DeSSA Accessibility Guidelines Online Training, 2014-2015
General Education Students
With Supports
Helen Dennis – Office of Assessment
Sarah Celestin – Exceptional Children (Special Education)
Terry Richard – Exceptional Children (ELL/Migrant)
October2014
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Purpose of this Training Session
Become familiar with:
• Identification of “General Ed with Supports”
students, or “GWS”
• Smarter Designated Supports, or “Supports”
• Selection of Supports for GWS
• Identifying a school’s decision makers for GWS
• Expected school level documentation for GWS
• Forms and Databases
2
DeSSA Accessibility Guidelines
This document provides guidelines for making
decisions about the inclusion in assessments of
• students with disabilities (SWD),
• English language learners (ELL),
• students who are classified as both (SWD/ELL);
• “General Ed Students With Supports,” (students
not identified as SWD or ELL that may be
provided supports during assessments)
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What is DeSSA?
•
•
•
•
Delaware
System of
Student
Assessments
• Includes Smarter, DCAS, DCAS ALT 1,
SAT/PSAT, ACCESS/ALT ACCESS, NAEP
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Smarter
• Content Areas:
– ELA: Items measuring reading, listening, writing,
research
– Mathematics
• Accommodations and Supports for SWDs
• Supports for ELLs and Gen Ed students receiving
supports
• Universal tools for all
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Smarter
6
What are Smarter “Designated
Supports?”
• Another name for an accessibility feature of the
test that is available to selected groups
– Available to more student-types than Smarter
Accommodations
– Might be called accommodations on another test (i.e.
DCAS)
– Might be called universal tools on another test
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What are the Available Supports?
Embedded
• 3.01 Color contrast (onscreen)
• 3.02 Masking
• 3.03 Text-to-speech for items
• 3.04 Translated test directions
• 3.05 Translations (glossaries)
• 3.06 Spanish Translations
(stacked)
• 3.07 Turn off any universal
tools
Non-Embedded
• 4.01 Bilingual dictionary
• 4.02 Color Contrast (printed)
• 4.03 Color overlays
• 4.04 Magnification
• 4.05 Human Reader - items
• 4.06 Scribe
• 4.07 Separate Setting
• 4.08 Translations (glossaries)
• 4.09 Translated test directions
• 4.10 Paper/Pencil
• 4.11 Noise Buffers
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What are Universal Tools?
• Accessibility feature available to all students
– No need to select prior to test
– Student selects independently/spontaneously during the
test
• Smarter Balanced Module on Embedded Universal
Tools and Online Features :
– Narrated module:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9nrTDov_T0zaTUtLXhrY
nRLZWs/edit?pli=1
– Non-narrated module:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9nrTDov_T0zcXAxQWs5
T29iZms/edit?pli=1
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Embedded vs. Non Embedded
Supports
• Embedded*: delivered online via the browser
• Non-Embedded: provided in the classroom by
staff
10
Relationship Between Designated
Supports in the Classroom
and in Assessment
Classroom Supports
Smarter Supports
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Identifying GWS Students
• NON-ELL, NON-SWD
• If a student is ELL=Y or SWD=Y, then they are
not permitted to be GWS=Y.
• Exited ELLs can become GWS=Y after exiting
• Students must be identified as GWS and
supports selected prior to test administration
– Embedded supports must be entered into
Assessment Accommodations Database (IMS) at
least 3 days prior to test administration
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Identifying GWS Students, Cont’d
• Consider the following students:
– Struggling and at-risk students
– Students receiving RTI interventions
– Students referred to the school’s problem-solving
team
– Students with physical injuries
• Supports should be identified by a team:
– RTI Committee/PLC
– Problem Solving Team (IST/ICT/SIT)
– English Language Acquisition Committee (ELAC)
13
Within-District Process and Structures
for GWS
• Recommended that more than one educator
participate in the
– identification of students
– selection of supports for individuals
• District- or School- Specific—State does not dictate
• Depends on your building’s structure and existing
mechanisms
• Documentation should be clear and present but is not
required to be the same as required for students with
IEPs.
• Use the existing forms provide in Accessibility
Guidelines.
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How to Flag Student as
Gen Ed w/Supports
Follow these steps after identifying a student to receive
supports on the Smarter assessments as a general education
student:
1. Log in to ESchool
2. Go to the Accountability screen.
3. Flag the student “Y” as a general education student
receiving supports.
4. Wait overnight for the student’s data to “roll up” to
DELSIS.
5. Enter the student’s supports in the Assessment
Accommodations database.
Please contact your Eschool support contact with any
questions regarding data entry.
Eschool Accountability Screen
How to Formally Document a General Education Student Receiving Supports in
the Pupil Accounting and Accommodations Systems
Page 36 of Guidelines .
Designated Supports:
Selecting Supports
• Based on student’s documented needs
– Consider data about student performance with and
without the support
– Compare observational data or curriculum-based
measures with and without the support to select
• Must be used during classroom instruction
– Familiar to the student
– Try out different supports during the practice test
• More Supports are not necessarily BETTER for the
student!
– Selection should be customized for student needs
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What are the Available Supports?
Embedded
• 3.01 Color contrast (onscreen)
• 3.02 Masking
• 3.03 Text-to-speech for items
• 3.04 Translated test directions
• 3.05 Translations (glossaries)
• 3.06 Spanish Translations
(stacked)
• 3.07 Turn off any universal
tools
Non-Embedded
• 4.01 Bilingual dictionary
• 4.02 Color Contrast (printed)
• 4.03 Color overlays
• 4.04 Magnification
• 4.05 Human Reader - items
• 4.06 Scribe
• 4.07 Separate Setting
• 4.08 Translations (glossaries)
• 4.09 Translated test directions
• 4.10 Paper/Pencil
• 4.11 Noise Buffers
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Text-to-Speech (TTS) and
Human Reader Questions
Questions/Items
Embedded (TTS)
Grades 3-5
Grades 6-8
Available – also
activates TTS passages
on ELA PT.
