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Federally Funded State ProjectsProjects funded 2007GSEG Grants on Alternate Achievement StandardsIdaho This project is designed to advance the technical quality of the Idaho Alternate Assessment (IAA) for students with significant cognitive disabilities. The current IAA is an evidence-based, teacher-completed comprehensive rating scale of student competencies in language arts, mathematics, and science. While the current system utilizes the expertise of teachers' experiences with their students, it is challenged by the variability in the manner and complexity with which these students may perform the same academic content. This project will augment the IAA by adding an electronic center for the systematic collection, processing, and storage of student performance data. Kentucky, Connecticut, Georgia, District
of Columbia and Puerto Rico This consortium is working on the task of building validity arguments for their No Child Left Behind alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards. Specifically, the project aims to: (a) demonstrate high-quality validity evaluation models; (b) provide models of validity-based technical documentation for alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) and general assessments; (c) add to the growing research base on high quality, technically sound AA-AAS to provide technical assistance to States as they conduct their validity evaluation studies; and (d) provide a range of research-to-practice products that explicate the process and results. Minnesota This project will focus on the continued improvement and implementation of the Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS), an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement of standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Mississippi The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) will develop a comprehensive system of alternate assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Evidence submitted by teachers will be evaluated to (a) document student knowledge and skills for content included in the Mississippi Extended Curriculum Frameworks (MECF) in language arts, mathematics, and science; and (b) establish the reliability of teachers' proficiency ratings of students on the Mississippi Alternate Assessment of Extended Curriculum Frameworks (MAAECF). The result will be integrated and comprehensive reviews of classroom evidence used to anchor teachers' proficiency scores, providing all teachers with feedback and professional support to enhance instruction-generated evidence, and promoting ongoing efforts to maintain and document the technical soundness of the MAAECF. New Hampshire This project will describe more fully the population of students participating in New Hampshire's Annual Assessment (AA) with respect to their sensory and cognitive access challenges as well as their achievement and reframe and extend existing NH Grade Level Expectations (GLEs), describing them from multisensory and cognitive access perspectives, incorporating the principles of universal design (UD). It will also develop alternate academic achievement standards (AAS) aligned with the State's general academic achievement standards and enhance the capacity of the NH Department of Education (DOE) to support LEAs in assessing students based on AAS, through changes in its program monitoring and approval process and its professional development systems. States in North Central Region The goal of this project is to collect and analyze data to investigate, ascertain, and inform States of the consequential evidence characteristics of their alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). As a result, States will have information that will lead to: (a) the continuous improvement of the validity of AA-AAS with regard to its intended purpose; (b) the identification and the development of professional development strategies with regard to the effective application of the AA-AAS; and (c) the development of strategies that will assist States in the dissemination of practices that promote effective decision making and improved instructional interventions based on AA-AAS data. Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana
Islands, Guam, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau
and Republic of the Marshall Islands This consortium will: (a) establish a system of regional and local technical supports; (b) fully implement high-quality alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards using universal design principles; (c) increase the knowledge and skills of local individualized education program (IEP) teams for determining which students should be assessed; (d) establish local mechanisms for monitoring and supporting the reporting and use of participation and performance data for students with disabilities; and (e) enhance the mechanism for ongoing communication and information dissemination within and among the Project Partners, Leadership Teams, and Jurisdiction Implementation Teams to ensure sustainable and effective strategies beyond the project period. It builds on the partnership established in 2005 of the University of Guam, NCEO, and WRRC. GSEG Grants on Modified Achievement StandardsAlabama This project will define the characteristics of special education students who are experiencing persistent learning difficulties and develop clear guidelines for individualized education program (IEP) teams to use in determining eligibility for participation in an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). To ensure that students have opportunities to learn grade-level standards, Alabama will provide Statewide training for general and special education teachers on IEP guidelines; study the links among standards, instruction, and assessment; and build on the State's work in the area of standards to strengthen those links. The project will also develop recommendations for a new assessment or modifications to an existing assessment so that all students can demonstrate what they know and are able to do. Alabama will also build capacity in local education agencies across the State by providing ongoing technical assistance, monitoring, and opportunities for mutual feedback and continued growth. Arizona and Indiana The project is organized around seven functional and measurable activities: (a) develop and implement criteria for participation in an alternate assessment of modified achievement standards; (b) develop reading and mathematics test items that are highly accessible, aligned with grade-level content standards, and less complex than those on existing general achievement tests; (c) implement a field test of the alternate assessments of modified achievement standards at multiple grade levels; (d) evaluate effectiveness of professional development and the technical aspects of the field-test items; (e) implement alternate assessments of modified achievement standards Statewide; (f) set achievement standards for the modified alternate assessments; and (g) document and disseminate the uses and technical qualities of the new assessments. Georgia The Georgia Department of Education will develop modified academic achievement standards, including the investigation and documentation of the technical quality of an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). The AA-MAS will be designed to meet the needs of students whose disabilities preclude them from attaining grade-level achievement within the same time period as their peers, by ensuring that students will be able to demonstrate what they have learned. Hawaii, South Dakota, Tennessee and
