Effective Assessment for Students With Special Needs

Jim Ysseldyke, Ph.D., is Birkmaier Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, director of the School Psychology Program, and director of the Center for Reading Research at the University of Minnesota. Widely requested as a staff developer and conference speaker, Ysseldyke brings more than 30 years of research and teaching experience to educational professionals around the globe.As the former director of the federally funded National Center on Educational Outcomes, Ysseldyke conducted research and provided technical support that helped to boost the academic performance of students with disabilities and improve school assessment techniques nationally. Today, he continues to work to improve the education of students with disabilities.The author of more than 300 publications on special education and school psychology, Ysseldyke is best known for his textbooks on assessment, effective instruction, issues in special education, and other cutting-edge areas of education and school psychology. With A Practical Approach to Special Education for Every Teacher, Ysseldyke seeks to equip educators with practical knowledge and methods that will help them to better engage students in exploring—and meeting—all their potentials.Bob Algozzine is a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of North Carolina and project codirector of the U.S. Department of Education-supported Behavior and Reading Improvement Center. With 25 years of research experience and extensive firsthand knowledge of teaching students classified as seriously emotionally disturbed, Algozzine is a uniquely qualified staff developer, conference speaker, and teacher of behavior management and effective teaching courses. He is active in special education practice as a partner and collaborator with professionals in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools in North Carolina and as an editor of several journals focused on special education. Algozzine has written more than 250 manuscripts on special education topics, including many books and textbooks on how to manage emotional and social behavior problems.

• About A Practical Approach to Special Education for Every TeacherAcknowledgementsAbout the AuthorsSelf-Assessment IIntroduction to Effective Assessment for Students With Special Needs1. What Should Every Teacher Know About Assessment for Decision-Making Purposes?Screening DecisionsDecisions to Provide Special Help or EnrichmentReferral to an Intervention Assistance TeamDecisions to Provide Intervention AssistanceDecisions to Refer for EvaluationExceptionality DecisionsDecisions About Special Learning NeedsDecisions About Eligibility or EntitlementInstructional Planning DecisionsProgress Evaluation DecisionsProgram Evaluation DecisionsAccountability Decisions2. What Are the Most Common Assessment Practices?Curriculum-Based AssessmentCurriculum-Based MeasurementInstructional DiagnosisAcademic Time AnalysisAssessment of Instructional EnvironmentsOutcomes-Based AccountabilityPerformance Assessment3. How Is Assessment Data Collected?Methods for Collecting DataTestsObservationsInterviewsWork Portfolios4. Which Methods of Assessment Should Be Use to Sample Certain Behaviors and Abilities?Intellectual AbilityAcademic AchievementSensory AcuityAdaptive BehaviorLanguage DevelopmentPsychological DevelopmentPerceptual-Motor Development5. What Standards Must Be Met To Ensure the Accuracy of an Assessment?Reliability: Is Performance Consistent?Representativeness: Does the Instrument Adequately Sample the Behavior?Validity: Does a Procedure Measure What it is Supposed to Measure?6. What Concerns Do Parents, Students, and the General Public Have About Assessments?Test FairnessAcceptabilityConsequences7. What Are the Assumptions Underlying Assessment Practices?The Examiner is SkilledFuture Behavior Can Be Inferred From Present BehaviorAssessment Is Relatively Free From ErrorStudents Have Comparable Acculturation8. What Guidelines Should Be Followed for Appropriate Assessment?There Is No One Way To Do It RightThere Is No One Cause of School ProblemsAssessment Must Do More Than Describe ProblemsAssessment Must Be Directed At Improving InstructionAssessment Should Occur Often During TeachingAssessment Should Concentrate on Relevant VariablesAssessment Should Occur Where The Behavior OccursTests Should Be Adapted To Accommodate Students9. Assessment in PerspectiveAssessment in the ClassroomThe Effects of Assessment10. What Have We Learned?Key PointsKey VocabularySelf-Assessment IIAnswer Key for Self-AssessmentsOn Your OwnResourcesBooksJournals & ArticlesOrganizationsReferencesIndex

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