This most recent revision of Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach includes thorough explanations of the IDEA 2004 Regulations including RTI (response to intervention) and Early Intervening Services. Moreover, this text includes more applied exercises within the textbook. To address the increasing importance of accurate assessment of students with pervasive developmental disorders such as autism, the most widely researched diagnostic instruments are included.
Students using this textbook will be able to understand progress monitoring through applied exercises in which they monitor their own progress in the course, plot a goal line, and chart their progress across the semester. Students and instructors are provided with chapter-by-chapter CEC Knowledge and Skills Standards. This allows students to see the skills they are expected to master when they complete coursework that is aligned for CEC Accreditation and provides the students with an understanding of the knowledge base expected of today’s highly qualified teachers.
All complex concepts are included in the culminating chapter exercises on educational assessment report writing. In these exercises, students will apply their knowledge and skills needed for understanding and making data-based decisions for educational planning using both formal and informal assessment methods.
Highlights of the New Edition:
Emphasis on progress monitoring, including progress monitoring applied to the acquisition of knowledge and skills presented in this text. Changes within the assessment process according to the regulations of IDEA 2004. Increased number of case studies throughout the text and inclusion of exercises in the text. Expanded chapter on special considerations including assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Increased emphasis and coverage of curriculum-based assessment. Increased consideration of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in the assessment process.
Table of Contents:
PART 1 INTRODUCTION TO ASSESSMENT
Chapter 1 An Introduction
CEC Knowledge and Skills Standards
Assessment: A Necessary Part of Teaching
Monitor Your Progress
Historical and Contemporary Models of Assessment
Contemporary Model of Assessment
Evaluating Student Progress in the Classroom
Designing an Assessment Plan
Assessing the Whole Child: Cultural Considerations
Chapter 2 Law, Ethics, and Issues
CEC Knowledge and Skills Standards
The Law: Public Law 94-142 and IDEA
IDEA and Assessment
Evaluating Children with Specific Learning Disabilities
Meeting the Needs of Persons with Attention Disorders
IEP Team Evaluation
Determining Eligibility
Parent Participation
Developing the Individualized Education Program
Transition Services
Due Process
Impartial Due Process Hearing
Section 504
Research and Issues Concerning IDEA
Issues of Nondiscriminatory Assessment
Disproportionality
The Multidisciplinary Team and the Decision-Making Process
Least Restrictive Environment
Impartial Hearings
Ethics and Standards
PART 2 TECHNICAL PREREQUISITES OF UNDERSTANDING ASSESSMENT
Chapter 3 Descriptive Statistics
CEC Knowledge and Skills Standards
Why Is Measurement Important?
Getting Meaning from Numbers
Review of Numerical Scales
Descriptive Statistics
Measures of Central Tendency
Average Performance
Measures of Dispersion
Mean Differences
Skewed Distributions
Types of Scores
Chapter 4 Reliability and Validity
CEC Knowledge and Skills Standards
Reliability and Validity in Assessment
Correlation
Methods of Measuring Reliability
Which Type of Reliability Is the Best?
Standard Error of Measurement
Estimated True Scores
Test Validity
Reliability versus Validity
Chapter 5 Introduction to Norm-Referenced Assessment
CEC Knowledge and Skills Standards
How Norm-Referenced Tests are Constructed
Basic Steps in Test Administration
Types of Scores
Groups Testing: High-Stakes Assessment
Part II Progress Monitoring Assessment
PART 3 ASSESSING STUDENTS
Chapter 6 Curriculum-Based Assessment and Other Informal Measures
CEC Knowledge and Skills Standards
Curriculum-Based Measurement
Criterion-Referenced Assessment
Task Analysis and Error Analysis
Teacher-Made Tests
Other Informal Methods of Academic Assessment
Informal and Formal Assessment Methods
Problems of Norm-Referenced Assessment
Chapter 7 Academic Assessment
CEC Knowledge and Skills Standards
Achievement Tests
Review of Achievement Tests
Selecting Academic Achievement Tests
Diagnostic Testing
Review of Diagnostic Tests
Other Diagnostic Tests
Assessing Other Language Areas
Selecting Diagnostic Instruments
Research and Issues
Chapter 8 Assessment of Behavior
CEC Knowledge and Skills Standards
Behavior and RTI
Requirements of the 1997 IDEA Amendments
Functional Behavioral Assessments
Structured Classroom Observations
Other Techniques for Assessing Behavior
Projective Assessment Techniques
Computerized Assessment of Attention Disorders
Research and Issues
Chapter 9 Measures of Intelligence and Adaptive Behavior
CEC Knowledge and Skills Standards
Measuring Intelligence
The Meaning of Intelligence Testing
Alternative Views of Intellectual Assessment
Litigation and Intelligence Testing
Use of Intelligence Tests
Review of Intelligence Tests
Research on Intelligence Measures
Assessing Adaptive Behavior
Review of Adaptive Behavior Scales
Intelligence and Adaptive Behavior: Concluding Remarks
Chapter 10 Special Considerations of Assessment in Early Childhood and Transition
CEC Knowledge and Skills Standards
Legal Guidelines of Early Childhood Education
Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children
Evaluation and Assessment Procedures
Issues and Questions About Serving Infants and Toddlers
Methods of Early Childhood Assessment
Assessment of Infants
Assessments of Toddlers and Young Children
Techniques and Trends in Infant and Early Childhood Assessment
Other Considerations in Assessing Very Young Children
Phonemic Awareness
Assessment for Assistive Technology
Transition and Postsecondary Considerations
Assessing Functional Academics
Research and Issues Related to Transition Planning and Assessment
Part III Progress Monitoring Assessment
PART 4 INTERPRETATION OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS
Chapter 11 Interpreting Assessment for Educational Intervention
CEC Knowledge and Skills Standards
Interpreting Test Results for Educational Decisions
The Art of Interpreting Test Results
Writing Test Results
Writing Educational Objectives
Reevaluations
Appendix Key to End-of-Chapter Exercises
