Kaylie: Assessing My Assessments

I sat down to begin drafting an IEP and discovered that a student’s “current” assessments were pushing three years old. Obviously, a lot can change in three years. In the past, I’ve scrounged around in my filing cabinet and found some type of assessment I felt was appropriate, completed it, and added it in without giving it much more thought; definitely not the best way to approach the very important task of assessing a student.

This year, I decided to improve in this area. I took the time one afternoon to go through the assessment tools I had gathered from various workshops and inherited from teachers before me. I’d previously organized them all in my filing cabinet but had not taken the time to really study them. After going through, I realized how valuable these assessments really are. I kept coming across areas that I know my students need work in; simply reading through the assessments helped me see areas of need I had not considered before.    

Also, I have sometimes struggled in the past to clearly describe the skill I want to work on with a student in an IEP objective. I know in my mind what the skills is and looks like, but have difficulty operationally defining it. The great thing I discovered is that many of the assessments did an excellent job of describing these “hard to put into words” skills.

After thorough review of all the tools available, I decided to develop an “assessment packet” to use with each of my students. I wanted the packet to cover the big areas: academics, behavior, and pre-vocational skills. I also needed these assessments to be fairly easy to complete, simple enough to explain to parents and other IEP team members, and useful in pointing me toward possible IEP goals and/or objectives.

These are the assessments that made the cut for my packet:

• Strategies for Teaching Based on Autism Research Student Learning Profile: This assessment is a tool provided in a curriculum purchased by my school district over a year ago. It is rooted in Applied Behavior Analysis and covers the following areas: receptive and expressive language, functional routines, pre-academic and academic concepts, and social interaction concepts. I complete this at the beginning of every school year on each of my students. I mainly rely on this tool as an academic assessment since it covers the basic reading and math skills needed to progress further in either area (i.e., letter recognition, basic phonetic knowledge, counting skills, simple addition/subtraction).
• Moby Math Placement Test: Moby Math is another curriculum resource my school district subscribed to over a year ago. I didn’t explore it very much until this year, however, and I wish I’d done so much sooner. It begins with a placement test which gives a grade level equivalency for each student’s math skills. I really like this because I’ve found many parents relate better to hearing “your child is on a ____ grade math level” as opposed to an explanation about the math skills they do or do not have mastered.
• Behavior Skills Checklist: This assessment was actually created by the behavior specialist in my school district. It includes twenty-seven behavior skills considered important for appropriate school behavior by teachers and other school personnel (i.e., expresses opinions and resolves disagreements in an appropriate manner; participation in class discussions in ways not disruptive to the class). Each skill is marked as “satisfactory,” “needs to improve,” or “much improvement needed.” A percentage for each classification is then calculated. This assessment is especially great for developing IEP goals and/or objectives related to behavior and social skills.
• Learning Skills Checklist: I got my hands on this assessment at a teacher training I attended last year. It covers skills and behaviors essential for learning, such as understanding the concept of “finished,” working independently, and understanding rewards as consequence of work. For each skill, detailed descriptions are provided to help me determine if a student does or does not have this skill or is in the emergent stages.
• Tennessee Pre-vocational Skills Checklist: This is one of my absolute favorites! It’s used by the majority of special education teachers in my district. As the name suggests, it focuses on pre-vocational (or what I like to call “grown-up”) skills (following one- and two-step directions, identifying common abbreviations, completing work tasks independently, filling out forms, etc).  Each skill is marked as “mastered” or “not mastered,” which definitely keeps it simple to complete and explain to others. The majority of my pre-vocational goals for my students come directly from this assessment.
• School Adaptive Behavior Observation: This assessment asks for the target student to be compared with a typically developing peer of the same age or grade in the following skill areas: educational behavior, social development, communication, pre-vocational/vocational, and self-help. If the student’s behavior is consistent with a peer, “yes” is marked; if not, “no” is marked. There is also available space for describing the student’s present behavior. This tool is helpful for pinpointing areas of adaptive behavior that, if improved upon, could enable students to be more successful in inclusive school and community environments.       

