Assessment and Identification of Students with Disabilities
SPE 3374-101
Appalachian State University
Department of Language, Reading, and Exceptionalities
Spring Semester 2009
Dr. Margaret Gessler Werts
124 D Edwin Duncan Hall
Office Hours: Most afternoons 3:00-5:00; By appointment and e-mail and phone
Phone: 828 262 6365
Web site: http://www1.appstate.edu/~wertsmg
E mail: wertsmg@appstate.edu
Class meets: Thursday 5:00-7:50
Room: 109 Edwin Duncan Hall
Course Description:
The basic principles of the identification and evaluation procedures used with children
with disabilities. It includes becoming familiar with a variety of standardized tests,
scoring and interpreting results, and using results to make decisions about labeling
students with a disability. We will also discuss legislative issues concerning assessment.
Purpose:
To discuss questions about scores from assessment instruments; to gain experience in
administrative procedures for standardized assessments instruments; to acquire a working
knowledge of scoring, test statistics, and report writing.
Course Credit: 3.0 Hours
Required Texts:
Pierangelo, R. & Guiliani, C. A. (2009). Assessment in special education: A
practical approach (3rd edition) Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/academic/product/0,3110,0205608353,00.htm
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The Manual: Werts, M. G. (2009) Assessment in special education; A manual A
manual accompanying this course is available on http://www.lulu.com
. Using the manual will save you a lot of downloading and copying costs.
You are required to purchase a packet of assessment protocols in the LRE office. See
Tess Riedl for this.
Course Objectives:
The course will assist students to:
1. Describe the purpose of assessment.
2. Describe the impact that the characteristics of a disability may have on assessing
students with disabilities.
3. Describe assessment procedures and instruments currently being used to identify
students with disabilities.
4. Recognize and describe specific assessments of academic achievement.
5. Define technical information that is necessary to administer, score and interpret
assessment instruments.
6. Define and describe informal assessments.
7. Describe when informal assessments are useful.
8. Explain how data gathered in an assessment on a student translates into making
decisions about the identification of students with learning disabilities.
9. Develop an understanding of the current issues with assessment and students with
disabilities
10. Discuss some legal issues in assessment.
11. Develop a basic understanding of how to read and understand a psychological report.
Note: There is a lot of work involved in this course. At the end of the semester, you will
have administered, scored and interpreted several types of assessment instruments. You
will NOT be, nor will you be expected to be an expert in ANY of them. You will,
however, have a basic understanding of the issues surrounding the complex issues of
making decisions about students, their educational placements, and strategies used to
teach them.
Course Format: lecture, discussion, group work, and in class activities
Assignments:
1. Three test protocols. You will administer the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – III,
KeyMath, and Woodcock Johnson Reading Mastery (75pts. each)
*You will have the opportunity to administer these instruments. Working in
groups of two or more, you will give the assessment instrument once and you will
take it once. We will discuss this in class. On each of the administrations, you will
write a paragraph explaining the results. The protocols for the test will be graded.
If you are not pleased with the level of your expertise in submitting the protocols,
you may repeat the administration or correct your protocol and your grade will be
adjusted. We are striving for you to be comfortable with the tests, to be
comfortable enough to ask questions of the psychologists in IEP meetings-not be
an expert in administering tests. These tests will not be given to a child who has a
folder at school. We will practice with each other.
2. Take home exercises. These are open book and you may get any assistance you need.
These exercises may be completed only once for credit.
3. Critiques. These require that you read reports and comment on what was well done,
what needed more explanation, what other information is needed to make good decisions,
etc. (25 pts. Each)
4. Score and write results on the test results given to your colleagues.
4. Write a report on a finished protocol. Interpret the data and make recommendations
using the report format handout. Test results for a student, Paul, will be provided and you
will interpret the results and write a report.
5. In class activities on Paul’s scores.
6. All assignments to be compiled and turned in as a portfolio on April 17.
PORTFOLIOS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER April 17, AT 5:00 PM.
Course Guidelines:
Attendance is a behavioral issue and behavior counts. You are expected to attend
class and to participate in all activities. Participation points are assigned for professional
demeanor, including regular attendance, discussion participation, and completing
readings and assignments on time.
The following passage is from the undergraduate bulletin:
General attendance policy
1. It is the policy of Appalachian State University that class attendance is considered to
be an important part of a student’s
educational experience. Students are expected to attend every meeting of their classes,
and are responsible for class attendance.
No matter what bases exist for absence, students are held accountable for academic
activities, and faculty may require
special work or tests to make up for the missed class or classes. Faculty, at their
discretion, may include class attendance as a
criterion in determining a student’s final grade in the course. On the first day of class,
faculty must inform students in writing
of their class attendance policy and the effect of that policy on their final grade. If class
attendance is to affect a student’s final
grade, then a statement to this effect must be a part of the course syllabus distributed to
each student.
(NOTE: A student who does not attend a class during one of its first two meetings may,
at the discretion of the academic
department, lose her or his seat in that class. Further, if a class meets only one time per
week—e.g., a laboratory or an evening
class—the student must attend the FIRST meeting of that class or risk losing her or his
seat.)
All assignments are to be received by the instructor on the due date. Acceptance and
grading is at the instructor’s discretion for any assignment submitted late. If the work is
accepted late, a 10% of the points will be deducted before grading.
