# Professional Development 

# on assessment systems

Large-scale assessment systems need to be technically adequate so that
the public has confidence in the accountability decisions being made
from them. Technical adequacy is established when the process for
developing and implementing state assessments is explicit and well
documented, and the state provides evidence that its assessments are
reliable and support the decisions that are being made (i.e., validates
the claims or inferences). To develop and implement assessment systems
with this kind of technical adequacy, states must invest considerable
resources in professional development. The investment should focus on
four groups of professionals: (a) measurement experts, who need to know
more about students with disabilities and the assessments that are
appropriate for them; (b) special education professionals, who must
become more proficient in understanding measurement principles in
general and their applicability to assessments designed for students
with disabilities; (c) education leaders and administrators, including
principals, who oversee the participation of all students in large-scale
assessments; and (d) individuals likely to serve on Individualized
Education Program (IEP) teams, which are responsible for recommending a
particular assessment method for each individual student with
disabilities. This paper provides a brief overview of some professional
development principles, defines what each constituent group needs to
know, and lists topics and resources for each group.

## Professional Development Principles 

Context, process, and content are the three key elements in designing
effective professional development (National Staff Development Council,
2001). The *context* for professional development must be conducive to
learning, which may be achieved through the creation of learning
communities under the guidance of effective leaders who can
appropriately deploy critical resources. The *process* of training
should focus on data use and learning outcomes, including an evaluation
of training effectiveness. The *content* of training should be
scientifically based, current, and responsive to the needs of
stakeholders (i.e., test coordinators, teachers, related service
providers, and administrators). The National Staff Development Council
(2001) provides standards for each of these elements to guide staff
development personnel in designing professional development experiences.
As an example of a state that explicitly addresses these key elements,
the Maryland Department of Education (2001), in its guide on
professional development, notes that professional development is most
effective when it is designed to take place in vibrant professional
learning communities (context), be data-driven, utilizing rigorous
analysis of data (process), and lead to knowledge, skills, and
dispositions that apply research to decision making (content).

Effective professional development also must be a continuing process
that succeeds in creating lasting changes in behavior and practice
(Jones & Lowe, 1990). Effective professional development cannot be a
one-time event in which information is presented with little or no
follow-through. To have any chance of its effects being sustained over
time, professional development must be continuous and results-oriented.
Ideally, professional development takes advantage of both external and
internal expertise and actively involves the educators who sign up for
the training. Further, professional development must occur frequently
enough to provide timely and accurate information. To be responsive to
changes in policy and new research on assessing students with
disabilities, states must develop systems for ongoing delivery of
information. One indicator of the effectiveness of this type of system
is whether professional practice becomes more consistent with new policy
and research over time.

Professional development needs to be aimed at improving the technical
adequacy of assessment practices for students with disabilities,
including the technical adequacy of the procedures for implementation of
the assessment as well as the technical adequacy of the outcomes for
decision making. For example, teachers need professional development
aimed at ensuring that they follow proper procedures for gathering
student work samples for alternate assessments, such as portfolio
assessments or performance tasks, and that they carefully score the
portfolios or performance tasks to ensure the dependability and
credibility of the work samples for making accountability decisions.
However, for at least two reasons, the training may not necessarily lead
directly to immediate improvements in student learning (Sparks & Hirsh,
2000). First, student performance data obtained from an improved
assessment system may not be comparable to previously reported data.
Second, professional development on participation guidelines for
students with disabilities may not, in itself, be expected to improve
student performance. Instead, educators need information on how to
improve the quality of curriculum and instruction and how to use
research-based procedures like understanding key measurement,
assessment, and inclusion principles (Elliott, Braden & White, 2001) and
applying progress monitoring to improve student outcomes (visit
[http://www.studentprogress.org](http://www.studentprogress.org/) for
more information about progress monitoring). However, as school
personnel become more informed about the appropriate assessment of what
students are taught and as they use technically adequate approaches and
methodologies, the impact on achievement may be quite noticeable.