I’ve used my packet twice since putting it together and feel like it gives me a solid place to start when developing goals and/or objectives and planning for my kids. I’m sure the contents will change over time, but it seems to be meeting my needs for now.

The week I compiled it, I actually had one of the elementary special education teachers from my district call and ask what assessments I used for my students. I was so relieved to have a definite answer for her instead of an “uhhh...let me get back to you on that”! 

Do you have a similar set of assessments for your students? What assessments have you found most valuable? What might need to be adapted in my assessment packet?  

Comments

[frances murphy]

I don't understand how there can not be a set list of assessments to give. You did a great job of selecting assessments that test a wide range of skills.

[Frances M]

I teach a Prek-2nd grade multiple disabilites classroom. We use the ABLLs to assess skills and then it enables us to create objectives. It is setup in such a manner that skills are built upon each other.

[Heather]

Kaylie,
What a great idea having an assessment packet. There are so many assessments out there and some school district require you to use certain ones. Keeping the assessments all in one place will help keep you organized and prepared. Assessments are very important and that is something I have learned throughout my student teaching. One of the assessments I use in my classroom is call Key Math. I like it a lot and have found it very helpful in writing IEP goals.
Thank you so much for mentioning all the assessments you use. I find it challenging in deciding what assessments to use and I look forward to researching and looking more into the assessments you use.

[BreAnna]

I like the idea of having an assessment packet for students. Throughout my student teaching, I have realized how overwhelming assessments are. And scary to think about!! I enjoy the thought of having a set packet that covers all the areas, and supplementing with other assessments and resources if necessary. You did a good job of stressing the importance of understanding assessments. They are a valuable tool, and are an asset to teachers, parents, and students. Discovering students abilities, strengths, and weaknesses is critical in developing an effective IEP. I have seen many IEP's that I question whether or not valid assessments were even used! This post has been beneficial for me in pre-planning my organization and structure for when I have my own classroom! Thank you :)

[Carley H.]

I have definitely written down the tools that you listed! The school that I am student teaching at utilizes Moby Math, and you are right! Parents loved that not only did it provide a graph and information about where their childs skills are, but also they can use it at home. It is nice to know that when I start teaching there are so many assessment options that will give me, my students, and their parents a clear idea of where they are and what they should be working on. Thank you for the information!

[Kaylie]

@Kaylee-They do not have a set they ask teachers to complete every three years. However, the school psychologist does have a standard battery that she gives.
@Matt-Yes. These are assessments I'm doing to update their Present Levels. As I Mentioned to Kaylee, the school psychologist has a battery she gives in the event of a re-eval or initial eval.

Thanks for reading and commenting!

[Kaylee]

I can only hope to be as organized as you when I start teaching. I am student teaching right now, and the thought of all the assessments out there makes my head spin! The list you created is wonderful, but it's hard to know where I will find a job and what resources they will have. I have taken notes on all of your recommendations in hopes that I will be able to get my hands on them some day! I read your post more like those are the assessments you complete for your own sake and for your progress monitoring. For an initial or re-evaluation, does your district have specific assessments for you to complete like the WJ-III (Woodcock Johnson III) or WIAT-III (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test III)?

[Matt D]

Hi Kaylie. As I understand it, you are using your assessment packet to update your present level records as well as to generate new annual goals and objectives - not to determine triennial eligibility for special education services. Correct?

[Anne]

Hey Kaylie,
It sounds like you have a good bag of assessment tools. So far in my experience as a teacher we are always assessing both formal assessing and informal assessing. For our re-evaluations the parents can request more formal assessments to be done but also a teacher can as well. Most of the time we use our progress data to show that the student is making adequate progress so we usually have not had to do a lot of standardized testing. However, if a student who has a label DD (Developmentally Delayed) and almost eight years old teachers need to run the battery of tests to re-classify the student.
Thank you for your list of assessment resources and good luck with all of your assessments!

