[HOME] [teacher vistas] [online training] [FAQs] [forums] [resources] [links] [contact us] 02-01-2001 FEATURE ARTICLE Tips for Communicating Academic Progress DR. JANE B. PEMBERTON, Assistant Professor of Special Education Assessment is an important component of the educational process, and should be communicated in a meaningful fashion to student, parents, and teachers. Yet sometimes in school we inadvertently hide information on assessment because the format of the information is not easily understood or communicated. Other times progress is in small steps, making it difficult to communicate the information in ways that are understood and/or encouraging to the student, parents and at times, ourselves. It is important to understand the various components of assessment and how to communicate academic progress. The purpose of this article is to present the rationale and steps for making communication about academic progress for students, parents and teachers an integral part of the assessment process. The introduction to the article provides a brief overview of the assessment process and types of assessment information. It also lists benefits to providing assessment data in a meaningful format to students, parents, and other teachers. The second part of the article includes specific guidelines for how to use behavioral objectives and Curriculum Based Modification (CBM) procedures in helping teachers design meaningful and easy to communicate assessments for students. Aligning assessment procedures to provide continuous monitoring of individual progress is required for teachers to meet the criteria for specially designed instruction as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Act. Specially designed instruction includes the adaptation of methods, instructional content, or delivery to meet the needs of a student with disabilities. In order to provide students with disabilities an appropriate education, teachers need information about student progress in a timely, systematic fashion that can be used to make instructional decisions on a per student basis. In addition, students need to understand their progress and be able to talk about their educational goals. Assessment is the process of collecting data for the purpose of making decisions about groups or individuals (Salvia & Ysseldyke, 2001). Testing is a part of the assessment process and consists of administering a set of items to an individual or group of individuals to obtain a score. Norm-reference tests and criterion referenced tests are two components of the assessment process. Norm-reference test performance can be interpreted through normative standards, as with an individual's performance compared to the performance of many peers. One misuse of norm-referenced achievement tests is attempting to use the information to guide instruction. Criterion referenced tests emphasize a more direct examination of student performance. These tests can be interpreted through absolute standards, and measure a person's mastery of particular information and skills on student performances and products that relate directly to the curriculum, linking assessment and instruction more directly ((Salvia & Ysseldyke, 2001). As more students are receiving all or part of their education in the general education classroom (U.S. Department of Education, 1999), Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) ` procedures have increased in use (Taylor, 2000). According to Taylor, teachers should use CBAs to aid in the determination and evaluation of objectives and teaching strategies. Click here to view the rest of the article Archived Feature Articles 01-NOV-02 20 Ways To.... Work Effectively with Paraeducators in Inclusive Settings Cathryn G. Riggs 01-APR-02 Three Steps for Gaining Access to the General Education Curriculum for Learners with Disabilities Margaret E. King-Sears 01-DEC-01 Accessing the Curriculum Creating Instructional Rubrics for Inclusive Classrooms Catharine R. Whittaker ? Spencer J. Salend ? Devon Duhaney 01-OCT-01 Responding to Student Concerns about Fairness Ann B. Welch November/December 2000, Teaching Exceptional Children, 33, (2) 36-40. 01-SEP-01 What?s Good? Suggested Resources for Beginning Special Education Teachers By: Sharon A. Maroney 01-JUN-01 Bright Futures for Exceptional Learners: An Action Agenda to Achieve Quality Conditions for Teaching and Learning Reprinted with Permission from CEC Today Online by the Commission on the Conditions for Special Education Teaching and Learning 01-MAR-01 Vocabulary Development: A Collaborative Effort for Teaching Content Vocabulary SUSAN S. JOHNSTON, BETH L. TULBERT, JOAN P. SEBASTIAN, 01-FEB-01 Tips for Communicating Academic Progress DR. JANE B. PEMBERTON, Assistant Professor of Special Education 01-JAN-01 The Good Student Game: Behavior Management for Diverse Classrooms ALLISON E. BABYAK, GAYLE J. LUZE, AND DEBRA M. KAMPS 01-DEC-00 Cooperative Learning and Social Skills: What Skills to Teach and How to Teach Them By: Marilyn W. Goodwin 01-NOV-00 Strategies and Resources to Evaluate the Impact of Inclusion Programs on Students By: Spencer J. Salend, Associate Professor of Special Education 01-OCT-00 Planning High Quality Assignments in Diverse Classrooms By: Joyce A. Rademacher, Associate Professor of Special Education 01-SEP-00 Boldly Going Where Angels Fear to Tread By: KAREN D. HOWELLS 01-AUG-00 Myths and Misunderstandings about Professional Collaboration By Marilyn Friend  Back to this month's feature article
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