Parents as Partners in

Communicating about the

NSCS AA-AAS Consortium

Assessment and Instruction

Martha Thurlow and Ricki Sabia

Topics:

• Brief Overview of NCSC Consortium

• Students who Participate in NCSC’s AA-AAS

• Summative Assessment Design

• Curriculum and Instruction Supports

• Parent Communication Work

2

NCSC Consortium States

3

NCSC Consortium Partners

• National Center on Educational Outcomes

(NCEO)

• National Center for the Improvement of

Educational Assessment (NCIEA)

• University of North Carolina Charlotte

• University of Kentucky

• edCount

Teaching Academic Content to

Students with the

Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities: A

Pathway Through the Learning

Progressions

Students Who Participate in AA-AAS*

• Represent about 1% or less of the total assessed student population

• All disability categories represented, but students are primarily in three categories: – Intellectual Disabilities – Multiple Disabilities – Autism

• Highly varied levels of expressive/receptive language use Most students use symbolic communication Most read basic sight words and solve simple math

problems with a calculator Still, about 18% use intentional communication that is

not symbolic, and 10% are pre-symbolic

6

*Based on findings by Towles-Reeves, Kleinert, & Kearns (2006), Kearns, Kleinert, Kleinert, Towles-Reeves, & Kleine Kracht-Thomas (2011), and Towles-Reeves, Kearns, Flowers, Hart, Kerbel, Kleinert, Quenemoen, & Thurlow (2012).

NCSC Participation Guidelines The NCSC criteria for participation in the AA-AAS reflect the pervasive

nature of a significant cognitive disability. All content areas should be

considered when determining eligibility for this assessment. Thus, a

student who participates in the NCSC AA-AAS participates in this

assessment for all content areas.

In addition, the decision for participating in the AA-AAS Should Not be based

on:

1. A disability category or label

2. Poor attendance or extended absences

3. Native language/social/cultural or economic difference

4. Expected poor performance on the general education assessment

5. Academic and other services student receives

6. Educational environment or instructional setting

7. Percent of time receiving special education

8. English Language Learner (ELL) status

9. Low reading level/achievement level

10. Anticipated disruptive behavior

11. Impact of test scores on accountability system

12. Administrator decision

13. Anticipated emotional duress

14. Need for accommodations to participate in assessment process

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria Descriptors

Agree (Yes) or Disagree (No)?

Provide evidence for each

1. The student has a

significant cognitive

disability

Review of student records indicate a disability or

multiple disabilities that significantly impact intellectual

functioning and adaptive behavior.

*Adaptive behavior is defined as essential for

someone to live independently and to function safely in

daily life.

Yes / No

2. The student is learning

content inked to (derived

from) the Common Core

State Standards (CCSS)

Goals and instruction for this student are based on

grade level CCSS for the grade in which the student is

enrolled. The Core Content Connectors are based on

learning progressions that are aligned to the CCSS

and describe the knowledge and skills that are

appropriate and challenging for this student.

Yes / No

3. The student requires

extensive direct

individualized instruction

and substantial supports

to achieve measureable

gains in the grade-and

age-appropriate

curriculum.

The student (a) requires extensive, repeated,

individualized instruction and support that is not of a

temporary or transient nature and (b) uses

substantially adapted materials and individualized

methods of accessing information in alternative ways

to acquire, maintain, generalize, demonstrate and

transfer skills across multiple settings.

Yes / No

The student is eligible to participate in the

AA-AAS if all responses above are marked

Yes.

NCSC Assessment System

Highlights of NCSC System

To ensure that students with significant cognitive disabilities achieve increasingly higher academic outcomes and leave high school ready for post-secondary options.

A well-designed summative assessment alone is insufficient.

To achieve this goal, an AA-AAS system also includes:

Curricular & instructional frameworks

Teacher resources and professional development

Formative assessment tools

Communicative Competence

College

Career

Community Curriculum

Common Core Standards

Learning Progressions

Core Content Connectors

Instruction

Grade-level Lessons

Accommodations

Systematic Instruction

Assessment

Formative, Interim

Summative

The NCSC

Alternate Assessment System* English Language Arts and Mathematics, Grades 3–8 and High School

END-OF-YEAR

ASSESSMENT

DIGITAL LIBRARY of curriculum, instruction, and classroom assessment resources; online professional development

modules and support materials for state-level educator Communities of Practice to support teachers with the

resources they need to improve student outcomes; guidelines for IEP teams to use in student participation decision

making; training modules for assessment administration and interpretation of results; online assessment delivery,

administration, and reporting.