[Tyler Svenson]

Kaylie,
This is an interesting topic seeing that we are all required to assess our students on their current levels. Our IEPs should be written based on the Evaluation that was done for the student but that does not show us current levels if we are in the third year of that evaluation. In my school we use the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP), which is an online assessment that is taken up to 3 times per year by each student. The MAP test gives us an accurate measure of how they are testing, but it does not give us an adequate measure of their skills if they are not testing at the same level as their peers. It seems unethical to simply use these assessments as the ultimate evaluation of student levels. The assessments I use are almost always generated by me and target specific measurable skills as identified by the IEP goals and objectives.
We should always be in communication with the other teachers of the student as well so that we can get their informal evaluation of the student. Perhaps the best evaluation is done informally with the student acting normally in the classroom. With that in mind perhaps we should be focused on communication skills between teachers.

[Emily]

Wow, i'm impressed that you were able to make such a great list in just one afternoon! These all sound like great tools and I've jotted down a couple of them to look into. :)

As other people mentioned, for formal re-assessments in my school/state, we are required to use more standardized "official" tests that are typically completed by other professionals in addition to myself. Many of my students receive full psychoeducational evaluations, which are very interesting and enlightening to read.

It sounds like you're starting to develop your own system which i'm sure will come in very handy. Making little procedures that i follow in each situation has really saved my sanity as i wade through the paperwork for the 52 students on my caseload.

I hope you have a wonderful school year, thank you for the great resources.

[Melanie]

I must admit that I am slightly envious of how organized that you seem to be!! I have been needing to get a packet of assessments together as well for some time now. You have just helped me as well as motivated me to get this accomplished. In my school district, the only time we really do standardized testing is for initial evaluations or when there is a change that needs to be addressed such as testing out of special education. For our three year evaluations, we typically base them on classroom observations, parental input, and when age appropriate we include state testing/alternate state testing. I truly am so thankful to have stumbled onto your post... thanks so much!
Melanie

[Kaylie]

@Ulrika- Thanks for your comments and for reading! I definitely recommend Moby Math; my kids have already improved with their math skills, and the program provides great data! Just click on the link to their site in my post, and get all the details. It is a yearly subscription and is VERY affordable (i.e., less than $100 annually when I signed up). About the Learning Skills Checklist, it's perfect for my students who are working on learning appropriate school behaviors so they can build their academic skills. I would be happy to share with you via email if you're interested. :)

[Ulrika]

This is so timely for me to read! I came from a school district with very strict guidelines for assessments and showing annual progress. Woodcock Johnson III was used regularly and although it was useful it was time consuming. I am currently in a private school with hardly any guidelines for formal annual assessments, and I am trying to put specific procedures in place for reassessments to show growth for my annual IEP's. My IEP goals are measureable, but I feel I need some more substantial. One of the things I currently use Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI) to show growth in reading development, ,but I do not consider this being enough. I have been looking for a more comprehensive overall assessment for all areas. Possibly WIAT for teachers or something similar.I really like your list of a variety of assessments and I am really curious about the Moby Math and Learning Skills Checklist.I work a lot with my students to produce a toolbox of strategies that work for them, and to be more acutely aware of their learning styles, preferences and strategies.I am very curious to know more about this checklist.I can see using a check list approach to my IEP system and your recommendations are really helpful. You have inspired me to keep trying to find a workable and effective list of assessments.

[Kaylie]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! I wish my system had a go-to process for every re-eval, like the ones several of you described. That would be great and eliminate a ton of guess work for teachers. I'm also glad y'all have been able to use some of the resources. Thanks so much for reading!

[Ashley]

Thank you for providing such a detailed list of assessments. As a general classroom teacher, I am always looking for new ideas to use for differentiation. This is the first year that I have an IEP students in several years. As a result, I have researched new strategies that I can implement in order to meet the needs of all of my students. I've realized that I can't rely on the same material year after year. Thanks again for sharing such great resources....I've already started using Moby Math.

