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.
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
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.
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.
a. Definitions of academic standards from NCLB Act and Rule
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b. Jan Sheinker presentation materials:
Achievement Standards
for Alternate Assessments (PowerPoint File)
What is standard
setting?
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c. Link to ed.gov listing of all Title I law and regulation documents: http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/legislation.html
Measuring Academic Achievement of Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Building Understanding of Alternate Assessment Scoring Criteria (Synthesis Report 50) / PDF version
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
"Alternate Achievement Standards: What are they, do we have them, and how do we get them?"