Therefore, professional development must address curricular and
instructional components as well as focus on results and outcomes. Only
then will it be possible to provide a complete validity argument that
includes a claim (or inference) supported by both reliability and
validity evidence focusing on procedural and statistical components of
the entire process. That is, professional development is not only about
the technical adequacy of the outcomes (reaching grade-level content
standards) but also about providing students systematic access to
instruction focused on the standards and access to high-quality
implementation of assessments aligned with those standards. Claims of
performance and proficiency are much stronger (validated) when teaching
and learning are systematically related.

## Content for Professional Development

The following sections assume that the design of professional
development incorporates appropriate consideration of context and
process. This section focuses specifically on content.

## Primary and additional resources for developing the content of professional development

Two primary resources should form the basis of professional development
on the participation of students with disabilities in large-scale
assessments. The first is the *Standards for Educational and
Psychological Testing* (American Educational Research Association,
American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in
Education, 1999). The second set of resources is the federal regulations
that specify this participation, such as the *Individuals with
Disabilities Education Improvement Act* *of 2004* (*IDEA*) (PL 108-446),
the *No Child Left Behind* *Act of 2002* (*NCLB*), the regulations on
alternate achievement standards (Federal Register, Dec. 9, 2003), and
the most current policy statements on the U.S. Department of Education's
Web site, which recognize a need for modified achievement standards
(<http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/raising/alt-assess.html>). States
also may want to include their state guidelines for the participation of
students with disabilities in state assessments.

Technical assistance centers offer additional resources that may be
useful to professional development planners. For example, the IEP team
may benefit from the information on linking assessments to academic
content standards for students with significant cognitive
disabilities---available through the National Alternate Assessment
Center ([http://www.naacpartners.org](http://www.naacpartners.org/)).
The National Center on Educational Outcomes offers numerous reports on
the participation of students with disabilities in large-scale
assessments (<http://cehd.umn.edu/nceo>). The Access Center provides
direct assistance, networking, and Web-based resources to assist states
in building the capacity of all students to access the general
curriculum
([http://www.k8accesscenter.org](http://www.k8accesscenter.org/)). The
National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum provides
professional development on accessing the general curriculum and
universal design (<http://www.cast.org/ncac>). The Disabilities Studies
and Services Center has a complete list of technical assistance centers
at <http://www.federalresourcecenter.org/frc/oseptad.htm>. The online
course, Assessing One and All*:* Educational Accountability for Students
With Disabilities*,* on the Council for Exceptional Children Web site
(<http://www.cec.sped.org/pd/webcourses/cec112.html>) uses a
case-focused approach to understanding key measurement, assessment, and
inclusion practices. The site also links to every state's testing
guidelines and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) reports.

## What measurement professionals need to know

Measurement professionals working with state assessment systems have
expertise in and in-depth knowledge of the *Standards for Educational
and Psychological Testing* (American Educational Research Association et
al., 1999). However, they may not be familiar with the need to apply
these standards to the entire range of assessment methods available for
students with disabilities because they will likely have had limited
exposure to students across the full range of disabilities and,
therefore, may not fully appreciate why different modes of application
are needed and how to apply these different modes according to different
types of disabilities. Their major need, therefore, is to understand
students with disabilities and the implications of their disabilities
for participation in and performance on statewide accountability
assessments. Professional development might begin with specific
information about special education and students who have IEPs. State
measurement professionals should be able to use current terminology in
referring to individuals with disabilities and should have some
understanding of the variation in students' response modes and support
needs. These professionals may need to learn the current categories of
disabilities in *IDEA* 2004, including both definitions and terminology;
current state categories and definitions also would be relevant. In this
context, it may be useful to explain why *IDEA* 2004 refers to this
population as "*individuals with disabilities"* rather than as
"*handicapped children"* and to emphasize the importance of using
language that is respectful to the persons to whom one is referring.

State measurement professionals also must understand that neither IEPs
in general nor assessment participation decisions in particular are
based on disability categories. Once a student is eligible for special
education services, his or her needs must be considered in planning a
free, appropriate public education and in selecting an assessment
method. In this process, it is essential to consider instruction
designed for students with disabilities, to note specific student needs,
and to help organize appropriate student services.