Non-Embedded (Human Reader)
Grades 3-5
Grades 6-8
Available – also
includes reading of
passages on ELA PT.
Smarter is expected to announce that TTS will be available in Spanish, as
well as English, as a support for spring 2015.
Language Translation Supports
Support
Smarter ELA/Math
Full Spanish Translation –
Stacked (online)
Available for Math only (not permitted for ELA)
Full translation in Other
Languages (besides Spanish)
Not available. Human Interpreter/Translator NOT
PERMITTED.
Print Glossary or word to word Available from Smarter in 10 languages. Use of nondictionary
smarter-produced glossary not permitted. For MATH
only.
Online glossary or word-toword dictionary
Available for 10 languages with audio. For MATH
only.
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Translated Glossaries & Full Translations
(Supports)
• Following languages are listed in the Smarter
Accommodation & Supports “Frequently Asked
Questions”
 Vietnamese
 Mandarin
 Arabic
 Korean
 Tagalog
 Punjabi
 Ilokano
 Russian
 Cantonese
 Ukrainian
• Full translation for Spanish (“stacked” with English )
• Math only (not ELA)
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Do’s and Don’ts for Selecting Supports
Do’s
Don’ts
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Do…make support decisions based
on individualized needs (e.g., the
student’s amount of time in the
country, disability needs)
Do…be specific about the content
area test on which the support is
needed
Do…evaluate supports used by the
student
Do…get input about supports from
teachers and students, and use it to
make decisions
Do…select supports that have been
routinely used during instruction
Do…select supports based on
documented student learning
needs
•
•
•
•
•
Don’t…make support decisions
based on whatever is easiest to do
Don’t…check every support
possible on a checklist simply to be
“safe”
Don’t…assume the same supports
remain appropriate year after year
Don’t…provide an assessment
support for the first time on the day
of a test
Don’t…assume certain supports,
such as text-to-speech for test
questions, are appropriate for
every student in every content area
Don’t…use a support that is not
related to a documented need
Adapted from the CCSSO Accommodations Manual, 2013
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Designated Supports Timeline
• When can I plan supports?
– Any time before the assessment.
• When can I enter supports into the Assessment
Accommodations Database?
– Between test windows
– during the planned test window, prior to testing
– With 3 days prior to testing, (number specified in DeSSA Test
Administrator Training)
– Do not enter accommodations for 2015-16 before spring 2015
window closes (June 4).
• When should the student start using the supports?
– In the classroom – as soon as it can benefit the student
– On the test –
• after the student becomes proficient in the support
• after it is showing in the TIDE database
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Accommodations Form
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Accommodations Listings/Forms
• Smarter Example
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Documenting Supports in the
Assessment Accommodations Database
• Access Via IMS
• Contains Accommodations and Supports for
– Students with Disabilities (IEP, 504)
– ELLs
– Gen Ed with Supports
• Enter, List, or Report Accommodations and
Supports
• Data for AIR TIDE (Test Information Distribution
Engine) is extracted from it
Opening Screen (“Search” Screen)
 Students with IEP’s
Search Results Screen
Student-Related Reports
Currently-DCAS only
Report Results Screen
Steps to Flag Student as
Gen Ed w/Supports
Follow these steps after identifying a student to receive
supports on the Smarter assessments as a general education
student:
1. Log in to ESchool
2. Go to the Accountability screen.
3. Flag the student “Y” as a general education student
receiving supports.
4. Wait overnight for the student’s data to “roll up” to
DELSIS.
5. Enter the student’s supports in the Assessment
Accommodations database.
Please contact your Eschool support contact with any
questions regarding data entry.
Eschool Accountability Screen
How to Formally Document a General Education Student Receiving Supports in
the Pupil Accounting and Accommodations Systems
Page 36 of Guidelines .
Smarter Reset Policy
• Wrong Accoms the most frequent reason for reset
request on DCAS
• Different from previous DCAS Reset Policy
• If student answered 5 or more items, no reset will be
granted.
– If the test was administered incorrectly (i.e., the wrong
accommodations were provided), the test will be
invalidated, and the student will not get another
opportunity to test.
• If the student answered fewer than 5 items, a reset can
be granted.
– If the test was administered incorrectly, the test reset will
give you another chance to administer the test correctly.
• DCAS/EOC will adopt the new Smarter reset policy.
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AIR TIDE
• In 2014-15, TIDE will contain all information
related to
– Smarter ELA/Math
– DCAS Science/Social Studies
– EOC Alg II/IM III, US History
– DCAS ALT 1 ELA/Math/Science/Social Studies
• Student will have one record in TIDE that has
the info for all his/her tests
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Future Updates to 2014-15
Accessibility Guidelines
• Additional updates and clarifications are likely
between now and spring 2015 testing
• Look out on DOE website and DCAS Portal
– Updates memo
– Updated Accommodations form
• Expected future updates
– Announcement regarding Spanish TTS
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Upcoming Training
• DOE Training on how to use the Assessment
Accommodations Database
• Smarter module on universal tools
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Questions
• Sarah Celestin – Students with Disabilities
o 302-735-4210
o Sarah.Celestin@doe.k12.de.us
• Terry Richard – English Language Learners
o 302-735-4210
o Terry.Richard@doe.k12.de.us
• Helen Dennis – Office of Assessment
o 302-735-4090
o Helen.Dennis@doe.k12.de.us
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