Assessing Student Needs
              Chapter 8

n    Assessment – gathering information

n    Standardized – commercially produced

n    Informal – teacher made

n    Screening – is the performance different enough?

n    Diagnosis – testing and determining eligibility for special ed. services

n    Program placement – where will the student’s services take place?

 

n    Curriculum Placement – where to begin academic instruction

 

n    Instructional evaluation – continue or change instructional procedures

 

n    Program evaluation – evaluating the services and progress made toward goals

 

    n     Standardized Achievement Tests

n    Measure academic progress

n    Norm-referenced

n    Group-administered tests

n    Not allowed to ask questions

n    Timed – may limit responses of students

n    National/ local norms – do not match classroom

n    Provide little data to guide instruction

n    Maybe culturally biased, may lead to overrepresentation of minorities

n    Content may not match what is taught in the classroom

 

n    Individually Administered Tests

n    Maybe given by SPED/psychologist

n    Psychological Tests

n    Determine cognitive or learning disability

n   Com0prehension

n   Generalization

n   Background information

n   Vocabulary

n   Abstract reasoning

n   memory

 

n    Environmental Inventory

n    Alternative assessment for students with moderate to severe disabilities

n    3 questions 

 

n    Curriculum-Based Assessments (CBA)

n    Can be an alternative to standardized tests

n    Measures what’s taught in the classroom   

 

CBA – what you can create for your students?

n    Probes of basic academic skills

n    Probes of reading skills

n    Probes of written expression

n    Probes of math skills

 

n    Monitoring Student Progress

n    Testing

n    Observation

n    Skills review or tests

n    Writing portfolios

n    Reading centers: unit tests

n    Spelling probes

n    Documentation

 

Assessment Summary

n    1.  Look at many different test results

n    2.  Talk to many different people involved with the student

n    3.  Talk with parents

n    4.  Talk with the student

n    5.  Know your student’s strengths

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