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Inclusion Considerations for Students with Disabillities (Understand…
Inclusion Considerations for Students with Disabillities
Understand the Data
Obtain information about the data system from the state or district assessment office
Know what information is reported
Determine what additional information is necessary to understand student performance
Understand key factors about students with disabilities who take tests, including
Which accommodations are being used
The number of students who take alternate assessments
Which scores are not included in the school's improvement index
A First Glance at the Data
Second
Identify the number of students with disabilities who took standardized tests
Examine performance scores of students with disabilities
Recognized that most states and districts report only two elements required by law
Third
Look for more in-depth information, such as:
the percentages of students with different categories of disabilities; and/or
the number of students receiving accommodations , by category of disability
First
Look for expected results
Look for unexpected results
Examine the errors made by significant numbers of students
Compare Data
Several grades in a single year
a school principal may wish to gauge what percentage of students with disabilities at each grade level is performing to the corresponding benchmark.
Single grade across several years
A school principal may what to determine whether a newly adopted sixth-grade curriculum is effective
Multiple groups in multiple years
a school principal may want to compare students who have exited from special education within the past year to those students with disabilities who continue to receive special education services.
Understand Challenges When Comparing Data
not clearly differentiate scores of students with disabilites
not differentiate scores of students who take the test with accommodations versus students who take an alternate assessment
Aggregate - or include - the scores from tests taken with "non approved" accommodations with standard test scores
not report scores of tests taken with nonstandard accommodations and not indicate that they are not reporting them
Make Improvements
school improvement plans should use performance data that have been disaggregated - that is, separated by group - to address the specific needs of students with disabilities
improvement plans shouldn't include measures that negatively affect instruction for students, such as the narrowing of the curriculum, drill and practice exercises, or other short-term approaches to improving long-term student learning.
keep in mind that the principal is the role model for instruction and curriculum and assessment for the school. The principal's attitudes and beliefs will affect assessment and instruction for the entire school. Keep a positive attitude, focus on what students need in order to be successful, and understand that change may take time
Modifications
cautions in using modifications
"dumb down" the curriculum by taking away the difficult tasks and altering what students are expected to learn
reeducate a student's opportunity to learn the critical knowledge, skills, and concepts in certain subject areas
provide off grade-level material that can interfere with the curriculum sequencing strategy and later result in the student's having even greater gaps in prior knowledge
put the student at a great disadvantage on assessments, which may have significant consequences for students as well as for schools
Legal Standards
A statement of the child's present levels of educational performance, including how the child's disability affects his other involvement in the general curriculum
Measurable annual goals related to meeting the child's needs
Descriptions of modifications or supports that the child will need to:
Advance toward attaining the annual goals
progress in the general curriculum
participate in extracurricular or other nonacademic activities
participate in activities with other children with and without disabilities
Using the Curriculum
Intended curriculum
Makes up the official curriculum of a state or school district
often the form of graduation
contains content that students are expected to learn
linked directly to assessments
Keep in mind, for students with disabilities
the state makes the intended curriculum more immediate and specific for the student
legal goals and objectives should supplement and support the intended curriculum but not replace it
taught curriculum
includes all aspects of activities in the classroom, such as:
lessons and activities
the teacher's instructional behaviors
classroom rules
materials
keep in mind, for students with disabilities
too often, the IEP becomes the tight curriculum. This limits the student's entire educational program to specific goals and objectives written into the IEP
teachers should aim for learning that is broader than the IEP and is connected to larger, more foldable contexts
learned curriculum
What students actually learn as a result of in the classroom:
inducted additional information that may or may not be part of the intended or taught curricula (such asa negative attitude about math)
keep in mind, for students with disabilities
assessments often show that students haven't learned what the teacher intended them to learn. The learned curriculum may include inaccuracies, misconceptions, and incomplete information
a child's success depends on the teacher's ability to match specific instructional strategies with the content. More complex information, which involves higher-order thinking, requires different types of instruction
Legal Requirements
children with disabilities must be included in assessment programs with accommodations, as needed
states and local districts should develop guidelines for alternate assessments for students with disabilities who cannot participate in general assessments
the performance of students with disabilities on assessments must be reported along with that of their peers
Accommodations
there are many instances in which students would benefit form accommodations. These include:
students with motor, sensory, or information-processing deficits benefit from alternative acquisition tools such as sign language interpreters, Braille materials, and tape-recorded books
students with learning problems can be helped by content enhancements such as advanced organizers, diagrams, study guides, mnemonic devices, or peer-mediated instruction
students who have trouble expressing themselves due to sensory or motor deficits or language differences may benefit from having a scribe or from receiving additional time to complete their work