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General Education Curriculum - Coggle Diagram
General Education Curriculum
some data systems are capable of producing more useful data than others. Systems that are limited in the amount of information they contain (for example, type of disability) will make the process of analyzing a given school’s performance more difficult. Data from assessments should always be interpreted carefully,
Analyzing Data
First
Look for expected results.
Look for unexpected results.
Examine the errors made by significant numbers of students.
Second
Recognize that most states and districts report only two elements required by law.
Identify the number of students with disabilities who took standardized tests.
Examine performance scores of students with disabilities.
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.
An important part of interpreting data is to determine the relative effectiveness of school improvement efforts by comparing scores. A school attempting to raise math scores among its students with disabilities will find that there are several methods of comparing those scores at the basic level of performance.
Common Issues with comparing data
Not clearly differentiate scores of students with disabilities
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 “nonapproved” accommodations with standard test scores
Not report scores of tests taken with nonstandard accommodations and not indicate that they are not reporting them
Caution must be used when interpreting data for groups. When the highest performing students in special education move to general education and the lowest performing students in general education move to special education, the performance of special education students appears to not improve over time. It is important to keep track of mobility in and out of special education and to look at data in a number of ways.
The problem of interpreting data for small groups of students can be somewhat alleviated by conducting additional assessments,
How to 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 should not 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. For students with disabilities, in particular, a narrowed scope of instruction has resulted in low expectations for 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.
Remember, the law says...
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. Click here to view each state’s accommodations policies for students with disabilities.
The performance of students with disabilities on assessments must be reported along with that of their peers.
An accommodation is a service or support that helps a student to fully access the subject matter and instruction, and to accurately demonstrate what he or she knows related to the child’s disability across all of the general education curriculum.
Examples of alternate assessments
Student reading records
Math samples
Student projects or products
Notes from parents, teachers, specialists, and classmates
Teacher data, including charts and graphs
Other tests, which are referred to as performance events