Students with significant cognitive disabilities present an assessment dilemma that centers on access and validity in large-scale testing programs. Typically, access is improved by eliminating construct-irrelevant barriers, while validity is improved, in part, through test standardization. In this article, one state's alternate assessment data…

Recent studies have raised concerns about the vagueness of alternate assessment eligibility guidelines, specifically, that students with mild disabilities (SWMD) have been inappropriately assigned to alternate assessment--alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). In this study, special education teachers (N = 317) were surveyed about SWMD in…

Federal and state policies require all students with significant cognitive disabilities to participate in state assessments and be included in measures of adequate yearly progress. Although these alternate assessments of grade-level content based on alternate achievement standards have been in place for several years, little is known about the…

Instructional time use is an intervention without equal. The measure of such has clear and important implications for special education practice and research. Although exhortations to maximize instruction and thereby student engagement exist throughout the literature, few studies discuss how special education teachers use their time, and none…

Students with significant disabilities must participate in large-scale assessments, often using an alternate assessment judged against alternate achievement standards. The development and administration of this type of assessment must necessarily balance meaningful participation with accurate measurement. In this study, generalizability theory is…

The authors report on a mixed-methods review of 24 studies that explores the predictive validity of dynamic assessment (DA). For 15 of the studies, they conducted quantitative analyses using Pearson's correlation coefficients. They descriptively examined the remaining studies to determine if their results were consistent with findings from the…

Discussed are the relative merits of two currently popular models of assessing children--the ability assessment and task analysis models. (CL)

A rationale is presented for evaluation of effective educational practices for mildly handicapped students in all mainstreamed classes, followed by discussions of mainstreaming evaluations that have been conducted. Areas of relevant research are also presented. Finally, a model of an effective evaluation system is offered. (Author/KM)

A comprehensive three-level program evaluation plan assesses overall impact of early intervention programs through assessment of children's progress toward developmental milestones; quarterly child progress through administration of a program-relevant, criterion-referenced tool; and weekly child progress toward specific instructional objectives by…

Process assessment is offered as an alternative frame of reference for conducting psychoeducational assessment. The research base is presented, as well as a specific model that focuses assessment on the characteristics of the task, the child, and the setting, as well as the interactions among three factors. (Author/CL)

The meta analysis explored how measuring special education student progress toward long-term vs. short-term goals affects achievement outcomes. Results indicated that when progress toward long-term goals was measured, unbiased effect sizes were higher than on probelike outcomes; when progress toward short-term goals was measured, the reverse was…

Preliminary research suggests that the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) may be useful in identifying a variety of special needs in preschoolers, specific language disorders, and giftedness. Additional measures (such as measures of visual motor performance) may be appropriate in conjunction with the K-ABC. (CL)

The paper addresses teacher-judgement measures of pupil behaviors, aptitudes, and achievement levels. Analyses relating to reliability and validity of the measures are reviewed. Conclusions are drawn regarding psychometric properties of these judgment measures, suggestions regarding future research on the measures, and statements about their place…

The utility of the procedures special educators apply in making decisions about the identification of handicapped individuals has not been thoroughly studied. The paper examines the utility of diagnostic decision making from the perspective of receiver operating curve analysis. (Author)