Re: Litigation logs and assesstments

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What is assessment?

Assessment is the process of gathering information about a student in order

to make decisions about this or her education. One kind of assessment

procedure is testing. In elementary and secondary schools, tests are given

routinely to measure the extent to which we profit from instruction. We may

have taken intelligence, aptitude, interest, personality tests or nay number

of other kinds of tests.Testing means presenting a person with a set of

questions or tasks in order to obtain a measure of performance often

represented by a score. the score is intended to help answer questions and

produce information about the person tested.

Formal vs. Informal Assessment

Increasingly, educators are finding new ways to evaluate students' school

performances using informal rather than formal, or standardized, assessment

procedures. Collection of information by means of observation is often

thought of as informal assessment, as is information gathered from interviews

with parents or past teachers and by using teacher-constructed tests.

Over the past few years, some districts have increased the use of

curriculum-based measurements (CBM). Several samples of a student's

performance are collected, using items drawn from the local curriculum,

usually in basic skill subjects of reading, math, spelling and written

expression. Such brief tests are called " probes. " Student performances are

measured by a frequency count of, for example, words read, written or

sequenced correctly, or math problems answered correctly. The norms used to

compare a student's performance have been previously determined by testing

random groups of students at each grade level. CBM has been used as part of

the overall assessment program for purposes of screening, program placement,

instructional planning and monitoring student progress. Curriculum-based

measurement provides the teacher with a relatively fast and frequent method

to measure student progress in the regular school subjects. Both group and

individual administration are used, depending on the school subject being

tested.

The following are some examples of the two categories:

Formal Assessments Informal/ Natural Assessments

Norm-referenced tests Observation

Criterion-referenced tests Play-based

Check lists and rating scales

Parent interviews

Formal Assessments:

Norm-referenced

Norm-referenced tests have standardized, formal procedures for

administering, timing and scoring. They have been " normed " or administered to

a representative sample of similar age or grade level students so that final

test results can be compared to students of similar characteristics. Test

results indicate a person's relative

performance in the group. These standardized tests must be administered as

specified in the manual to ensure valid and reliable results.

Criterion-referenced tests

Criterion-referenced tests (CRT) measure what the person is able to do and

indicate what skills have been mastered. CRT compare a person's performance

with his or her own past performance. An example is the number of spelling

words correct. If Molly spells 15 of 20 words correct, that is 75% correct,

higher than the past week when her score was 60% correct. In

criterion-referenced measurement, the emphasis is on assessing specific and

relevant behaviors that have been mastered rather than indicating the

relative standing in the group.

Informal/ Natural Assessments:

Play-Based Assessment

Play-based assessment is a tool used while a child is playing usually in

his/her natural environment. The observer is able to see the interactions

between the child and peers as well as noting speech and language, and motor

abilities.

Checklists and Rating Scales

Checklists and rating scales are used to make judgments about children's

behavior. The two should be used in different settings to determine patterns

in behavior (Lerner, Lowenthal, & Egan, 1998).

Parent Interviews

Parent interviews are judgments based upon the observations of significant

people in the child's life.

Types of Assessment for Developmental Areas

Cognition:

Battelle Developmental Inventory: The Riverside Publishing Company. This

test is designed for children birth though age eight. It tests in several

different developmental domains such as cognition, motor, self-help,

language, and social skills.

Bayley Scales of Infant Development: The Psychological Corporation. The

Bayley is designed for children ages one month through 42 months. The test

assesses areas of mental, motor and behavior development.

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition. The Riverside

Publishing Company. The Stanford-Binet tests individuals ages 2-23. The test

measures general intelligence. It focuses on the areas of verbal reasoning,

quantitative reasoning, abstract/visual reasoning, and short term memory.

Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence- Revised (WPPSI-R):

The Psychological Corporation. A standardized test for children ages 41/2 to

6. It assesses areas of language and perception.

McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities: The Psychological Corporation.

The McCarthy tests children ages 2 1/2-8 1/2. The purpose of the test is to

evaluate the general intelligence level of children. It also identifies

strengths and weaknesses in several ability areas. These areas include:

verbal, perceptual-performance,

quantitative, memory, motor, and general cognitive skills.

Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment (TBA): H. s Publishing

Company. This informal assessment is for children birth through 6. Through

play children can be assessed in areas of cognition, social-emotional,

communication and language and sensorimotor.

