New Assessment for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

National Center and State Collaborative Approach to Defining and Teaching Content to

Students with the Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities

National Center and State Collaborative Approach to Defining and Teaching Content

toStudents with the

Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities

NCSC Project Goal

To develop a system of assessments supported by curriculum, instruction and professional

development to ensure that students with the most significant cognitive disabilities achieve increasingly

higher academic outcomes and leave high school ready for post-secondary options.

NCSC State Partners

NCSC Organization Partners

NCSC: A Comprehensive Model

All partners share a commitment for a research-to-practice focus for the development of a comprehensive model of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and supportive professional development resources.

Beyond the Summative Test

The NCSC long-term goal is to ensure that students with significant cognitive disabilities achieve increasingly higher academic outcomes and leave high school ready for postsecondary options.

A well-designed summative assessment alone is insufficient to achieve our purpose.

To achieve this goal, an AA-AAS system also requires:• Curricular & instructional frameworks• Teacher resources and professional development

NCSC Overall Timeline January 2011-October 2015

• Year 1 (2011): Content Model Phase: Define model of domain learning in math/ELA for these students, identify prioritized content for assessment

• Year 2 (2012): Principled Design Phase: Design Patterns, Task Templates, C/I/PD design and pilot; Technology architecture design

• Year 3 (2013): Item and Test Development Phase: Task Template Tryouts, Item Specs/item development/item reviews, Student Interaction Studies (SIS), Draft grade level PLDs, finalize pilot/field design, Tech build

• Year 4 (2014): Pilot, Field, Research Phase: – Pilot Phase 1: National Sample, generate item statistics Winter/Spring 2014, Finalize

blueprints, revise items, assemble forms – Phase 2: Field Test Forms Fall 2014, finalize administration training and supports

• Year 5 (2015): Operational administration of NCSC assessments –Summer 2015: Set Standards –Fall 2015: Technical reporting complete

General Description of Assessment System

• Within year classroom assessments and progress monitoring tools embedded in model curricula materials; professional development on demand modules for teachers to learn to develop their own (WIKI, LMS) making use of content, curriculum, instruction tools

• Summative math and ELA tests for 3-8, 11 administered in a 2 month window in winter/spring

• Up to 30 items, 1.5-2 hours per test anticipated • Technology delivery, teacher test facilitator/ administrator; universal

design features and accommodations guidelines derived from Design Pattern/Task Templates Tryouts and Student Interaction Studies

Assessment Administration

• Assessments will be presented via computer with the ambition of flexibility for presentation on devices/ platforms (e.g. tablets).

• It is expected that most students will interact with an examiner during the administration. Other students may respond to the test items directly via interaction with computer presentation.

• Prior access to summative content will be provided to support examiners preparation for accommodations/ adaptations. – For most students, it is expected that testing time will be no more than

approximately 1.5 to 2 hours per content area, divided between at least two sessions with flexibility to stop and resume. Some students will qualify to take a shorter assessment based on evidence collected before and during the assessment.

Item Types• Approximately 2/3 (20) of the items will be machine-scored, multiple

choice. • Approximately 1/3 (10) of the items will require human scoring -

evaluation of student work with respect to a scoring rubric. – Approximately 2/3 (7) of the human scored items will be

evaluated by the examiner during the assessment. – Approximately 1/3 (3) of the human scored items will be scored

externally. This may be accomplished through a single centralized scoring center or via distributed scoring that meets established criteria.

Professional Development Framework

Community Ready: History & Context• Active community access has been a goal for students with

intellectual disabilities for many years (Brown et. al 1984). • Students with intellectual disabilities are attending college more

than ever before. The Higher Education Opportunities Act makes that possible (www.thinkcollege.net)

• Opportunities for careers and entrepreneurship are ever increasing.

College, Career, and Community Ready,and AA-AAS

– Well developed academic skills for continued life-long learning

– Social and communication skills needed for working with others as essential for community ready

– Recognizing the need for and seeking assistance when needed

– Problem solving using academic skills

Kearns, Kleinert, Harrison, Shepherd-Jones, Hall, & Jones (2011). What Does College and Career Ready Mean for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities.

Curricular and Instructional Resources

• Provide guidance on how to “unpack” the instructional and assessed content;

• Promote strategies and resources for teaching challenging academic content through professional development opportunities; and

• Align challenging and attainable content that is observable and measurable for use in instruction and a thorough system of assessments.