Measurement professionals need to understand that students with
disabilities may demonstrate learning in a wide variety of response
modes. As they design and develop assessment methods, measurement
professionals must allow for this individualization of response and
participation, and they must understand the inferences that can be made
from scores derived from different testing formats. They need to apply
principles of universal design to provide accessibility for many
students who were previously unable to participate in assessments or
demonstrate their knowledge. In this process, then, assessments are
"designed and developed from the beginning to allow participation of the
widest possible range of students, and to result in valid inferences
about performance for all students who participate in the assessment.
Universally designed assessments add a dimension of fairness to the
testing process" (Thompson, Johnstone, & Thurlow, 2002). Measurement
experts must consider universal design, which is part of *IDEA* and of
Title I of the *Elementary and Secondary Education Act* (*ESEA*), Title
I regulations in particular. Finally, they must appreciate the
importance of response variations in considering appropriate
accommodations.

State measurement professionals must be familiar with current federal
regulations concerning the participation of students with disabilities
in statewide assessments and accountability systems. Providing them with
copies of these policies, along with state guidelines, is important.
Detailed knowledge of these regulations is particularly critical for
measurement professionals who develop alternate assessments or
state-level policies for participation in assessment.

Measurement professionals need working knowledge of the concept of
access to the general curriculum and should know that this is an
expectation for all students with disabilities. In this context, it may
be useful to clarify that some terms used by measurement specialists can
be confusing when applied to the education of students with
disabilities, their access to the general curriculum, and their
achievement of academic content standards. For example, in measurement
circles, the term "*developmental*" is used to describe a type of
derived or transformed score, such as developmental age or developmental
quotient. Early childhood educators use "*developmentally appropriate*"
to refer to an educational curriculum that is appropriate to students'
current abilities. Among those involved in the education of students
with severe disabilities, "developmental" refers to the outmoded
practice of applying an early childhood curriculum throughout the
student's lifespan by planning an education program based on his or her
mental age[^1]. In the same way, "*off grade level*" may have different
meanings for the measurement and special education communities. For
measurement specialists, the term may refer to the scaling of content.
To special educators, it may describe the selection of appropriate
teaching materials from a lower grade level to help a student access the
general education grade-level content (for example, teaching a
fifth-grade curriculum using a book written at a second-grade
readability level).

Several resources are available to help measurement professionals
understand access to the general curriculum. Technical assistance
centers that focus on general curriculum access (e.g.,
http://[www.k8accesscenter.org](http://www.k8accesscenter.org/)) provide
summary documents that define general curriculum access and provide
examples. Applications of this content to students with significant
cognitive disabilities are available on the National Alternate
Assessment Center Web site
([http://www.naacpartners.org](http://www.naacpartners.org/)).

Professional development for measurement specialists also may need to
include specific references to the application of measurement principles
in the development and validation of alternate assessment formats. Few
states have created or circulated technical reports on their alternate
assessments. Although specific technical issues, such as item
discrimination and differential item functioning, may need to be
reconsidered when applied to alternate assessment formats, proper
documentation and dissemination of technical adequacy are required for
these areas just as for the general assessment.

If validity arguments for each testing format used by a state are to be
adequately addressed, measurement professionals in the state may need
increased knowledge of approved accommodations, the state's inclusion
criteria for participation in assessment methods, and standardized
reporting of student performance. In particular, measurement
professionals need to address construct misrepresentation and
construct-irrelevant variance as they relate to assessments for students
with disabilities. Further, scoring constructed-response assessments
requires careful planning and analysis. Because subjective scoring may
introduce bias into the judgments of student performance, scorers must
be adequately trained and made aware of potential biases.

With greater knowledge of students with disabilities, test
accommodations, and technical considerations, measurement professionals
can make more substantive contributions to the annual review of
technical data related to all the assessment approaches used within a
state for students with disabilities. In this way, they can help to
strengthen or increase the inferences made from those assessments. Table
1 on the next page summarizes content that might be used in professional
development for measurement specialists responsible for including
students with disabilities in the statewide assessment and
accountability systems.