Language/Communication:

Sequenced Inventory for Communication Development- Revised (SICD):

Slosson Educational Publications. The SICD assesses children ages 4 months

to 4 years. The test assesses areas of expressive and receptive language

skills.

Preschool Language Scale - 3 (PLS-3): The Psychological Corporation. This

test is designed for children ages birth through 6. The test assesses areas

of language including auditory comprehension and expressive communication.

Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamental- Preschool: E. Merrill

Publishing Company. The assessment identifies nature and degree of language

disabilities in the language areas of processing, production, and speech

sounds.

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-R): American Guidance Service. The

Peabody tests ages 2 1/2 to age 40. The purpose of the test is to measure

vocabulary in English and non-verbal receptive (hearing). The test uses

picture recognition for single word vocabulary.

Test of Early Language Development (TELD): The TELD assesses children ages

three through seven on language development.

Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment (TBA): H. s Publishing

Company. This informal assessment is for children birth through 6. Through

play children can be assessed in areas of cognition, social-emotional,

communication and language and sensorimotor.

Motor:

Peabody Developmental Motor Scales: The Riverside Publishing Company. The

Peabody assesses children ages birth to seven years. The test measures

gross-motor and fine-motor development skills.

Bayley Scales of Infant Development: The Psychological Corporation. The

Bayley is designed for children ages one month through 42 months. The test

assesses areas of mental, motor and behavior development.

Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment (TBA): H. s Publishing

Company. This informal assessment is for children birth through 6. Through

play children can be assessed in areas of cognition, social-emotional,

communication and language and sensorimotor.

Social/Emotional:

Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), This behavior rating scale assesses

behaviors associated with learning disabilities. The checklist is designed

for children ages 2 through 18. It contains a parent and a teacher checklist.

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) The Vineland tests infants to

children ages 18 and 11 months. The purpose of the test is to assess social

competence. The areas of assessment include: communication, daily living,

socialization, and motor skills.

California Preschool Social Competency Scale: This test assesses children

ages 3-6 on self-help and social development.

Burks' Behavior Rating Scales: The rating scale is designed for children

ages 3-6, which assesses the social area of development.

Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment (TBA): H. s Publishing

Company. This informal assessment is for children birth through 6. Through

play children can be assessed in areas of cognition, social-emotional,

communication and language and sensorimotor.

Self-Help/Adaptive:

Battelle Developmental Inventory: The Riverside Publishing Company. This

test is designed for children birth though age eight. It tests in several

different evelopmental domains such as self-help, motor, cognition, language,

and social skills.

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) The Vineland is for ages birth to

19. The purpose of the test is to assess social competence. The areas of

assessment include: communication, daily living, socialization, and motor

skills.

Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP) This test is for children ages birth

through age three. The HELP is a criterion-referenced tests which assesses

children in the developmental areas of self-help, motor, cognition, language,

speech, and social development.

For more information concerning tests and assessments visit ERIC

Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation

References:

J. Lerner, B. Lowenthal, R. Egan (1998). Preschool Children with Special

Needs: Children At-risk and Children with Disabilities. Needham Heights, MA:

Allyn & Bacon.

E. Hean Hosterman, Ed. (1989). Special Education Tests: A Handbook for

Parents and Professionals. Minneapolis, Minnesota, PACER Center, Inc.

Litigation Log

Disagreements about the application of the IDEA and its implementing

regulations are a focal point of the federal court system. There are more

than 100 federal district courts. In addition, there are thirteen federal

judicial circuits (the United States Courts of Appeal). At the top of the

federal court system, is the U.S. Supreme Court whose decisions set the legal

standard for the entire nation. The state court system can interpret federal

law, but is more likely to address individual state laws concerning special

education.

The Litigation Log provides the reviewer with an opportunity to examine

various legal standards that apply to them as these are established by their

own federal circuit court. It also allows them to compare these decisions

with decisions from other circuits. A working knowledge of the various legal

standards established across the country can only assist in making sound

educational decisions for students with disabilities.

Litigation Log http://www.ideapractices.org/law/litigationLog.php#62

A collection of legal cases that will help service providers and

administrators make educational decisions.

Compensatory Education

Damages

Discipline/Suspension/Expulsion

Early Childhood

Eligibility

Evaluation/Re-Evaluation

FAPE/Placement

FAPE/Services

FAPE/Services

FAPE/Standard of Review

Handicapped Children's Protection Act

IEP/IFSPs/Methodology

LRE/Mainstreaming/Inclusion

Medical Services/Related Service

Private School Placement

Services to Private School Students

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