SPED 701.2 Riley
Special Education 701 – 02
Assessment of Students with Disabilities
Fall 2008
Mondays 4:30 – 7pm
Prof. Gina Riley, M.S.
Office Hours: By Appointment
Phone: 845-300-5534
Email: ginarileydaly@yahoo.com
gina.riley@hunter.cuny.edu
Required Textbooks:
Overton, T. (2009). Assessing Learners with Special Needs (6th edition). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson.
Leslie, L. & Caldwell, J. (2006). Qualitative Reading Inventory – 4. New York:
Longman.
CORE Consortium on Reading Excellence, Inc. (2008). Assessing Reading Multiple
Measures. Novato, California: Arena Press.
Course Description: This course will provide students with an understanding of the
process and instruments involved in conducting formal evaluations of students with
suspected or identified special needs. Students will also investigate informal measures
useful in measuring student progress and identifying student needs.
Course Objectives:
 Students will understand the purposes and types of assessments
 Students will understand statistical concepts integral to assessment
 Students will demonstrate knowledge of the legal policies and ethical principles
of assessment and evaluation
 Students will gain familiarity with different assessment measures
 Students will utilize assessment results to design instruction
CEC Content Standards:
The objectives for this course correspond with the following CEC Standards
Standard 3: Individual Learning Differences
Standard 4: Instructional Settings
Standard 6: Language
Standard 8: Assessment
Standard 9: Professional and Ethical Practice
Standard 10: Collaboration
Course Schedule:
September 8: Overview of Course & Introduction to Assessment
Reading: Overton Chapter 1
September 15: Legal and Ethical Issues/Early Identification
Reading: Overton Chapter 2
Torgesen (1998)
September 22: Descriptive Statistics
Reading: Overton Chapter 3
October 6: Norms, Reliability & Validity
Reading: Overton Chapter 4
October 20: Norm Referenced Assessments
Reading: Overton Chapter 7
Quiz on Statistical Applications
October 27: Achievement Tests
Reading: Overton Chapter 8
Interview Due
November 3: IQ Tests, Multiple Intelligences
Reading: Overton Chapter 9
Self Assessment Due
November 10: Informal Assessment: CORE Qualitative Reading Inventory
Reading: CORE Text
November 17: Curriculum Based Measures
Reading: Overton Chapter 5
Stecker (2006)
Article Critique 1
November 24: Assessment of Behavior
Reading: Overton Chapter 6
December 1: Interpreting Assessment Results for Instructional Planning
Reading: Overton Chapter 11
Tomlinson (2007) Article
December 8: Final Exam
December 15: Presentation on Specific Test/Assessment (Group work)
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10 hours of field experience are required
Assignments must be handed in on dates indicated
All papers must be written in APA style
Also:
Please be an active participant in class 
Attendance is required for every class. If you must miss class, please email/call me as
soon as possible. More than two absences will result in a lowering of your final grade.
Assignments:
Interview:
Please interview a school psychologist and an experienced special education teacher.
Discuss what formal and informal assessments are used in their school to evaluate
students and which of these assessments would be most helpful in designing instruction.
Hand in a 3 – 4 page paper regarding your interview
Self Assessment:
Through a series of in class activities, supported by your experience as a learner, analyze
your own learning style. Write up your findings (Rubric will be provided).
Quiz and Final Exam
There will be a quiz on statistical concepts covered in class as well as a final exam (short
essay)
Article Critique:
Please choose a journal article related to the topic of testing and assessment. Summarize
the article, and critique the main points of the article using knowledge you learned in
class.
Presentation of Test/Assessment (Group Project)
Pick one specific behavioral/achievement/or IQ test or assessment. Using a rubric
provided, give an in depth presentation and written summary of the specific test. Be
creative!
Grading:
Class Participation 10%
Article Critique
15%
Quiz and Final Exam 25%
Interview
15%
Self Assessment
10%
Presentation of Test/Assessment 25%
Articles:
Torgesen, J.K. (1998). Catch them before they fall: Identification and assessment to
prevent reading failure in young children. Retrieved from
http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/spring_sum98/torgesen.pdf
Stecker, P.M. (2006). Using curriculum based measurement to monitor reading
progress in inclusive elementary settings. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 22, 91-97.
Tomlinson, C.A. (2007). Learning to love assessment. Educational Leadership, 65,
8-13.