Table 1

Summary: What Measurement Professionals Need to Know about Including
Special Education Students in Statewide Assessment and Accountability
Systems

+-----------------+----------------------+-----------------------------+
| Topic           | Examples             | Possible Resources          |
+-----------------+----------------------+-----------------------------+
| **Standards for | -   Definition of    | American Educational        |
| testing**       |     terms            | Research Association et al. |
|                 |                      | (1999)                      |
|                 | -   Standards for    |                             |
|                 |     validity         |                             |
+-----------------+----------------------+-----------------------------+
| **Application   | -   Inferences to be | Tindal & Haladyna, (2002)   |
| of standards to |     made             |                             |
| students with   |                      |                             |
| disabilities**  | -   Alternate        |                             |
|                 |     assessments      |                             |
|                 |                      |                             |
|                 | -   Accommodations   |                             |
+-----------------+----------------------+-----------------------------+
| **Students with | -   Categories used  | *IDEA* 2004                 |
| disabilities--- |                      |                             |
| categories,     | -   Respectful       | State policy                |
| response        |     language         |                             |
| variation,      |                      | <http://cehd.umn.edu/nceo>  |
| support**       | -   Why              |                             |
|                 |     accommodations   |                             |
|                 |     may be needed    |                             |
|                 |                      |                             |
|                 | -   Supports used by |                             |
|                 |     students in      |                             |
|                 |     alternate        |                             |
|                 |     assessment       |                             |
+-----------------+----------------------+-----------------------------+
| **Federal law   | -   All students     | *IDEA* 2004                 |
| and             |     participate      |                             |
| regulations**   |                      | Federal Register, Dec. 9,   |
|                 | -   Not assigned to  | 2003                        |
|                 |     assessment       |                             |
|                 |     method based on  | http://[www.                |
|                 |     disability       | ed.gov](http://www.ed.gov/) |
|                 |                      |                             |
|                 | -   AYP and students | <ht                         |
|                 |     with             | tp://www.ed.gov/policy/spec |
|                 |     disabilities     | ed/guid/idea/idea2004.html> |
|                 |                      |                             |
|                 |                      | <http://www.ed.gov/policy/s |
|                 |                      | peced/guid/nclb/index.html> |
+-----------------+----------------------+-----------------------------+
| **Access to     | -   Expectations for | http://[w                   |
| general         |     access           | ww.k8accesscenter.org](http |
| curriculum**    |                      | ://www.k8accesscenter.org/) |
|                 | -   Applicability of |                             |
|                 |     state content    | [http                       |
|                 |     standards        | ://www.naacpartners.org](ht |
|                 |                      | tp://www.naacpartners.org/) |
+-----------------+----------------------+-----------------------------+

## What special educators need to know about measurement

Special educators involved in state planning for how students with
disabilities participate in large-scale assessments need a thorough
knowledge of current federal laws and regulations (Federal Register,
Dec. 9, 2003; *IDEA* 2004; *NCLB*; and new guidelines as they appear).
Because policies and regulations about this participation evolve
rapidly, ongoing professional development is particularly critical for
this group. In addition to information about policy and regulations,
they need copies of new policies and regulations in hand as they develop
guidelines for participation and new alternate assessments for use in
individual states. Two helpful resources are available from the National
Center on Educational Outcomes (http://cehd.umn.edu/NCEO) and the
research from the Educational Policy Reform Research Institute
(http://[www.eprri.org](http://www.eprri.org/)).

In 2000, Nolet and McLaughlin pointed out that access of students with
disabilities to the general curriculum was a new topic for many special
educators. This may have created some confusion as to how the
participation of students with disabilities is planned and carried out.
Just as special educators expect measurement experts to be current in
their knowledge of standards for assessment, measurement professionals
expect special educators to have the most current information on access
to the general curriculum to plan how to assess students' achievement of
state academic content standards. Professional development on access to
the general curriculum can begin with Web site summaries of the issues
and preferred practices
(http://[www.k8accesscenter.org](http://www.k8accesscenter.org/) and
[http://www.naacpartners.org](http://www.naacpartners.org/)). However,
professional development also should include more detailed information
on how to promote this access (Agran, Alper, & Wehmeyer, 2002; Browder &
Spooner, in press; King-Sears, 2001; Wehmeyer, Lattin, & Agran, 2001).

Special educators also need a thorough understanding of accommodations
and how they affect participation in large-scale assessments. The
*Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing* (American
Educational Research Association et al., 1999) defines "accommodations"
as any actions taken in response to a determination that an individual's
disability requires a departure from established testing protocol.
Koretz and Barton (2003) acknowledge that, although there is limited
research on the selection of appropriate accommodations for students
with disabilities, a key to devising those accommodations is
understanding which biases may be caused by the disability and which
alterations of the test might alleviate those biases without producing
an unfair advantage.