Quality Indicators for Instructional Resources

• Promote Common Core State Standards;• Set high expectations for all students;• Apply principles of Universal Design for Learning

(UDL); and• Apply evidence-based teaching practices for

students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.

Quality Indicators for Instructional Resources

• Use general curriculum resources and general education content experts’ review;

• Offer options for ALL students in the 1%;• Reflect same emphasis/ priorities being used for

assessment; and• Provide a teacher-friendly resource that promotes

effective instruction.

• Define grade level content and achievement;• Define rigorous content and skills (application

knowledge);• Align with expectations for college and career success;

and• Do not tell teachers how to teach, but they do help

teachers figure out the knowledge and skills their students should have so that teachers can build the best lessons and environments for their classrooms.

http://www.corestandards.org/

Common Core State Standards

• Define research-based pathways for learning;• Developed and refined using available research and

evidence;• Have clear binding threads that articulate the essential core

concepts and processes of a discipline (sometimes called the ‘big ideas’ of the discipline); and

• Articulate movement toward increased understanding (meaning deeper, broader, more sophisticated understanding).

Hess, Karin K., (December 2011). Learning Progressions Frameworks Designed for Use with the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts & Literacy K-12.

Learning Progressions

Learning Progressions Frameworks

Core Content Connectors

Common Core State Standards

Instructional Resource Guide

ContentModules

Curriculum Resource Guides

=Standards documents = Documents that promote teacher understanding of the content = Documents that promote instruction of the content

MS Unit UDLs

Ele Unit UDLs

HS Unit UDLs

MS MASSIs

& LASSIs

MS MASSIs

& LASSIs

Ele MASSIs

& LASSIs

Ele MASSIs

& LASSIs

HS MASSIs

& LASSIs

HS MASSIs

& LASSIs

WH

AT T

O T

EACH

HO

W T

O T

EACH

Graduated Understandings

Instructional Families

Element Cards

SCHEMA for Common Core State Standards Resources NCSC Instructional Resources

• Identify the most salient grade-level, core academic content in ELA and mathematics found in both the CCSS and the LPF;

• Illustrate the necessary knowledge and skills in order to reach the learning targets within the LPF and the CCSS;

• Focus on the core content, knowledge and skills needed at each grade to promote success at the next; and

• Identify priorities in each content area to guide the instruction for students in this population and for the alternate assessment.

Core Content Connectors (CCCs)

Dual Alignment View: Math

23

Wha

t

Graduated Understandings- Instructional Families

- Element Cards

Core Content Connectors

(CCC)

Common Core State Standards

(CCSS)

ACCESS TO THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS FOR STUDENTS WITH A SIGNIFICANT COGNITIVE DISABILITY

Graduated Understandings

Instructional Families

ElementCards

Wha

t

Graduated Understandings- Element Cards withEssential Understandings

Core Content Connectors

(CCC)

Common Core State Standards

(CCSS)

ACCESS TO THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS FOR STUDENTS WITH A SIGNIFICANT COGNITIVE DISABILITY

Element Cards

Provide ways in which teachers can address grade-specific academic content, even if students with a significant cognitive disability have not had an opportunity to learn this content previously.

Element Cards

Offer examples of how the content is taught in general education, ideas for real life use, examples of universal design for learning, and ways to promote college and career readiness.

Curriculum Resource Guides

Offer elementary, middle, and high school models for how to engage all students in well-designed instruction for the Common Core Standards.

Units & Lesson Plans

Offer model scripted lessons to systematically teach the Core Content Connectors

to students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.

Math Activities for Scripted Systematic Instruction (MASSI) Language Arts Scripted Systematic Instruction (LASSI)

Offers guidance for teachers regarding evidence-based

prompting and instructional strategies

Instructional Resource Guide

How

Instructional Resource SCHEMA

Core Content Connectors

(CCC)

Wha

t

Curriculum Resource Guides

Instructional Resource Guide

Common Core State Standards

(CCSS)

ContentModules

Graduated Understandings-Instructional Families

-Element Cards with Essential Understandings

For More Information

Lori NixonLori.Nixon@tn.govhttp://www.ncscpartners.org/ https://wiki.ncscpartners.org/mediawiki/index.php/Main_Page