Wisconsin This project aims to develop high-quality assessment and instructional systems that improve not only the accountability system, but also the learning of those students whose disability has precluded them from achieving grade-level proficiency and whose progress is such that they are not likely to reach grade-level proficiency in the same time frame as other students. The project will: (a) develop clear and appropriate guidelines for individualized education program (IEP) teams to use in determining which students should be assessed; and (b) develop State assessments using universal design principles based on modified academic achievement standards. Iowa This project will support Phase 2 of the development of the SAAFE-Learning Project. In Phase 1, an alternate assessment measuring against alternate achievement standards was enhanced, and an evaluation and validity model was developed. That model will be replicated in this project, which will focus on developing an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards. Other outcomes include guidelines for student participation, training on how to develop standards-based IEPs, and using progress monitoring to measure student progress toward standards-based IEP goals. Kansas and Louisiana This project builds on existing evidence of validity and uses a combination of qualitative (e.g., expert judgment, cognitive interview responses) and quantitative methods (e.g., descriptive statistics, factor analysis, Differential Item Functioning) to gather empirical evidence to support assessment practices that improve access for the student population eligible for the assessment based on modified achievement standards and subsequently yield /more valid/ measures of what these students know and can do. This study will yield an empirically-supported /validity framework/ for assessments based on modified achievement standards and specific evidence-based/data-based strategies and procedures related to determining who should be/is participating in this assessment, ensuring the appropriate content is measured, providing appropriate and sufficient access for students, defining proficient performance on the assessment for these students, and ensuring technical adequacy of the assessment's development and implementation. Maryland This project will develop: (a) modified academic achievement standards (MAAS) based on Maryland's academic content standards for the grade in which a student is enrolled; (b) a Modified High School Assessment (Mod-HSA), based on MAAS; and (c) clear and appropriate guidelines for IEP teams to use in determining which students should be assessed based on MAAS, including the development and implementation of training on those guidelines for IEP teams. Michigan This project has two goals. One is to design a replicable process for modifying the existing Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) English Language Arts and Mathematics Assessment in Grade 3-8 by reducing length and difficulty level while maintaining appropriately challenging content that reflects the State's general education Grade-Level Content Expectations. The second purpose is the creation of a Michigan Online Professional Learning System (MOPLS) that can be adopted and adapted by States, school districts, and individual educators. The MOPLS will provide guidance to IEP Teams on determining participation in state assessment. It will also provide curricular and instructional supports to improve student achievement. Montana This project will enhance Montana's current general and alternate assessment system by developing modified academic achievement standards (MAS) that are based on the State's grade-level academic content standards. The project will then develop assessments based on those modified standards, to be called the AA-MAS. Additionally, clear and appropriate guidelines will be developed for IEP teams to use in determining which students with disabilities should be assessed based on modified academic achievement standards. This collaborative effort includes the Montana Office of Public Instruction, including the Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center (MPRRC), WestEd, Measured Progress, Montana's Technical Advisory Committee, and its Special Education Advisory Committee. Nebraska Nebraska’s Modified Standards and Assessment Grant is structured around five objectives. developed to be implemented through the collaborative efforts of the Nebraska Department of Education Office of Special Populations, Curriculum and Instruction, and Assessment. Activities include: (1) an overview of current academic content standards in reading and math and design of new content standards, (2) creation of modified achievement standards and examples of appropriate matching assessments, (3) development of clear and appropriate guidelines for IEP teams to determine which students should be assessed with modified achievement standards, (4) production of a standards-based IEP technical assistance document with training delivered to schools across the state, and (5) provision of in-depth, multi-phased training will be provided for Nebraska K-12 general and special education teachers regarding the instruction and assessment of students with disabilities in general education settings (least restrictive environment). Ohio, Oregon, and Minnesota The goal of the consortium will be to share resources and expertise, and develop assessments of modified academic achievement standards for the three State assessment programs. Creating assessments of modified academic achievement standards is a test design and development process. Nine sets of activities are planned and will result in operational