Because special educators are aware of the needs of students and the
range of available accommodations, they may be better able to perform
the difficult task of selecting appropriate accommodations, which should
be made for individual students and not applied uniformly to all
students with disabilities. But before special educators can do that
effectively, they must be familiar with the extent to which
accommodations may influence the construct being measured, the state and
local guidelines related to accommodations and assessment, and the ways
in which an accommodation may manifest itself within the assessment
format (Elliott, McKevitt, & Kettler, 2002; Thurlow, House, Boys, Scott,
& Ysseldyke, 2000).

However, approved accommodations typically vary by state. Special
educators must be aware of which accommodations in their state are
approved and nonapproved and what the use of those accommodations means
in terms of test scores and accountability for students. Bielinski,
Sheinker, and Ysseldyke (2003) discuss states' disaggregation of student
test scores according to the use of accommodations. States may report
all test scores in the aggregate, report accommodated scores separately,
or report both. These reporting differences can reflect intended and
unintended consequences for students and schools.

To be effective partners in planning, administering, and interpreting
appropriate statewide assessments for students with disabilities,
special educators should be much more familiar with acceptable standards
for assessment, scoring, and reporting of scores. Few special
educators---whether they are teachers in the field or administrative
personnel working in a state department of education---have solid
foundations in measurement either in general or as it applies to
assessment of students with disabilities in particular. Special
educators need more knowledge about the major considerations required in
making a validity argument: (a) achievement constructs and how they are
measured; (b) reliability; (c) test scores and the importance of a
validity argument; (d) validity evidence, both procedural and empirical;
and (e) construct misrepresentation and construct-irrelevant variance.
They should have a general understanding of how inferences are validated
with the use of an assessment. In the context of statewide assessments,
they must have a thorough understanding of the differences between
content and performance standards (or, in the language of *NCLB*,
achievement standards). Special educators need information from the
*Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (*American
Educational Research Association et al., 1999). Additional resources may
also be useful to develop this understanding (see Tindal and Haladyna,
2002).

Table 2 on the next page summarizes the content that might be addressed
in ongoing professional development for special educators whose students
with disabilities will be included in the statewide assessment and
accountability systems.

Table 2

Summary: What Special Educators Need to Know About Measurement of
Students with Disabilities Who Will Be Included in Statewide Assessment
and Accountability Systems

+----------------+---+----------------+-----------------------------------+
| Topic          |   | Examples       | Resources                         |
+----------------+---+----------------+-----------------------------------+
| **Federal      | - |                | *IDEA*, 2004                      |
| regulations**  |   |                |                                   |
|                |   |                | *NCLB*                            |
|                |   |                |                                   |
|                | A |                | Federal Register, Dec. 9, 2004    |
|                | l |                |                                   |
|                | l |                | <http://www.ed.gov/po             |
|                |   |                | licy/speced/guid/nclb/index.html> |
|                |   |                |                                   |
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+----------------+---+----------------+-----------------------------------+
| **Standards    | - |                | Tindal & Haladyna (2002)          |
| for testing**  |   |                |                                   |
|                |   |                |                                   |
| **application  |   |                |                                   |
| to students    | D |                |                                   |
| with           | e |                |                                   |
| disabilities** | f |                |                                   |
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|                | s |                |                                   |
+----------------+---+----------------+-----------------------------------+
| **Access to    | - |                | Browder & Spooner (in press)      |
| general        |   |                |                                   |
| curriculum**   |   |                | Kleinert & Kearns (2001)          |
|                |   |                |                                   |
|                | H |                | Nolet & McLaughlin (2000)         |
|                | o |                |                                   |
|                | w |                | Agran, Alper, & Wehmeyer (2002)   |
|                |   |                |                                   |
|                |   |                | King-Sears (2001)                 |
|                |   |                |                                   |
|                |   |                | Wehmeyer, Lattin, & Agran (2001)  |
|                | t |                |                                   |
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|                | d |                |                                   |
|                | s |                |                                   |
+----------------+---+----------------+-----------------------------------+
| **Impact of    | - |                | Bilenski, Sheniker, & Ysseldyke   |
| accommodations |   |                | (2003)                            |
| on             |   |                |                                   |
| inferences**   |   |                | Elliott, McKevitt, & Kettler      |
|                | R |                | (2002)                            |
|                | e |                |                                   |
|                | s |                | Koretz & Barton (2003)            |
|                | e |                |                                   |
|                | a |                | Thompson, Blount, & Thurlow       |
|                | r |                | (2002)                            |
|                | c |                |                                   |
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|                | e |                |                                   |
|                | s |                |                                   |
+----------------+---+----------------+-----------------------------------+

