Teleconference 8: April 26, 2004

Alternate Achievement Standards: What are they and do we have them?

Alternate achievement standards define what proficiency means for a small population of students with significant cognitive disabilities. They are how states define the effects of good teaching and learning for the purposes of Adequate Yearly Progress. In this call, we will present a framework for development of achievement (formerly known as performance) standards. We will look at traditional methods of standard-setting for general assessments, how these methods have analogous methods for alternate achievement standard-setting, and facilitate an interactive exchange of state and federal policymakers to clarify what can work for each state.

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Panelists for the April 26, 2004 Teleconference

Co-hosts
Ken Olsen, Mid-South Regional Resource Center.
Rachel Quenemoen, National Center on Educational Outcome.

Federal Panelists
OSEP: David Malouf and Cynthia Bryant
Title I: Sue Rigney

Researcher

Jan Sheinker, Assessment and accountability systems consultant.
Dr. Sheinker is an educational consultant specializing in standards, curriculum, assessment, instruction, and school improvement. She works with several states on all of these topics and their application to both regular and special populations. She is an affiliate of the National Center for Educational Outcomes, a consultant to the Appalachian Educational Laboratories, and an external consultant for on-going projects of the Council for Chief State School Officers. Dr. Sheinker also makes presentations on behalf of the United States Department of Education on assessment literacy, standards development, and data-driven school improvement.  In her nearly thirty years in public education, Dr. Sheinker has taught and supervised both regular education and special education classrooms, authored instructional and professional development materials, and facilitated the development of state standards and district standards and assessments.

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In order to get the most out of our April 26  teleconference, please review these materials online, or if you prefer, download them to your computer, or print them out.  Thank you.

Note: Some of the files below require Acrobat Reader. These are marked with an Acrobat logo. If you don't have this software, go to the Acrobat Reader Web site for a free download.

I. Materials for Teleconference 8

a. Definitions of academic standards from NCLB Act and Rule

b. Jan Sheinker presentation materials:
Achievement Standards for Alternate Assessments (PowerPoint File)
What is standard setting?

c. Link to ed.gov listing of all Title I law and regulation documents: http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/legislation.html

II. Additional Resources

Measuring Academic Achievement of Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Building Understanding of Alternate Assessment Scoring Criteria (Synthesis Report 50) / PDF version

Use of Alternate Assessment Results in Reporting and Accountability Systems: Conditions for Use Based on Research and Practice (Synthesis Report 43)

Setting Standards on Alternate Assessments (Synthesis Report 42)

Washington Alternate Assessment System Technical Report on Standard Setting for the 2002 Portfolio (Synthesis Report 52) / PDF version

Massachusetts: One State's Approach to Setting Performance Levels on the Alternate Assessment (Synthesis Report 48) / PDF version

A Report of a Standard Setting Method for Alternate Assessments for Students with Significant Disabilities (Synthesis Report 47) / PDF version

III. CCSSO June 19 Pre-session

"Alternate Achievement Standards: What are they, do we have them, and how do we get them?"

a. CCSSO Pre-session flyer

b. CCSSO Pre-session registration