Parents as Partners in Communicating about the NSCS AA-AAS …pluk.org/centraldirectory/Common Core...
Transcript of Parents as Partners in Communicating about the NSCS AA-AAS …pluk.org/centraldirectory/Common Core...
Parents as Partners in
Communicating about the
NSCS AA-AAS Consortium
Assessment and Instruction
Martha Thurlow and Ricki Sabia
Topics:
• Brief Overview of NCSC Consortium
• Students who Participate in NCSC’s AA-AAS
• Summative Assessment Design
• Curriculum and Instruction Supports
• Parent Communication Work
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NCSC Consortium States
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NCSC Consortium Partners
• National Center on Educational Outcomes
(NCEO)
• National Center for the Improvement of
Educational Assessment (NCIEA)
• University of North Carolina Charlotte
• University of Kentucky
• edCount
Teaching Academic Content to
Students with the
Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities: A
Pathway Through the Learning
Progressions
Students Who Participate in AA-AAS*
• Represent about 1% or less of the total assessed student population
• All disability categories represented, but students are primarily in three categories: – Intellectual Disabilities – Multiple Disabilities – Autism
• Highly varied levels of expressive/receptive language use Most students use symbolic communication Most read basic sight words and solve simple math
problems with a calculator Still, about 18% use intentional communication that is
not symbolic, and 10% are pre-symbolic
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*Based on findings by Towles-Reeves, Kleinert, & Kearns (2006), Kearns, Kleinert, Kleinert, Towles-Reeves, & Kleine Kracht-Thomas (2011), and Towles-Reeves, Kearns, Flowers, Hart, Kerbel, Kleinert, Quenemoen, & Thurlow (2012).
NCSC Participation Guidelines The NCSC criteria for participation in the AA-AAS reflect the pervasive
nature of a significant cognitive disability. All content areas should be
considered when determining eligibility for this assessment. Thus, a
student who participates in the NCSC AA-AAS participates in this
assessment for all content areas.
In addition, the decision for participating in the AA-AAS Should Not be based
on:
1. A disability category or label
2. Poor attendance or extended absences
3. Native language/social/cultural or economic difference
4. Expected poor performance on the general education assessment
5. Academic and other services student receives
6. Educational environment or instructional setting
7. Percent of time receiving special education
8. English Language Learner (ELL) status
9. Low reading level/achievement level
10. Anticipated disruptive behavior
11. Impact of test scores on accountability system
12. Administrator decision
13. Anticipated emotional duress
14. Need for accommodations to participate in assessment process
Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility Criteria Descriptors
Agree (Yes) or Disagree (No)?
Provide evidence for each
1. The student has a
significant cognitive
disability
Review of student records indicate a disability or
multiple disabilities that significantly impact intellectual
functioning and adaptive behavior.
*Adaptive behavior is defined as essential for
someone to live independently and to function safely in
daily life.
Yes / No
2. The student is learning
content inked to (derived
from) the Common Core
State Standards (CCSS)
Goals and instruction for this student are based on
grade level CCSS for the grade in which the student is
enrolled. The Core Content Connectors are based on
learning progressions that are aligned to the CCSS
and describe the knowledge and skills that are
appropriate and challenging for this student.
Yes / No
3. The student requires
extensive direct
individualized instruction
and substantial supports
to achieve measureable
gains in the grade-and
age-appropriate
curriculum.
The student (a) requires extensive, repeated,
individualized instruction and support that is not of a
temporary or transient nature and (b) uses
substantially adapted materials and individualized
methods of accessing information in alternative ways
to acquire, maintain, generalize, demonstrate and
transfer skills across multiple settings.
Yes / No
The student is eligible to participate in the
AA-AAS if all responses above are marked
Yes.
NCSC Assessment System
Highlights of NCSC System
To ensure that students with significant cognitive disabilities achieve increasingly higher academic outcomes and leave high school ready for post-secondary options.
A well-designed summative assessment alone is insufficient.
To achieve this goal, an AA-AAS system also includes:
Curricular & instructional frameworks
Teacher resources and professional development
Formative assessment tools
Communicative Competence
College
Career
Community Curriculum
Common Core Standards
Learning Progressions
Core Content Connectors
Instruction
Grade-level Lessons
Accommodations
Systematic Instruction
Assessment
Formative, Interim
Summative
The NCSC
Alternate Assessment System* English Language Arts and Mathematics, Grades 3–8 and High School
END-OF-YEAR
ASSESSMENT
DIGITAL LIBRARY of curriculum, instruction, and classroom assessment resources; online professional development
modules and support materials for state-level educator Communities of Practice to support teachers with the
resources they need to improve student outcomes; guidelines for IEP teams to use in student participation decision
making; training modules for assessment administration and interpretation of results; online assessment delivery,
administration, and reporting.