## What education leaders need to know

The need for professional development for principals in special
education has been well established in the literature (DiPaola &
Walther-Thomas, 2003; Goor, Schwenn, & Boyer, 1997; Monteith, 2000; Sage
& Burrello, 1994). Specifically, education leaders need professional
development to understand the participation of students with
disabilities in large-scale assessments. School leaders are keenly aware
of AYP and the requirement to report separately on the subgroup of
students with disabilities. As required by *ESEA* (as amended by *NCLB*
in 2002), each school is held accountable for the AYP of all students
within the school, including those with disabilities. However, as
Farkas, Johnson, and Duffett (2003) report, 48% of principals surveyed
in 2001 and 2003 identified as unreasonable the requirement to
demonstrate AYP with special education students and English as a second
language learners. As student annual performance scores are more and
more routinely disaggregated by disability status, the performance of
students with disabilities may have serious consequences for students,
schools, and administrators.

McLaughlin and Thurlow (2003) have documented the shift in
accountability for special education, which ranges from simple
compliance to access to education to evidence of student learning and
performance. To keep pace with this shift, administrators not only must
understand special education law (Davidson & Algozzine, 2002; Davidson &
Gooden, 2001); they also must have knowledge of psychological and
educational assessments; of inclusive assessment practices, including
universal design; and of indicators of best practice instructional
strategies for students with disabilities (Monteith, 2000; Patterson,
Marshall, & Bowling, 2000). As students with disabilities participate in
large-scale assessments with the various participation methods,
administrators must have specific knowledge of each type of assessment
and must be familiar with the needs of students who participate.

Administrators need training related to the selection and use of
state-adopted accommodations and alternate assessments. Elliot, Braden,
and White (2001) describe the parameters on which decisions should be
based to include all students in large-scale assessments. Administrators
who are familiar with these parameters can effectively participate in
IEP team meetings and facilitate discussion of inclusive instructional
practices, including the use of classroom accommodations (when
appropriate). It is important that principals also understand the
alternate assessment formats used in their states, the content measured
on the assessments, performance requirements for students using those
assessments, and the inferences that can be made when the performance of
students with disabilities is judged against modified or alternate
achievement standards.

Additionally, administrators must be vigilant in their efforts to ensure
that instruction for all students is aligned to state grade-level
content standards. Greene-Bryant (2002) describes the need for
assessment and instruction to be in direct alignment for all students,
including those with disabilities. As all students are included in
assessments that are linked to or derived from general education
grade-level content standards, administrators must be aware of
initiatives that help bridge students' access to instruction based on
the goal of reaching those standards. School administrators must lead
their schools in aligning instruction, content, and assessment, and at
the same time in avoiding narrowing the curriculum excessively or
"teaching to the test."

Finally, administrators must be able to help teachers use assessment
data to inform their decisions about modifying instruction. The
Interstate School Leadership Licensure Consortium (Council of Chief
State School Officers, 1996) defines standards for school leaders that
include the use of assessment data in shaping the school vision and the
instructional program. The American Association of School Administrators
Web site, www.aasa.org, lists a variety of software tools, links to
research, and sample plans to assist administrators in making data-based
decisions. A summary of what school leaders need to know appears in
Table 3.

