Module 9 Assessment, Learning Resources and Instructional (INPUT)

Accommodation

The process of educating all students of similar chronological age regardless of their
individual differences or ability to progress, is commonly called “inclusion”. Inclusive
environments are about more just setting and delivery of services. They involve a
philosophy of education in which professionals have a moral responsibility to educate every
student, remove barriers that prevent full participation, and ensure that students reach their
full potential. (Fewster, S., 2006). Inclusive process implies that the child with special
educational needs goes to school with his peers; programs and methods of work are adapted
according to its possibilities; the teacher is further prepared to work with the child. (Hrnjica,
S. et al., 2007, pg.8)

Assessment,
 defined as systematic process for gathering data about student achievement is an
essential component of teaching.
 Any type of assessment in educational context involves decisions on what is relevant
evidence for a particular purpose, how to collect evidence, how to interpret it, and how to
communicate with the affected users. Under these goals we can support learning,
summing up the achievements over a period of time and tracking the level of progress
and success.

DEFINING THE PROBLEM AND RELEVANT TERMS

In the contemporary literature relevant to this topic, different terms and concepts are
used in different speaking areas in relation to people with disabilities and their social
integration. Analyzing the relevant literature, we can find variety of terms that refer to people
with disabilities, like the following: defect, handicap, somatopathy based damage,
abnormality, behavioral disorder, social integration difficulties, psychophysical
developmental disorders, developmental disabilities, special needs, special educational needs,
etc.

MONITORING, ASSESSMENT AND MEASUREMENT

 Monitoring and measurement are terms that are closely related to assessment. Many
authors define them differently, and they differ in their importance in the evaluation and the
overall assessment of the educational work.

 For the majority researchers monitoring is advanced and complex process and should
be practiced as a continuous activity in which the teacher uses appropriate techniques
such as testing, scaling, recording and instruments. Monitoring implies a system of
procedures and techniques for gathering information about the developmental levels on
the achievement of the intended goal and tasks of the educational work.

Assessment of student learning is defined as “process by which we ascertain througdata

collection if students have learned the skills, content, and habits of mind that will make
 Checking and assessing students' achievements are almost indivisible from one
another. These are two types of activities that always run in the same order: each
 checking ends with some evaluation - each evaluation is preceded by a check. There is
almost no check for itself, nor can anything be evaluated without first checking.

There are several types of checking and evaluation according to the purpose and timing
of the performance:

1. Diagnostic testing and assessment

 One type of diagnostic check is done at the beginning of the school year. It is a check
and assessment of the quality of knowledge from the previous education which is considered
to be the necessary basis on which new knowledge from a certain field will be upgraded. This
also includes entrance exams and qualifying exams. Diagnostic testing is not related only to
the beginning of the school year. It is also performed during the year - before the
implementation of each new stage of learning.

2. Formal checking and evaluation

 Formal ongoing testing and assessment in the true sense of the word should be
understood as a continuous process of monitoring and checking (controlling) the performance
of students' achievements in teaching, in order to collect data for evaluating them. Formal
assessment and verification must be carried out continuously so that it can also intervene over
the course of the event process. Formal checking starts from the individual attributes
(subjective and objective) of each student, and therefore teaching must be adapted to those
possibilities. Formal checking does not end with an assessment, especially with an officially
summative assessment and registration of the numeric grade.

3. Summative checking and evaluation

 It is carried out at the end of certain stages or periods of the teaching process, such as
so-called classification periods, such as semester or end of the school year. The
purpose of this checking and assessment is to fully understand the results of the
students, i.e. summarizing the achievements and assessing their quality. Depending on
when and to what purpose the summative check is carried out, one can speak of the
following types:
- Micro-summary checks and evaluations;
- Formal stage micro-summary checks and evaluations;
- Final checks and evaluations.
4. There are also types of verification and assessment according to who performs them:
- Internal testing and assessment
Checking and assessment performed by teachers themselves who teach at school is
called internal checking and assessment. It is a regular and dominant practice present in all
countries. Internal checking and assessment has a number of good sides and advantages apart
from external checking and evaluation. Above all, it is continuous and is performed as an
integral part of the teaching process.
- External checking and evaluation.
It is a check and assessment performed by outsiders (experts, supervisors, inspectors).
As a rule, it is performed at the end of the school year and has the character of final
summative checking and assessment. However, it can be performed at any time of the school
year depending on the purpose of the checking. (Popovski, K. 2005)
William and Thompson (2008) proposed the terms “formative” and “summative”
assessment, given the reason to differentiate the role of evaluation.
Formative assessment
introduced as an ongoing process of evaluating students’ learning, providing feedback to
  is adjust instruction and learning, improving the curriculum (2008). Summative
assessment, on the other hand, is bound to administrative decisions and assigning
grades to the tests.
Summative assessment
 is intended to summaries student attainment at a particular time,
whereas formative assessment is intended to promote further improvement of student
attainment. (Crooks, T., 2001)
 The research on formative assessment is compelling and shows us explicitly how
formative assessment works to improve learning - by helping students internalize the features
of good work, by showing them specifically how to improve, by developing habits of thinking
and a sense of competency, and so forth. An understanding of how these formative
assessment processes are tied to standards-based reform in each of the disciplines makes it
possible to coordinate and integrate reform efforts so that they need not be assembled as a
laundry list of new approaches. Benchmark and interim assessments can also be very helpful
to teachers as program evaluation tools and as a mean to identify students who need special
help, but professional development may be needed to avoid interpreting the results to mean
reteach everything. (Shepard, Lorrie A., 2005) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATIONAL PLANS AND
ASSESSMENT. The basic characteristics of the individualized educational plans included in the
Code of Inclusive Practice are:
• careful focusing on the specific child learning difficulties;
• take into account what the child has achieved by following the curriculum;
• to set clear goals that a child needs to master over a period of time;
• to ensure the participation of parents and the child (if the child’s condition allows it) in the
development of IEP;
• to include specialists in the preparation of IEPs. (Jachova, Z., 2002)

