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Improving the Validity of Assessment Results for English Language Learners with Disabilities. Laurene Christensen, Ph.D. Linda Goldstone, M.S. National Center on Educational Outcomes. Overview. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Improving the Validity of Assessment Results for English
Language Learners with Disabilities
Laurene Christensen, Ph.D.Linda Goldstone, M.S.
National Center on Educational Outcomes
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Overview– IVARED is an Enhanced Assessment
grant that includes a consortium of 5 states: Minnesota, Maine, Michigan, Washington, and Arizona
– Goals are to improve our understanding of ELLs with disabilities and to support improved decision-making efforts about how they participate in assessments
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Project Activities1. Longitudinal look at data2. Review of
accommodations/technical assistance related to accommodations
3. Focus groups with educators4. Principles and Guidelines for
assessment decision-making5. Pilot of an online training module
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What We Learned from Data
• Slightly more boys than girls are ELLs with disabilities in each state
• Ethnic diversity and home languages varied widely
• In general, the contexts of each state were so different, it is not possible to make comparisons across states
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What We Learned about Participation and Accommodations
• There are challenges in including some ELLs with low-incidence disabilities in all domains of an English language proficiency assessment
• Braille and sign interpretation can be challenging to the construct being measured in some domains of the ELPA
• In general, there is an increase in the mention of ELLs with disabilities in accommodations policies
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What We Learned from Educator Focus Groups
• 35 focus groups across five states• 239 Educators across disciplines;
over 500 waitlisted• Over 2,300 pages of qualitative data
Participant job titles
Participant demographics
Participant demographics
Participant’s student grade levels
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Focus GroupThemes1) Validity of assessment results
2) Alignment of assessment and instruction
3) Assessment decision making
4) Collaboration
5) Assessment of leadership and structures
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Theme #1: Validity of Assessment Results
• Bias: -student background
-culture• Accessibility:
- format- English language level
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Theme #2: Alignment of Assessment and Instruction
• Student skills vs. grade level standards
-multiple assessments• Teaching practices -test preparation -scaffold
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Theme #3: Assessment decision making
• Assessment participation-state mandates
-Individualized education program (IEP)• Accommodations -ESL -implementation
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Theme #4: Collaboration
• Team -multidisciplinary -inclusive• Constraints -resources -logistics
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Theme #5: Leadership
• Policies -explicit for ELLDs• Support• -communication -time
-resources -training -success
High English language needs
Low disability-related needs
High English language needs
High disability-related needs
Low English language needs
Low disability-related needs
Low English language needs
High disability-related needs
From Christensen, Shyyan et al., forthcoming
Language or Disability?
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Principles and Guidelines
• Focused on ELLs with disabilities• Developed by an expert panel– Second language experts– Special education experts– Assessment experts
• Online Delphi process– Started with the topic areas from the
regulations for standards and assessments– Included open-ended prompts, and
consensus building
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Principle 1: Content standards are the same for
all students.• Guideline 1A: Include individuals with knowledge of
content, second language acquisition, and special education on the team that writes standards.
• Guideline 1B: Design standards so they are accessible to all students, including ELLs with disabilities.
• Guideline 1C. Provide ongoing professional development on implementation of standards for ELLs with disabilities to ensure high quality instruction and assessment.
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Principle 2: Test and item development include a focus on access to the content, free
from bias without changing the construct being measured.
• Guideline 2A. Understand the students who participate in the assessment, including ELLs with disabilities.
• Guideline 2B. Involve people with expertise in relevant areas of test and item development.
• Guideline 2C. Use Universal Design principles in test and item development.
• Guideline 2D. Consider the impact of embedded item features and accommodations on the validity of assessment results.
• Guideline 2E. Include ELLs with disabilities in item try-outs and field testing.
• Guideline 2F. Conduct committee-based bias reviews for every assessment through continuous, multi-phased procedures.
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Principle 3: Assessment participation decisions are made on an individual
student basis by an informed IEP team.• Guideline 3A. Make participation decisions for
individual students rather than for groups of students.
• Guideline 3B. Make assessment participations in an informed IEP team representing all instructional experiences of the student, as well as parents and students, when appropriate.
• Guideline 3C. Provide the IEP team with training on assessment decision making for ELLs with disabilities.
• Guideline 3D. Use written policies that specifically address the assessment of ELLs with disabilities to guide the decision-making process.
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Principle 4: Accommodations for both English Language Proficiency (ELP) and content assessments are assigned by an IEP team knowledgeable about the
individual student’s needs.
• Guideline 4A. Provide accommodations for ELLs with disabilities that support their current levels of English proficiency, native language proficiency, and disability-related characteristics.
• Guideline 4B. Collect and examine individual student data to determine appropriate accommodations for ELLs with disabilities taking ELP and content assessments.
• Guideline 4C. Develop assessment accommodations policies for ELLs with disabilities that account for the need for language-related and disability-related accommodations.
• Guideline 4D. Provide decision makers with training on assessment accommodations for ELLs with disabilities.
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Principle 5. Reporting formats and content support different uses of large-scale assessment
data for different audiences. • Guideline 5A. Use disaggregated data for ELLs with
disabilities to account for demographic and language proficiency variables.
• Guideline 5B. Highlight districts and schools with exceptional performance to identify characteristics that lead to success of ELLs with disabilities.
• Guideline 5C. Provide interpretation guidance to educators about ways in which large-scale assessment data can be interpreted and used for educational planning.
• Guideline 5D. Provide different score report formats as guides to parents and students.
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Online Training Module• Currently under development• A series of “mini-modules” on key
topics related both to the principles and guidelines as well as issues that arose in the focus groups
• Will be piloted this spring
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Questions?Contact information:
Laurene [email protected]
Linda [email protected]
NCEOnceo.info
IVAREDivared.org