Teachers' and parents' importance ratings of social behaviors for 95 preschoolers were examined using the "Social Skills Improvement System-Rating Scales" (Gresham & Elliott, 2008). Multivariate analyses were used to examine parents' and teachers' importance ratings at the item and subscale levels. Overall,…

Motivated by the multiple-measures clause of recent federal policy regarding student eligibility for alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MASs), this study examined how scores or combinations of scores from a diverse set of assessments predicted students' end-of-year proficiency status on statewide…

We describe the concept of a dynamic instructional practices portfolio to evaluate special education teachers. This portfolio features the My Instructional Learning Opportunities Guidance System (MyiLOGS) as the core component. MyiLOGS is an online, daily self-report measure of opportunity to learn (OTL) that provides detailed information on…

Current legislation encourages schools to educate students with disabilities (SWDs) in general education settings to the greatest extent appropriate. However, it is unclear whether inclusion in general education settings provides SWDs a sufficient opportunity to learn the academic content assessed by accountability measures. This initial study was…

The term "intervention validity" refers to the extent to which assessment results can be used to guide the selection of interventions and evaluation of outcomes. In this article, the authors review the defining attributes of rating scales that distinguish them from other assessment tools, assumptions regarding the use of rating scales to measure…

The inclusion of students with disabilities in large-scale assessments, typically by using testing accommodations, for statewide accountability systems became a legal reality with the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1997, and the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002. These legal mandates and best…

This study examined the effects of testing accommodations on the mathematics and reading test scores of a sample of 119 fourth graders and 78 eighth graders. The sample included 49 fourth-grade students diagnosed with a disability and 39 eighth-grade students diagnosed with a disability. All students were tested under two conditions (i.e.,…

This study examined student, parent, and teacher perceptions of the use of testing accommodations and the relationship between student perceptions of testing accommodations and their disability status and grade level. Students with and without disabilities completed math and reading achievement tests with and without accommodations. Students,…

Despite policy mandates to include students with disabilities in educational assessment and accountability programs, current practices suggest a substantial lack of capacity for effective inclusion. Continuing professional development (CPD) is an essential component of disseminating and implementing effective inclusion practices. Recent reviews of…