All work submitted for a grade must be original or properly cited. If language has
been lifted, borrowed, or stolen from another person, website, or published work, and it is
not properly cited, the student is subject to the procedures outlined in the Appalachian
manual for ethics. Plagiarism is not only unethical and illegal; it will not be tolerated in
any form.
All assignments will be typed unless stated otherwise by the instructor. The
following requirements are to be met for all typed materials.
Page Size – 8½ x 11
Margins – 1 inch
Font – Times New Roman, 12 (Windows)
A saved copy must be retained by the student until the course is completed and presented
to the instructor upon request.
I grade on a 7-point scale. The parameters are listed below:
Grade Scale:
A = 93 to 100
B = 86 to 92
C = 79 to 85
D = 78 to 70
F = 69 and
below
Grades round from the tenth position using standard practices of 0 through 4 rounds
down and 5 through 9 rounds up with the exception of a grade of F; students must
achieve a solid 70% to pass.
Academic Integrity Code
According to ASU Integrity Code, students will not lie, cheat, or steal to gain academic
advantage. Please refer to pages 38 through 44 for code violations and procedures.
If you are or are considering asking for accommodations or modifications for a disability,
you are encouraged to ask your instructor for assistance. You are also encouraged to
contact the Learning Assistance Program
Tentative Calendar:
Date
Topic
1/15
Introduction to course
Basic terms
Introduction to assessment: Why use
tests
Chapter 1 and questions
1/22
Discussion of test results and attitudes
Introduction to reports and DPI forms
1/29
Additional information on Chapter 18
Manual layout and important
information in test manuals
Recycle reliability and validity
Basic Statistical Concepts – THIS IS
MY FAVORITE PART OF THE
CLASS!!!
Measures of central tendency
Bell curve
Standard Deviations and Standard Error
of Measure
Assessment Instrument example:
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - III
(PPVT)
Scoring and terms
Assignment Due
Read Ch. 1
Take test at www.mensa.org Mensa
workout link
Read chapter 18
In class assignment on reading test
manuals: assignment in manual
PICK UP PACK OF PROTOCOLS
FROM LRE OFFICE-- $10.00
Exercise on calculating age due
2/5
2/12
2/19
2/26
3/5
3/12
PPVT workshop
in class: Practice exercise in standard
and percentile scores
Read Chapter 4 and 5
Correlations and confidence intervals
Review PPVT results for Paul
Key-Math introduction and practice
Scoring Key Math
Paul’s KeyMath results
Key Math workshop
Practice Statistics Problems from
the manual due
Pre-referral Strategies, referral, testing
considerations, parents
Discussion of determining if a disability
exists and how to write a
comprehensive report.
Practice report writing –case studies
Paul’s scores for PPVT and KeyMath
Woodcock Reading Mastery and
scoring
Paul’s WRMT results
Read Ch. 3
Read chapter 16
PPVT report and protocol due!
State forms: DEC1, DEC 2, DEC 3
Spring break no class
3/19
Critique of Jonathon
Assessment of Intelligence
Paul’s Intelligence test results
Read Chapter 10
Practice with Standard Scores
Key Math report and protocol
due!
3/26
Introduction to Kauffman Test of
Educational Achievement
(KTEA); Video and examination of
materials
Child study team and Multidisciplinary
team
DIBELS
RTI/CBM
Response-to-Intervention – What does
that mean? After hearing all we have
about assessment, is there a better
method?
Read Ch. 7 & 8
WRMT report and protocol due!
RTI/CBM
In class practice with CBM
Practice with Percentiles
4/2
4/9
4/16
Ethics
Large scale assessments
High stakes testing
Alternative tests
Edgemon, E. A., Jablonski, B. R.,
& Lloyd, J. W. (2006). Large scale
assessments: A teacher’s guide to
making decisions about
accommodations. Teaching
Exceptional Children, 38(3), 6-11.
Portfolio due 4/17 at 5:00. No late
portfolios will be accepted. The
portfolio will include the test
protocols and reports, Paul’s
completed psychological, state
forms for Paul (invitations to
conference, DEC1, DEC2, DEC3).
These forms are to be completed
with careful attention to dates and
eligibility determination. The
portfolio will also include the
Manual with the completed
exercises or downloads of the
exercises.
4/23
5/2
Catch up
Review of concepts
Final exam
Saturday, May 2, 2009 from 6:00 PM 8:30 PM
Final exam will be an IEP meeting
using the results from Paul’s test
results. We will, in teams,
determine what placement, if any,
would be appropriate and why.
Parents will be a part of the
process.
Front page for portfolio: This is to be printed out and you are to track your grades.
Record each grade as it is given back to you. Record changes as necessary. You may
repeat assignments with an asterisk. The last grade for the assignment will be averaged
into the total for your final grade.
Include this table as the front page of your portfolio. YOU are responsible for
completing this form.
Name:
Assignments
Assignment
Date
Points Original Repeated (date
Final grade
due
grade
and grade)
Take home exercise
25
Reading test manuals
Take home exercise
Calculating age
Take home exercise
Statistics practice
Take home exercise
Practice with Standard
Scores
Take home exercise
Practice with Percentiles
*PPVT protocol
*PPVT: Report
*KeyMath protocol
*KeyMath Report
Jonathon critique
*WRMT protocol
*WRMT report
Paul’s report
State forms on Paul
final/ review
professional demeanor
and participation
25
25
25
25
75
25
75
25
25
75
25
100
100
100
100
850