5. Across a variety of nations, educational policy for students with disabilities is intended to lead
to greater access to the curriculum and grade level standards for students with disabilities.
Results of some research (La Salle et al., The Relationship of IEP Quality to Curricular
Access and Academic Achievement for Students with Disabilities) shows that IEP quality is
not a significant predictor of test performance or curricular access). Researchers suggest that
IEP practices do not consistently impact students’ access to or involvement in the general
education curriculum. The promotion of the standards-based IEPs in policy and regulations
only increases the need for additional research and professional training to support quality IEP
goal development. (La Salle, T.; Roach, A.; McGrath, D., 2013)
Cooperation with the parents of children with special educational needs is of particular
importance for the progress of the child in the education process. Parents should be involved
in all phases starting from the identification of special needs, the acquisition of specific
educational services, to the evaluation of the commission. According to the analysis made by
Jachova, Z. (2002) the most frequent weaknesses of IEP are:
• imprecise terminology;
• insufficient participation of the student;
• incompatibility with other test procedures and student registration.

The five strongest points on IEP are:

• based on the true knowledge of the student;

• they are made according to the real abilities and interests of the students;
• predict real time limits;
• related to school resources;
• parents are involved at a certain stage of their work.
  General and special educators sometimes fail to collaborate effectively to coordinate
the general grading system with the accommodations and modifications required under a
student's Individualized Education Program. Even when a head teacher wants to individualize
a grading system for a student with a disability, other teachers often lacks knowledge of how
to do it. Thus, many students with disabilities receive inaccurate and unfair grades that
provide little and meaningful information about their achievement.
 The steps for implementing grading adaptations improve communication and trust
among the student, parents, special and classroom teachers who participate in developing
student personalized grading plans. Parents and teachers clearly view grading adaptations not
as a gimmick for raising grades, but rather as an efficient practice that meets the needs of
individual students. (Munk, D., D & Bursuck, D., W., 2003)
• issues of identification and classification;
• questions about the appropriate use of accommodations;
• the problem of disabilities that are related to measured constructs; and
• issues pertaining to test design. (according to Koretz,M.D, 2003)

6. The theory behind setting achievement standards remains the same for alternate
assessment as it is for general assessment. Methods that are used to set scores on alternate
assessments are slightly different compared to the methods used in general assessment. Both
types of assessments should have well-written performance level descriptors. Yet, there are
challenges to developing “alternate achievement standards” that do not exist when developing
achievement standards for the general assessments. There are relatively few students
participating in the assessment and the students are arguably more diverse. The assessments
have greater flexibility built into them. Knowledge and skills typically are assessed within a
context of independence and generalizability. Yet, the same level of rigor and standardization
in the procedures is required to set valid alternate achievement standards for this 1 percent as
to develop achievement standards for the remaining 99 percent. (Perie, M., 2007)
Bauer and Brown (2001, p.190) emphasize the importance of assessment and
adaptation when it comes to students with disabilities and their assessment in inclusive
conditions.
• a fair assessment allows each student to show what he knows;
• the student's knowledge can be assessed in a number of ways;
• students with disabilities can engage in standardized tests offered to all students, may
use different accommodation conditions, or use different estimates that measure their success.
• they are not given the same opportunity to demonstrate what they know;
• they are judged on their abilities and needs by using biased assessments;
• are limited in their educational opportunities due to the assessment data.
.

Evaluation: (Essay)
Answer the following questions:
1. For you what is the best way to improve learning for a diverse range of learners?

2. Why assessment is the most important tool when it comes to students with special
needs?

3. Is Individualized Education Program (IEP) must be reviewed/evaluated/revised yearly?

Why?