Curriculum, instruction,

and formative

assessment resources

for classroom use

Summative assessment

for accountability

Interim progress

monitoring tools

• COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE established in each state to support teacher

training and use of the curriculum, instruction, and assessment resources.

Resources will be available for use in all schools and districts, as locally

determined.

NCSC Summative

(End-of-Year)

Assessment Design

Major Development Phases

Initial Test Design and Specifications

Item Writing and Review

Spring/Summer 2013

Item Tryouts/ Cognitive Labs

TBA 2013

Pilot Test

Spring 2014

Review and Revise Items

Spring/ Summer 2014

Finalize Test Design and Specs

Fall 2014

Census Field Test Spring 2015

Standard Setting Summer 2015

Reports and Final Documentation

Summer/ Fall 2015

Characteristics of the NCSC Summative

Assessment

• Testing Time

1.5 – 2.0 hours per content area (ELA and Mathematics) (ELA includes Reading and Writing)

• Item Types

> 2/3 selected response

< 1/3 constructed response

• Principled Approach, based on ECD

- Common Core State Standards and Learning Progressions basis for prioritized content

Curriculum and Instructional

Materials and Supports

Highlights of NCSC Curriculum,

Instruction, and Professional Development

17

What is included in a

MASSI?

• Color coded with instructional family • CCC, CCSS, lesson objective by grade level • Materials • Overview for all 3 grade levels

Bolded text indicates teacher script

Instructional strategy: CTD

Instructional strategy: LIP

Leveled Instruction

Check and Score: Teacher scores on Progress Monitoring Sheet. Numbers correspond with number on data sheet.

Goals for each grade level in grade band

Progress Monitoring Data Sheet •Follows MASSI; steps correspond with steps of task analysis •1st column: materials to present to student •2nd column: instructional cue and prompt (if applicable) •3rd column: student response

•MASSI is comprised of many steps •Broken down into segments to teach across multiple sessions/days • Indicates our suggestion for stopping places •How to administer skills test (teacher says/does, student response, and error correction) •Provides suggested criterion for moving forward (~60% or higher) •“Next”- what is to come in lesson and suggestions for each grade level

More Information?

Visit the NCSC website: www.ncscpartners.org

Importance of Communicating to

Parents about the NCSC AA-AAS

• To familiarize them with changes in

instruction and assessment aligned to CCSS

• To enable them to be informed participants in

educational decisions concerning their

children

• To promote effective parent-school

partnerships that help students learn more

challenging content

• To get buy-in

Range of Parent Reactions to an

AA-AAS Aligned to the CCSS

• Some may have trouble understanding

how the CCSS will address their

children’s needs

• Some may not believe their children can

learn academic content

• Some will welcome the increased

academic expectations as long overdue

• Some may still want their child in the

general assessment because of LRE and

diploma concerns

Some Proactive Communication

Strategies

• Reassure parents that addressing

communicative competence is an NCSC

priority

• Share NCSC’s vision of college and career

readiness for students who take an AA-AAS

• Share information on the NCSC curriculum/

instructional resources and assessment

• Share NCSC participation guidelines, which

address LRE concerns and consider the high

stakes aspects of placement in an AA-AAS

NCSC Parent Communication Plan

• NCSC has hired a parent training and technical assistance specialist

• Parent friendly documents about NCSC’s work are being developed

• These documents will be available for distribution by educators as well as by parent organizations

• They are being designed for parents with diverse educational backgrounds and varying levels of interest in the details

Basic documents

These provide the minimum level of information every parent should have:

• A background document with key points about the NCSC project

• An explanation of the guidelines for IEP team decisions regarding participation in the NCSC assessment

• A document concerning accommodations policies

Additional Resources

• Detailed FAQ on the NCSC AA-AAS

• Explanation of the NCSC Schema for

Curriculum and instructional Resources

• Paper discussing NCSC’s vision of college

and career readiness for students with

significant cognitive disabilities

More resources may be developed based

on parent/educator feedback

Parent Group Outreach

• The documents will be shared with national disability groups for dissemination to parents

• These national groups will have access to a bank of PowerPoint slides to develop presentations for state/local affiliates

• A model newsletter article will be provided

• A ‘parent page” on the NCSC website will be developed

Parent Input on Communication Plan

• A parent advisory group is reviewing the

documents and providing suggestions for

additional resources that may be useful

• NCSC is inviting feedback from

conference participants like you on

strategies for communicating with families.

DISCUSSION