test forms for administration in the 2010-2011 school year. Oklahoma This project is designed to improve Oklahoma's Modified Alternate Assessment Program (OMAAP). The project will focus on three aspects of concern identified in the initial field test of the OMAAP: (a) refining OMAAP reading passages to increase accessibility to grade-level reading content; (b) strengthening technical quality elements specified in the Department of Education's peer review process; and (c) evaluating and modifying the eligibility and participation criteria and procedures, as well as evaluating the use of allowable testing accommodations. Evaluating OMAAP participation and refining guidelines and training will include (i) identifying the characteristics of students who participate in the OMAAP; (ii) evaluating and modifying the eligibility and participation criteria for OMAAP; (iii) developing clear and appropriate guidelines for IEP teams to use in determining which students should be assessed based on modified academic achievement standards; (iv) developing and providing training on those guidelines for IEP teams; (v)developing a monitoring system to ensure implementation of IEP guidelines; and (vi) evaluating the use of allowable testing accommodations. Pennsylvania The goal of this project is to define the population for whom an assessment based on modified academic achievement standards would be appropriate; and develop modified academic achievement standards and the blueprint for the development of the alternate assessment based on those modified achievement standards; develop guidelines for use by IEP teams in making the recommendation for how each student with an IEP will participate in annual state accountability assessments (i.e., who will take the regular assessment, the regular assessment with accommodations, an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards, or an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards); conduct statewide training for IEP teams based on the Guidelines and on standards-based IEPS ; and ensure that Universal Design Principles, when appropriate, are part of the RFP for the development of the PA Modified Assessment. South Carolina The TRIAAD project will investigate the key components involved in developing an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). It will focus on developing modified academic achievement standards and defining performance-level descriptors based on South Carolina's academic content standards; (b) developing assessment prototypes based on the modified academic achievement standards through statistical performance profiles, learner characteristics, and stakeholder recommendations; (c) developing guidelines for IEP teams to use in determining which students should be assessed based on modified academic achievement standards; and (d) creating and implementing meaningful and sustained professional development activities to train IEP team members to identify students who will take the AA-MAS and to write standards-based IEPs. Virginia The project will identify the appropriate group of students who should be eligible for the newly developed alternate assessments of modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). It will also implement the AA-MAS, while providing additional supports to students who are unlikely to meet grade-level achievement standards in the same time period as their nondisabled peers. The project will use its considerable experience with online testing to investigate the options available through this test-delivery method to provide a more appropriate means of assessing this population of students. While developing the AA-MAS test, the project will enhance existing Standards of Learning (SOL) grade eight reading and mathematics online assessments by adding research-based supports and modifications that will benefit students identified for alternate assessments based on modified achievement standards. West Virginia This project builds the foundation for an alternate assessment on modified academic achievement standards (AA: MAAS), focusing primarily on: (a) the development of clear and appropriate guidelines for IEP teams to use in determining which students should be assessed based on modified academic achievement standards; and (b) the development and implementation of training for IEP teams on the assessment guidelines and on standards-based IEP development to support instruction on grade-level academic content standards. Projects funded 2006Thirteen Grants to States Focusing on AssessmentsArizona
Pacific Rim
Assessment Consortium Thirteen General Supervision Enhancement Grants (GSEGs) were awarded in 2006 to improve the capacity of states to accurately report on the performance and participation of children with disabilities on the state's assessments. Brief descriptions of these projects and the States in which they are taking place are provided here.
The six Pacific Rim entities (Pacific Rim Assessment Consortium)
received funding through the University of Guam Center for
Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research,
and Services (Guam CEDDERS). CEDDERS is working on behalf of the
consortium to bring in experts and facilitate the activities of
the six entities. American Samoa The project involves development and implementation of assessment accommodation guidelines and training materials, the improvement of the implementation of alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards, development of an evaluation toolkit for ensuring participation and performance of students with disabilities while maintaining validity and reliability of the assessment used and ongoing technical support focused on accurate measuring and reporting of participation and performance of students with disabilities in the assessment system. Arizona Guam Iowa Marshall Islands Micronesia Minnesota New Hampshire This project aims to (a) develop new valid and reliable accommodations for the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) that result in an increase in the percentage of students taking the NECAP with accommodations, a decrease in the percentage of students taking the New Hampshire Alternate Assessment (NHAA), and an increase in the percentage of students with disabilities who access the depth, breadth, and complexity of the general curriculum; and (b) enhance the State Education Agency's ability to provide guidance and supervision to the Local Education Agencies (LEAs) relative to the participation of students with disabilities in statewide assessments. Northern Mariana Islands Oregon Palau South Carolina Wisconsin |
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