Table 3

Summary: What Education Leaders Need to Know About Participation of
Students with Disabilities in Statewide Assessment

+----------------+------------------+----------------------------------+
| Topic          | Examples         | Resources                        |
+----------------+------------------+----------------------------------+
| **Ac           | -   Guides for   | Elliott, Braden, & White (2001)  |
| commodations** |     use          |                                  |
|                |                  | Greene-Bryant (2002)             |
|                | -   Support      |                                  |
|                |                  | McLaughlin & Thurlow (2003)      |
|                |                  |                                  |
|                |                  | State policy manuals             |
+----------------+------------------+----------------------------------+
| **Alternate    | -   Guides for   | Browder, et al. (2003)           |
| assessments**  |     use          |                                  |
|                |                  | Greene-Bryant (2002)             |
|                | -   Build        |                                  |
|                |     knowledge    | Hager & Slocum (2005)            |
|                |                  |                                  |
|                |                  | State policy and assessment      |
|                |                  | administration manuals           |
+----------------+------------------+----------------------------------+
| **Alignment of | -   Relationship | Elliott, Braden, & White (2001)  |
| instruction,   |     of           |                                  |
| content        |     educational  | Greene-Bryant (2002)             |
| standards, and |     objectives,  |                                  |
| assessment**   |     content, and | Roach, Elliott, & Webb (2005)    |
|                |     test         |                                  |
|                |                  | Tucker & Codding (2002)          |
|                |                  |                                  |
|                |                  | State technical manuals          |
+----------------+------------------+----------------------------------+
| **Data-based   | -   Types of     | Educational Research Service     |
| decisions**    |     data to      | (2003a)                          |
|                |     collect      |                                  |
|                |                  | Educational Research Service     |
|                | -   Use of data  | (2003b)                          |
|                |                  |                                  |
|                |                  | Jaeger & Tucker (1998)           |
|                |                  |                                  |
|                |                  | www.aasa.org                     |
+----------------+------------------+----------------------------------+

##  What IEP teams need to know

The fourth group seriously in need of professional development comprises
individuals who are likely to serve on IEP teams, including parents;
general education teachers; special education teachers; special and
general education administrative personnel (supervisors, principals, and
local education agency representatives); school psychologists; and
others. It is the responsibility of the IEP team to make the critical
decision about an assessment method for each student with a disability.
To make appropriate recommendations, team members must be equipped with
knowledge about instruction, supports, curricula, and assessment
components.

To begin, potential IEP team members should understand state and federal
legislative requirements and their impact on students with disabilities.
This understanding lays the foundation for building consensus about a
particular student's strengths and needs as students access the general
curriculum and participate in statewide assessment. State and local
education agencies are charged with communicating legislative mandates
clearly to support the community's understanding of education law.

IEP team members must understand the methods for participation in
large-scale assessments by students with disabilities and the
distinguishing elements of each method. They need clear insights into
the content of the assessments (i.e., the complexity and cognitive
demand of each assessment method), the performance requirements (e.g.,
the inclusion of universal design concepts in grade-level assessments),
and the participation parameters (i.e., descriptions or checklists
created by states that help determine for which students the assessments
are most appropriate). States, districts, and schools must educate IEP
team members, including parents and advocates, about these critical
issues.

Teams also must understand the consequences of their decisions for each
student and be aware of state and district diploma requirements
(particularly if they assign a student to an alternate assessment based
on alternate achievement), because the standards may result in a
student's not being placed in a diploma track. In addition, IEP members,
including special education teachers, must recognize that assessments
are not tied to disability category or placement. Students with
disabilities who are assigned to the same classroom may participate in
different assessment methods.

IEP teams must be keenly aware of the curricular basis for the
assessment decision. An IEP team that values goals outside of
grade-level content may decide to incorporate augmentative curricular
elements into a student's IEP. However, it is the grade-level content
standards that are the foundation for what is addressed in the annual
statewide assessment, regardless of the type of assessment selected.
Teams should have knowledge of grade-level content to set any necessary
priorities related to both what and how much of the content standards
should be covered during the IEP timeframe. Their recommendation to
simplify grade-level content may lead the IEP team to recommend
participation in statewide assessments judged against modified or
alternate achievement standards. Teams that have a clear understanding
of the content of instruction and the assessment methods are better
equipped to make suitable recommendations that support student learning.

In states where alternate assessment requires the special education
teacher and the IEP team to create a portfolio of student
accomplishments, members of the IEP team are likely to need extensive
training on determining priorities within grade-level academic standards
and on documenting progress on these priorities. They may need training
on selecting assessment items and aligning them to general education
content standards.