Curriculum, instruction,
and formative
assessment resources
for classroom use
Summative assessment
for accountability
Interim progress
monitoring tools
• COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE established in each state to support teacher
training and use of the curriculum, instruction, and assessment resources.
Resources will be available for use in all schools and districts, as locally
determined.
NCSC Summative
(End-of-Year)
Assessment Design
Major Development Phases
Initial Test Design and Specifications
Item Writing and Review
Spring/Summer 2013
Item Tryouts/ Cognitive Labs
TBA 2013
Pilot Test
Spring 2014
Review and Revise Items
Spring/ Summer 2014
Finalize Test Design and Specs
Fall 2014
Census Field Test Spring 2015
Standard Setting Summer 2015
Reports and Final Documentation
Summer/ Fall 2015
Characteristics of the NCSC Summative
Assessment
• Testing Time
1.5 – 2.0 hours per content area (ELA and Mathematics) (ELA includes Reading and Writing)
• Item Types
> 2/3 selected response
< 1/3 constructed response
• Principled Approach, based on ECD
- Common Core State Standards and Learning Progressions basis for prioritized content
Curriculum and Instructional
Materials and Supports
Highlights of NCSC Curriculum,
Instruction, and Professional Development
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What is included in a
MASSI?
• Color coded with instructional family • CCC, CCSS, lesson objective by grade level • Materials • Overview for all 3 grade levels
Bolded text indicates teacher script
Instructional strategy: CTD
Instructional strategy: LIP
Leveled Instruction
Check and Score: Teacher scores on Progress Monitoring Sheet. Numbers correspond with number on data sheet.
Goals for each grade level in grade band
Progress Monitoring Data Sheet •Follows MASSI; steps correspond with steps of task analysis •1st column: materials to present to student •2nd column: instructional cue and prompt (if applicable) •3rd column: student response
•MASSI is comprised of many steps •Broken down into segments to teach across multiple sessions/days • Indicates our suggestion for stopping places •How to administer skills test (teacher says/does, student response, and error correction) •Provides suggested criterion for moving forward (~60% or higher) •“Next”- what is to come in lesson and suggestions for each grade level
Importance of Communicating to
Parents about the NCSC AA-AAS
• To familiarize them with changes in
instruction and assessment aligned to CCSS
• To enable them to be informed participants in
educational decisions concerning their
children
• To promote effective parent-school
partnerships that help students learn more
challenging content
• To get buy-in
Range of Parent Reactions to an
AA-AAS Aligned to the CCSS
• Some may have trouble understanding
how the CCSS will address their
children’s needs
• Some may not believe their children can
learn academic content
• Some will welcome the increased
academic expectations as long overdue
• Some may still want their child in the
general assessment because of LRE and
diploma concerns
Some Proactive Communication
Strategies
• Reassure parents that addressing
communicative competence is an NCSC
priority
• Share NCSC’s vision of college and career
readiness for students who take an AA-AAS
• Share information on the NCSC curriculum/
instructional resources and assessment
• Share NCSC participation guidelines, which
address LRE concerns and consider the high
stakes aspects of placement in an AA-AAS
NCSC Parent Communication Plan
• NCSC has hired a parent training and technical assistance specialist
• Parent friendly documents about NCSC’s work are being developed
• These documents will be available for distribution by educators as well as by parent organizations
• They are being designed for parents with diverse educational backgrounds and varying levels of interest in the details
Basic documents
These provide the minimum level of information every parent should have:
• A background document with key points about the NCSC project
• An explanation of the guidelines for IEP team decisions regarding participation in the NCSC assessment
• A document concerning accommodations policies
Additional Resources
• Detailed FAQ on the NCSC AA-AAS
• Explanation of the NCSC Schema for
Curriculum and instructional Resources
• Paper discussing NCSC’s vision of college
and career readiness for students with
significant cognitive disabilities
More resources may be developed based
on parent/educator feedback
Parent Group Outreach
• The documents will be shared with national disability groups for dissemination to parents
• These national groups will have access to a bank of PowerPoint slides to develop presentations for state/local affiliates
• A model newsletter article will be provided
• A ‘parent page” on the NCSC website will be developed
Parent Input on Communication Plan
• A parent advisory group is reviewing the
documents and providing suggestions for
additional resources that may be useful
• NCSC is inviting feedback from
conference participants like you on
strategies for communicating with families.
DISCUSSION