Assessment for Transition Planning

Assidere: Latin for assess Literal translation: to sit with

Einstein

Not everything that counts can be counted; not everything that can be counted counts

Wiggins

The aim of assessment is to improve performance not merely audit it

Transition Services Coordinated set of activities Designed within a results-oriented process Promotes movement from school to post-

school activities Based on student’s needs, preferences &

interests Activities: instruction, community experience,

employment & adult living, daily living skills, functional vocational evaluation.

Types of Assessments

Formal

Informal

Alternative

Types of Assessment

Formal: any standardized battery that yields targeted information Over and above traditional

psychoeducational testing Inability to translate results into useful

planning info

Informal Assessments

Not standardized assessments Typically are teacher-made, teacher

administered Result in information about how a

student does in a particular context Measures performance on curriculum Typically still paper and pencil

Informal Assessment

Community-based vocational assessment

Interviews and questionnaires Observations Ecological inventories Situational assessments Interest inventories

Student Profile At times it is beneficial to have more

detailed information concerning a student (I.e., a student may have severe challenges requiring more supports).

A Student Profile questionnaire Identifies additional info.:

student’s present level of performance his/her learning style community connections accommodations required in the community

A student profile questionnaire

Should be completed using a variety of techniques: Talk with the student Observe the student in various

environments Ask other people in the student’s life Talk with past teachers, supervisors, etc. Review past records (in conjunction with

above only)

Parent/Guardian Survey Use the Parent/Guardian Survey to assist family

members in preparing for the annual case conference

Recommend that parents discuss the questions with the student as they complete the form.

Distribute the survey at the beginning of the school year.

Support phone calls (as needed) can be made throughout the year.

Ask parents to bring the completed survey to their son/daughter’s annual case conference.

Situational Assessment

First step: task analysis (what does person need to do?)

Collect information about how student performs on task analysis

Collect information about how person without disability does job

Collect information about other aspects of interacting with environment

Why do we need alternatives to standardized testing?

Parent issues: Few opportunities

for involvement Information is

deficit-focused Information is not

relevant, hard to understand

Why do we need alternatives to standardized testing?

Student issues: They don’t feel involved Testing is done “to” student, not “with” Motivational factors: can influence validity

of results Used to sort, rank, group according to

what they can’t do Doesn’t give picture of whole person

Legal issues

IDEA calls for student involvement in transition planning (Based on preferences, interests, needs). Best practices call for student-directed transition planning.

IDEA amendments require that we develop alternative assessments for those who cannot participate in regular assessment programs.

What are alternative assessments?

Alternatives to formal tests Broad view of student progress across

time Dynamic Uses self-evaluation and continuous

feedback Provide opportunities to learn and show

what is learned in ways that make sense.

What is performance assessment?

Focus: what student can do

Holistic view Measures complex

constructs Done continuously Done with and by

student Developed by

student and others

Focus on deficits and remediation

Separate views of measurements

Measures isolated facts

Snapshot: end of unit, year

Forced response to narrow questions

Key points related to performance assessments

Authentic Real problems and

tasks in context Learn simple to

complex What do

professionals do? What tasks are

key? What contexts?

Feedback Clear Continuous Provides

exemplars Specific and

descriptive Encourages self-

assessment

Person-Centered Planning

For some students, dreaming about the future is something they can’t do alone

Goal of Person-Centered Planning

To create a plan for a positive, possible future for those individuals who, without such a plan, would “fall through the cracks” of the adult service world.

Example: Personal Futures Planning, PATH, MAPS, Circles of Support, Group Action Planning, Lifestyles Essential Planning

Features of Person-Centered Planning Held at the convenience of the individual

and her/his significant others Focus is on the positive

Individual decides who will be “at the table”

Individual directs process and participates as a team member

Information and action plan displayed in a way that is easily understood by all (may include maps, pictures, graphics, colors)

Process is FUN and welcoming

MAPS: One type of PCP process

What is Michelle’s history?

Who is Michelle? What are Michelle’s

dreams? What are Michelle’s

fears?

What are Michelle’s needs?

What are Michelle’s strengths?

What would an ideal day be like for Michelle (after high school)?

Transition Assessment should provide:

Clearer information about progress toward goals

Clearer information for employers about student abilities

Clearer information for student to use to make informed choices

Transition Assessment Model

Modified from Hughes & Carter’s Informal Transition Assessment Model

pp. 54-57 Table 5.1 outlines the 8 steps that are

part of the process

Transition Assessment Model

Step 1. Determine the purpose of the assessment What do you know about the student,

what information is still missing/unknown Beside the student, assessment should

include information about the setting(s), interactions, people, changing demands, etc.

Transition Assessment Model

Step 2. Identify relevant behaviors and environments

These should be directly related to the purpose of the assessment

Behaviors should be assessed within the environments in which they are expected to be performed.

If behavior is performed in multiple environments, then the behavior should be assessed in multiple environments.

Transition Assessment Model

Step 3. Verify Steps 1 and 2 Verify selections with students and

important others. “It is essential that decisions made

about assessment, instruction, and planning represent the priorities and values of students and their families” (p. 56)

Transition Assessment Model

Step 4. Choose appropriate assessment procedures

The decision to use a particular assessment procedure should be based on the purpose of the assessment, the behaviors and environments of concern, and input from the student and important others.

Transition Assessment Model

Step 5. Modify procedures as needed You may need to modify an

appropriate assessment procedure based upon the needs of the student and the characteristics of relevant environments.

Transition Assessment Model Step 6. Conduct the Assessment After selecting the appropriate assessment

method and modifying it if necessary, the next step is to use it to gather information.

In conducting the assessment, it is important to continually check that we are focusing on the established purpose for the assessment and the chosen behaviors and environments of interest.

In conducting assessments in community settings, it is important that the procedures are nonintrusive and nonstigmatizing to students.

Transition Assessment Model Step 7: Use Assessment Findings to

Identify transition goals and objectives Assessment is not an end to itself. The function of transition assessment is

to gather information that will inform and guide instruction, planning, and the provision of supports.

Must be able to communicate results in a way that everyone can understand.

Transition Assessment Model Step 7. (continued) Consider the information gathered on both the

student and the current and future environments in which he or she will participate

Student abilities are compared to those necessary in the environment

Discrepancy between student abilities and necessary abilities should be targeted as potential goals and objectives

Transition Assessment Model Step 8. Develop Curricular Plans to Achieve

Goals Identify relevant educational experiences within

which a student’s goals and objectives can be addressed.

Educational experiences should occur in inclusive environments, including general education classrooms and activities, service learning experiences, community-based instruction, job training.