Accommodations for students with disabilities are not necessarily new to
IEP team members. What may be new is the form those accommodations may
take or the adoption of new accommodations by states. Teams must know
which acceptable instructional and assessment accommodations their
states have adopted for students with disabilities.

Because student performance scores "count," teams must understand what
those scores mean for instruction and performance. They can use
assessment information to make appropriate decisions about what the
student's IEP should include in terms of the content to be covered and
the supports needed. Teams also must be cognizant that assessment
content and outcomes should accurately reflect the student's learning.
Because, at this point, it is critical for assessments to be considered
valid, team members must be knowledgeable about the uses and meanings of
student scores.

Finally, IEP members need practice in making decisions about appropriate
assessment methods. This practice might include discussing different
decisions that may be appropriate, using either simulated records or
actual files of students for whom decisions are not made or do not need
to be made.

Table 4 summarizes content that might be addressed in professional
development for potential members of IEP teams who are responsible for
recommending a participation method for each student with disabilities
for whom they plan an appropriate IEP.

Table 4

Summary: What IEP Teams Need to Know about Participation of Students
with Disabilities in Statewide Assessment

+-------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------+
| Topic       | Examples                    | Resources                |
+-------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------+
| **Federal   | -   Who participates        | *IDEA*, 2004             |
| and state   |                             |                          |
| policies**  | -   AYP                     | *NCLB*                   |
|             |                             |                          |
|             | -   Accommodations          | State policy manuals     |
|             |                             |                          |
|             | -   Alternate Assessments   |                          |
+-------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------+
| **All of    | -   State's allowable       | State policy manuals     |
| the         |     accommodations          |                          |
| pa          |                             |                          |
| rticipation | -   State's types of        |                          |
| methods**   |     alternate assessments   |                          |
|             |                             |                          |
|             | -   Alternate and modified  |                          |
|             |     achievement standard    |                          |
|             |     methods if available in |                          |
|             |     state                   |                          |
|             |                             |                          |
|             | -   Decision guide          |                          |
+-------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------+
| **C         | -   Impact on graduation    | State policy manuals     |
| onsequences |                             |                          |
| of          | -   Scope and complexity of |                          |
| pa          |     curriculum student      |                          |
| rticipation |     expected to learn       |                          |
| decision**  |                             |                          |
+-------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------+
| **Access to | -   How to align IEP goals  | Courtade-Little &        |
| general     |     to state standards      | Browder (2005)           |
| c           |                             |                          |
| urriculum** | -   IEP goals that do and   | Kleinert & Kearns (2001) |
|             |     do not relate to        |                          |
|             |     achieving academic      | Nolet & McLauglin (2000) |
|             |     content standards       |                          |
|             |                             | Thompson, Quenemoen,     |
|             |                             | Thurlow, & Ysseldyke     |
|             |                             | (2001)                   |
+-------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------+
| **Accom     | -   Allowable               | Clapper, Morse, Lazarus, |
| modations** |     accommodations          | Thompson, & Thurlow      |
|             |                             | (2005)                   |
|             | -   How to plan for use of  |                          |
|             |     accommodations in       | Elliott, McKevitt, &     |
|             |     instruction             | Kettler (2002)           |
|             |                             |                          |
|             |                             | Thompson & Thurlow       |
|             |                             | (2003)                   |
|             |                             |                          |
|             |                             | Thurlow, House, Boys,    |
|             |                             | Scott, & Ysseldyke       |
|             |                             | (2000)                   |
+-------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------+

## Summary

This paper includes an overview of the types of information needed by
the various professionals involved in the participation of students with
disabilities in large-scale assessments. States may find that other
content is needed to address the unique assessment methods and
administration guidelines for their context. Our goal was to provide a
resource in planning this professional development.

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This document was produced in December 2005 under U.S. Department of
Education Contract No. EDO4CO0025/0002 with the American Institutes for
Research. Renee Bradley served as the contracting officer\'s
representative. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Education of any product, commodity, service or enterprise mentioned in
this report or on Web sites referred to in this report is intended or
should be inferred.

[^1]: The current focus in educating students with severe disabilities
    is to use chronologically age-appropriate educational activities and
    those that provide opportunities to participate in the learning of
    grade-level content.