start point until there are five consecutive items (according to the test order, not administration order) that the student answers correctly. ○ Ceiling rule: ■ provides information on how many consecutive items a student must incorrectly answer in order for later items (that are then not administered) to be scored as incorrect.

Collecting, Displaying, and Managing Data: Data display:

Behavior Graph: with baseline data, and then data with intervention in place:

● What is the purpose of charting students data: ○ To facilitate interpretation of data ○ To facilitate decision making ○ Displays students progress data ● Charting data: ○ In general, students whose teachers chart pupil behavior have better achievement than students whose teachers do not chart. ○ Students who chart their own performance have better achievement than students who do not chart their achievement. ○ Achievement tends to be best when both teachers and students chart pupil progress

Test Adaptation and Accommodations: ● Test adaptations: ○ Changes made in the presentation, setting, response, or timing/scheduling of a test that may or may not influence the construct that is measured. ● Test Modifications: ○ Changes made that alter the measurement of the intended skills and knowledge ○ Changes the curriculum ○ Change what is being taught ○ Changes what a student is expected to learn and demonstrate ● Examples of Modifications (changes to curriculum): ○ When the class is learning about analog clocks/telling time, that one student might only need to be identifying the hours on a clock that the number represent ● Accommodations: ○ Changes how a student accesses information ○ participates in school activities ○ demonstrates learning. ○ NO change is made to the curriculum. ● Examples of Accommodations: (not changing the curriculum): ○ Volume of work (only do the 3 problems that I have circled, 3 out of 6) ○ Extra time (5 extra more minutes) ○ Adapting the assignments (pre cutting the shapes to a project)=output expectation ○ Extra Support ○ Changing the physical setting

○ Student who has difficulty writing, can use a computer ○ Having a test read aloud ○ Short Breaks if needed ● Four general types of accommodations: 1. Presentation (repeat directions, read aloud) 2. Response (mark answer in book, point to answers) 3. Setting (separate room, special lighting) 4. Timing/Scheduling (extended time, frequent breaks) ● Why is it important to adapt assessments (accommodations): ○ To include students with disabilities in assessments for accountability purpose as required by law ○ To provide more accurate assessment data about individual students ● Six factors can impede getting an accurate picture of students abilities and skills during assessment: 1. The students’ ability to understand assessment stimuli 2. The students ability to respond to assessment stimuli 3. The nature of the norm group 4. The appropriateness of the level of items (sufficient basal and ceiling items) 5. The students’ exposure to the curriculum being tested (opportunity to learn) 6. The nature of testing environment ● Physical and sensory impairments can impact a student’s ability to understand and respond to the stimuli. ● Other factors include the nature of the norm group and the appropriateness of the items ● The testing environment Assessment Teams: ● Many individuals play an important role for students and the process of decision making: You can work with: ○ special and general educators, administra- tors, speech/language pathologists, school psychologists, social workers, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, audiologists, counselors, curriculum directors, attorneys, child advocates, and probably many others. ● Multidisciplinary Teams:

○ These teams are convened when a child has not made appropriate progress following support provided through multiple levels of MTSS and is being considered for special education evaluation ● Individual education plan (IEP) team ○ Team of individuals who have specialized knowledge in the specific areas of the child’s disability, those who will be responsible for carrying out the plan, and the child’s parents. ○ Parents play a key part, because no one knows their child better. ● Schoolwide Assistance Teams ● Intervention Assistance Teams ○ These teams are formed to address difficulties that small groups of students or individual students experience within the general education classroom. ● Stakeholders and Team members will vary depending on the specific needs of the individual being assessed. ○ For example: some individuals may require a speech therapist where others might not. Principles of effective teaming appear to be universal: ● Having shared goals and purpose ● Clearly articulate the roles and functions of team members ● Listen to and respect each team member’s contributions ● Balance structure and flexibility within team meetings ● Use objective data to guide decision making ● Ensure confidentiality (it's the law) ● Regularly evaluate team outcomes and processes to promote continuous improvement in team functioning. Terms: ● Group Polarization: ○ Groups may become more extreme in their decision making than what any individual originally intended ● Group Think: ○ Refers to agreeing with the majority opinion even though it might be wrong ● Confirmation bias: ○ Is the tendency to primarily pay attention to data that confirm one’s original hypothesis while disregarding or underemphasizing data that conflict with the original hypothesis ● Timeline: ○ According to law, the school must conduct evaluations and make a determination within 60 days of parental consent....