[Ktnoga]

Kaylie the assessment packet you have created is very detailed. I think it covers every aspect you can assess for your students. I would like to show my colleagues some of the programs your school uses, because I like the comprehensiveness of them.
The school I work at has different forms of assessment. The special education teacher uses different assessments than the general education teacher. Those assessments are provided by the state of Connecticut. I have requested to observe the special education assessments to see what is being conducted, but have not had the opportunity to view one yet.
For the three-year review and annual review the general education teacher assessments do not change. In each case the students state testing scores are taken into account, DRA and IRI scores for reading, writing prompt scores for writing, CFA scores are used to evaluate the students reading and writing, and math is evaluated by conducting a math test and math facts. A behavioral assessment is also conducted to see if the modifications on the students IEP are appropriate or if adjustments are needed. For each student a portfolio is created. The portfolio contains a myriad of student’s daily work. Samples of the student’s morning work, homework, tests, writing, projects, and classwork are placed in the folder to track the student’s progress.

[Nina M.]

You seem to have a very comprehensive assessment packet Kaylie.

My agency's research department conducts a Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement for all new intakes, and again each year before annuals or triennials. While they use the results to monitor the student outcomes in the school, I get the results and student response packet to use to develop IEP goals/objectives and help define present levels. It assesses reading (fluency, phonetic awareness, comprehension), written language (fluency and expression), and mathematics (application, calculation, fluency) and provides a detailed report of those different areas with standard scores and grade equivalents.

Besides this assessment, I also created my own set of "go-to" assessments to help paint a clearer picture of my students' current skills for IEPs. For behavior I like to use the BASC 2 (Behavior Assessment System for Children). There are teacher, parent, and student rating scales, which is nice for comparison purposes. I also analyze my monthly behavior charts.

For further academic levels I use the Eckwall/Shanker Reading Inventory (great for assessing silent and oral reading fluency and comprehension skills), Renaissance Learning STAR Reading and Math assessments (they are computer based, give grade equivalents, and list skills the student should work on next), and other informal assessments that are highly related to previous IEP goals.

Finally, because I teach 9th and 10th graders, I write transition plans for all my students. This is also one of my favorite areas to assess! I use the COPS II Career Inventory, which always sparks really meaningful conversations with my students. I also conduct a Self-Advocacy checklist that can be quite enlightening for my students. They check yes/no regarding their ability to seek help, develop goals and plans to meet them, assess success of their plans, make eye-contact, understand their rights as a person with a disability, etc. in both school and community settings. I also do a learning style inventory, use a website that allows them to explore more careers (cacareerzone.org), and finally, have them summarize their post-secondary goals on a graphic organizer. The students find these assessments really relevant and I think allowing it to be so student-driven really makes them take ownership of their post-secondary goals.

I must add that regardless of how my students do on these assessments, day to day work samples organized in a portfolio and daily observations are quite telling. I like to balance my assessment data with these informal criteria as well. Also, asking for student input is key. I always ask my students what would make them more confident learners or feel better about their school achievement. Again, it allows them to take ownership of their goals, as opposed to being dictated by me.

[Mary Beth Diehl]

OMG. Had to stop reading for a minute after the first paragraph of yr post, as the assessments you do are the 180 from my district! I thought it was federal law [maybe just state law--my bad!] that: 3 year re-evals HAD to be a standardized assessment [ours currently is the Battelle Developmental Inventory, version 2]. The state and disrict send out lists and reminders, and you had better not mess this one up. Usual start time is at least 3 months advance of the date. Annual reviews are less stressful, but we have a district assessment that we must use or state why we are not. [It has it's pluses & minuses, as do all assessments.] Just the thought of all of us being able to pick & choose our own assessments would make our school Special Ed Co-ordinator's head explode! The tool that most districts in Maryland use for all special ed paperwork is called Maryland Online [shocker!], developed out of Johns Hopkins. As much as we all like to rag on it's glitches, it is massively helpful. One of the many helpful parts is the massive checklist of standardized assessments available to use--I think it's under the section where you list the students present level of development. Google Maryland Online & see if they will let you check it out. It also has "Wizards" [Ravenclaw, not Slytherin!] to assist with each step of IEP development. Seems like YOU are the Wizard for your school--awesome job in organizing all those assessments!! The ones you listed sound quite good. :) Mary Beth