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Regular Assessments
Options
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ninety-eight to ninety-nine percent of all students will take
the regular assessments and be on the diploma track.
Regular assessments
include:
- Standards Based Assessments (SBA)
- Terra Nova
- National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
- High School Graduation Qualifying Exam (HSGQE)
Students with disabilities have options for how they
take the regular assessments: |
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Take assessments without accommodations or modifications
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Take assessments with accommodations |
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Take Alternative Assessments for the HSGQE
If a student with a disability does not pass all subtests of the
HSGQE, the student is eligible for an alternative assessment program
in the subtests that the student did not pass. This is a special
program for the HSGQE because it is a high-stakes exam required
for a high school diploma.
Modifications needed during Alternative Assessment must be documented
in the IEP on the Assessment page and under Program
Modifications and Accommodations.
Students have two options for types of Alternative Assessments: |
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Alternative Assessment:
Modified
Taking the HSGQE with state approved, allowable
modifications (changes to the test situation that would normally
not be allowed).
For a student with disabilities
who has taken and not passed the HSGQE.
Process:
- IEP/504 team decision
- Complete the Modified HSGQE Application
2006-2007
- Mail or fax to EED completed application
and IEP/504 pages that document the disability and note the modification
- Mail or fax 60 days or more prior to testing,
by August 3 , 2007 - Fall administration
February 1, 2008 - Spring administration
- Once approved, good for all subsequent testing.
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Alternative Assessment:
Nonstandardized
After approval by the state, the student prepares
an extensive collection of work that reflects competency in each
of the state standards.
This option is available for a very small number
of students with severe physical, emotional or pervasive developmental
disabilities who have taken and not passed the HSGQE (see Participation
Guidelines for more information)
Process:
- IEP/504 team decision
- Complete Nonstandardized HSGQE Application
- Mail or fax to EED completed application
and IEP/504 pages that document history of being unable to demonstrate
proficiency on standardized assessments and include a diagnosis
of the disability from a mental health clinician or school psychologist.
- Mail or fax by September 30 of the
school year in which the student expects to graduate.
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Click here 
for more information on Alternative Assessments including application
forms.
Adaptations,
Accommodations, Modifications
There is a difference!
ADAPTATIONS ARE EITHER
| Accommodations
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Modifications |
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not compromise test validity
Meet specific needs of
individual students
Are a change made to ensure an accurate
reflection of what the test is intended to measure rather
than the student’s disability
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or |
Alter
what is measured by the test or alter the validity of the
result
Modified tests produce invalid test
scores for regular assessments and ARE NOT SCORED
(with the exception of when a
student is approved for a Modified HSGQE) |
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More about Accommodations
The Participation Guidelines lists acceptable
accommodations. These are accommodations that have been found to not change
what is measured by the test. Please use the links to download these to
keep as a quick reference and refer to as you progress through this training.
You may also view an online version, if you prefer:
Download
pdf of acceptable accommodations
Acceptable Accommodations From Participation Guidelines
List
- This is not an exhaustive list
- The accommodations must be documented in the IEP
- Choose only what the student needs to
accurately measure the student’s academic skills and not the student’s
disability
- More is not necessarily better
- Can be selected from a menu built into the ASD
IEP program
It is good practice for an accommodation to be used
in the student’s regular or special education classes for at least
three months before using it in testing. If an accommodation is needed
for statewide testing, it is also needed for classroom testing to accurately
measure the student’s skills learned through instruction.
ASD Clarifications on Using Small Group Settings
The accommodations highlighted
below should be provided
in a small group (or individual) setting. Accommodations
that are not highlighted can be provided in the regular
classroom if:
- the IEP/504 student can receive the intended accommodation
in the classroom environment
and
- the provision of the accommodation does not disrupt
the testing environment for the rest of the students
in the classroom
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Timing & Scheduling |
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Setting |
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Presentation |
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Presentation: Test Directions
The
area highlighted in green is a major
security issue.
Before the IEP/504 team chooses this accommodation, please
contact Laurel
Vorachek at the ASD
Assessment & Evaluation Dept. She will contact
the State.
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Presentation: Test
Questions
If an aide is available, the areas denoted in blue
can be in a regular classroom rather than a small group.
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Presentation: Use of Assistive Devices
/ Supports
A small group is required for this highlighted
area, unless using a calculator is the ONLY accommodation. |
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Response: Test Format
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Response: Use of Assistive
Devices / Supports
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Clarification on Accommodations for
the Terra Nova
"Allowing additional time" is an acceptable
accommodation for the Terra Nova even though it is a timed test.
