Wednesday,

Dec. 16th,
2020
NEWSLETTR Issue # 1

Special Education Assessments

The IDEA
Specially Designed Instruction
The Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act is legislation that follows
six guiding principles focused on
protecting your child’s rights to
educational opportunities and the
responsibilities of public schools to
children with disabilities (Yell, 2016).

These principles guide public schools in

upholding the rights of all eligible
students with disabilities to a free
appropriate public education in the least
restrictive environment by ensuring
eligibility determinations and
individualized education plans align with
the information collected during the
appropriate evaluation of each student
referred for special education testing
(Yell, 2016).
While the information gathered from
multiple sources establishes the
foundation from which your child’s
education plan is built and the baseline
for evaluating progress, ongoing formal
assessments are used to help educators in
understanding what your child knows,
how they are learning, and if any
additional challenges have manifested
and require further intervention (Witte,
Woodin, & Bogan, 2015).
Typically, norm- and criterion-referenced
tests are two categories of standardized
assessments used to objectively measure
overall student achievement (Witte, et al.,
2015). Collectively, these tests support
educators in making accurate, unbiased,
student-focused, and data-informed
decisions regarding their day-to-day
classroom instructional planning and
practices by measuring both an individual
student against a group of age or grade
equivalent peers and their performance
as it relates to a predetermined
benchmark (Witte, et al., 2015)
Yell (2016) stated the student-driven
feedback supports teachers in
understanding the classroom
environment, identifying methods for
creating group activities that embrace
individual differences, and differentiating
instruction to ensure learning
opportunities are provided to all students.
Image from www.greatschools.org
The IEP & Converting
Assessment Results
Developing a comprehensive and cohesive program.
For students with disabilities, developing a
comprehensive and cohesive initial
individualized education program (IEP)
begins with converting results yielded from
diagnostic, norm-referenced, and criterion-
referenced assessments into an accurate
statement of the student’s present levels of
academic achievement and functional
performance (PACER Center, 2018).
Since the IDEA, section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title I
require inclusion of all students with
disabilities in the state’s assessment system,
converting results from formative and
authentic assessments to evaluate student
learning should be ongoing and occurring
daily when determining what instructional
techniques will appropriately meet the
student’s needs and which environment
the student learns best (Hallahan,
Kauffman, & Pullen, 2019).
Additionally, converting assessment results
throughout the year helps teachers in
understanding the student’s learning
obstacles and shifting instruction in a
variety of ways to support them in
overcoming those challenges and achieving
their IEP goals (Witte, et al., 2015).
Although methods for monitoring progress
are typically informal, converting data
collected from both progress monitoring
probes and benchmark assessments play
an equally important role in verifying the
effectiveness of instruction and measuring
the student’s core content knowledge in
mathematics, English language arts, social
studies, and science (Hallahan, et al.,
2019).
If the data converted indicates the student
is consistently exceeding their IEP goals
and daily objectives in the classroom,
perhaps more rigor is warranted to ensure
the student is being challenged in the
general education curriculum (Yell, 2016).
However, if the student is consistently not
meeting their goals and objectives, the data
converted helps teachers in recognizing the
general education curriculum may be too
challenging and supports them in adjusting
the goals and objectives to the appropriate
age or grade level (Witte, et al., 2015).
Collectively, converting assessment results
ensures students unbiasedly receive
accurate support and appropriate services
to confidently participate in state
assessments (Witte, et al., 2015).

#1 #2 #3
Tips for Families Tips for Families Tips for Families
Be actively involved in your child’s
Make sure your child is well rested, eats a Explain the purpose of the test and
homework and encourage reading new
nutritious meal, and is hydrated on test day reassure them of their ability to succeed
material at home (Ryan, 2019).
(Ryan, 2019). (Ryan 2019).