Since the Terra Nova Language Arts Part I
and II is an integrated subtest that combines reading and writing, no
part of these sections may be read to the student even if that accommodation
is on the student's IEP or 504 Plan. If the team insists on reading any
part of these sections, it would be a modification and the test would
be invalid and not scored.
| Sometimes IEP teams identify an adaptation
that is needed for a student that it is not clear whether it
is an accommodation or a modification. |
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If a team does not know whether a device
or change to a test is an accommodation or a modification, the change
is called an “Adaptation” until it is determined to be one
or the other.
The IEP team answers a series of 5 questions
found in the Participation Guidelines. Their answers to the questions
demonstrate whether the adaptation is an accommodation or a modification
- If it is an accommodation it is allowable
- If it is a modification, and used
during statewide assessment, no score is generated (except
if the student has received state approval for a Modified HSGQE)
If there is team disagreement about whether an adaptation is an accommodation
or modification, EED will give a non-binding advisory opinion (Participation
Guidelines).
| Caution!
An
unfamiliar test accommodation given to a student with a disability
can lower test performance results. |
Example:
Ashley’s IEP team decided Ashley needs the accommodation
of taking the test in a small group setting. Although she typically
does poorly on classroom tests due to distractibility caused by
attention deficit disorder, she has always been with her class when
she takes classroom tests. The day of the test her teacher tells
Ashley that she is going to a smaller room to take the standards
based assessment. Going to the small room is different for her and
is upsetting. She may actually do worse on the test due to her uneasiness
and being unfamiliar with the accommodation |
Example:
Thomas’s IEP team decided Thomas needs the accommodation
of using a scribe due to his fine motor challenges and his being
easily frustrated due to emotional disability. He has never followed
the scribe procedures in classroom testing. The day of the test
he begins dictating to the scribe and gets confused and then angry
when asked to spell key words in what he dictated. He refuses to
continue spelling and punctuating what he has dictated. |
Click here
for more information on the use of a scribe as an accommodation.
Implementation
and Documentation
Before the Assessment
Document accommodations in the IEP in
two places:
- Accommodations used in testing are
documented in the IEP Assessment
section
- Accommodations and Modifications for classroom instruction
are documented on the IEP Accommodations and Modifications
page
| Example
One |
| Documented in the IEP Assessment
section: |
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| Documented on the IEP Accommodations
and Modifications page: |
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| Example
Two |
| Documented in the IEP Assessment
section: |
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| Documented on the IEP Accommodations
and Modifications page: |
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Before the Assessment
(continued)
Inform the person responsible for administering the assessment
(the proctor) which accommodations are required for individual students.
Complete an IEP Amendment when changing accommodations.
Use accommodations in classroom instruction at least 3 months
before the test.
In the following situations, be sure
to enter IEPs into the ASD IEP program and submit hardcopies of IEPs
in a timely manner. Be certain to include Entry and Exit forms, if
needed:
- Students whose 3 yr. evaluation
expires close to the testing
- Initial Certifications
- Students determined no longer
to be eligible
| Help
special education staff avoid needing to reconcile students’
accommodations used in testing with those listed on their IEP’s.
When you submit IEP’s electronically and send print copies
of paperwork to Special Education Records, district level reporting
is accurate on the first try! In 2004, special education staff
had to individually reconcile almost 400 students’ accommodations.
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These downloadable Excel Accommodations Planning
Forms are ways to summarize accommodations for all your students as you
plan for providing accommodations. One lists accommodation categories,
while the other is open for you to add whatever accommodations are required
on your caseload.
Accommodation
Categories Worksheet
Accommodations
for Caseload
Click here
if you would like more information on the use and documentation of accommodations.
Click here
to download a PowerPoint from the Alaska Department of Education and Early
Development with more information on accommodations and modifications.
Implementation
and Documentation
During the assessment
All accommodations
listed on the IEP must be provided. |
Approximately two weeks before the test date,
special education teachers and department chairs will receive electronic
reports of accommodations as listed in IEP’s for their students.
Special Education teachers or department chairs are
responsible to:
- Verifying accuracy of electronic accommodations file
for individual students based on the IEP and amendments current
on the day of testing
- Submit verifications and updates to special education
as directed
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Accommodations Verification
forms will be sent electronically by ASD Special Education Technology
to Special Education Department Chairs or Special Education Teachers
approximately two weeks before April testing. Look for them in
March. |
Continue
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