Page 1
 Wednesday, Dec. 16th, 2020
Technology-Based Special Education
Assessment Tools
Integrating technology and assessment in special education.
Although technology cannot replace the
role of teachers in facilitating meaningful
learning experiences, the use of interactive
whiteboard systems and tablet computers
play an important role in administering
student assessments and collecting
progress monitoring data (Witte, et al.,
2015).
Responsible for delivering academic
instruction and teaching functional skills,
implementing technology in the classroom
allows educators to document, monitor,
evaluate, and enhance student learning
while improving their technical and job
skills (Witte, et al., 2015).
Additionally, because their conceptual
models and algorithm can be
individualized, technology-based student
assessment and progress-monitoring
programs can support educators in
evaluating both student achievement and
instructional effectiveness (Nieves, 2016).
Image: www.edutopia.org
Additional Resources
Local, Community, State, and Federal Resources
In addition to the resources available at the
school and within the district, additional
information on classroom assessments and
learning can be accessed online, in print,
in person, and by phone at the following
organizations.
Nation PTA (n. d.) is an organization
composed of parents and teachers focused
on enhancing student learning and
enriching the lives of students by providing
a forum where both information and
opinions are shared about the nation’s
schools.
NEWSLETTER
One student assessment and progress-
monitoring system identified by Witte,
Woodin, and Bogan (2015) as being used
for a variety of educational purposes is
Quia.
A comprehensive instruction and
assessment program, Quia (2020) offers
teachers a wide range of tools such as
templates for creating content specific
online activities and a complete online
testing system with automatic grading to
provide immediate feedback to students
and detailed reporting to teachers (Witte,
et al., 2015).
As an interactive system, Quia (2020)
allows teachers to track student activity
from school and at home when preparing
for exams, completing activities, and
reviewing content which allows for the
collection of more accurate student-driven
information (Witte, et al., 2015).
Tennessee’s Department of Education (n.
d.) website provides specific information
about the state’s assessment system and
provides parents with a physical address,
contact information, and a direct chat
feature to obtain additional information on
standards-based assessments.
The Common Core State Standards
Imitative (2020) website offers several
quick access links to federal and state
standards, other resources, and a “what
parents should know” section that includes
videos in English and Spanish.
Page 2
Issue # 1
By producing itemized reports on three
basic forms of assessment, Quia supports
teachers in monitoring academic progress
throughout the year and differentiating
instruction to create both flexible learning
environments and educational
opportunities for all students (Witte, et al.,
2015).
Image: www.viewsonic.com
Benefits & Drawbacks
Technology-Based Special
Education Assessment Tools
When considering the integration of
technology-based special education
assessment tools, one should evaluate both
the benefits and the drawbacks associated
with interactive white boards, tablet
computers, and student assessment and
progress monitoring systems.
While technology based assessment tools
are creative and powerful instructional tools
offering teachers access to a variety of
activities and resources to facilitate
interactive learning experiences, the
inability to engage all students
simultaneously, the initial expense,
additional costs for updated software,
subscription fees, and the designated space
required in the classroom are some of the
potential drawbacks of interactive white
boards, tablet computers, and student
assessment and progress monitoring data
(Witte, et al., 2015).
However, as multipurpose tools requiring
little formal training and the ability to access
versatile applications, track and monitor
academic progress, individualize instruction
and assessments to the specific needs of
students, and provide distance learning
opportunities are some of the potential
benefits of integrating technology-based
assessment tools in special education
(Witte, et al., 2015).
 References

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2020). What parents should know. http://www.corestandards.org/what-parents-should-know/

Hallahan, D. P., Kauffman, J. M., & Pullen, P. C. (2019). Exceptional learners: An introduction to special education, 14th edition.

Pearson Education.

National PTA. (n. d.). About National PTA. https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/Mission-Values

PACER Center. (2018). “A place to start: Understanding the present levels of academic achievement and functional performance

statement” PACER.org/parent/php/php-c186.pdf

Nieves, K. (2016). Using technology to empower students with special needs. https://www.edutopia.org/article/empowering-special-

education-students-technology-kathryn-nieves

Quia. (2020). Where learning takes you. https://www.quia.com/

Ryan, E. (2019). 10 Ways teachers can help parents prepare their kids for assessments. https://www.nwea.org/blog/2019/10-ways-

teachers-can-help-parents-prepare-their-kids-for-assessments/

Tennessee Department of Education. (n. d.). Student assessment in Tennessee. https://www.tn.gov/education/assessment.html

Witte, R. H., Woodin, M. F., & Bogan, J. E. (2015). Assessment in special education 1st edition. Pearson Education.

Yell, M. L. (2016). The law and special education, 4th edition. Pearson Education.