Current Projects
District of Columbia Comprehensive Alternate Assessment System
The DC OSSE CAS-Alt (formerly the Alternate Assessment for Special Education) is a portfolio assessment that measures the academic progress of students for whom traditional assessment measures would be inappropriate. It is designed for students who have significant cognitive challenges as outlined in the CAS-Alt participation guidelines and criteria. The original CAS-Alt was first administered in 2001. The currently administered CAS-Alt has been revised based on curriculum-linked alternate achievement standards, and represents a multidisciplinary approach to student learning and progress.
The CAS-Alt portfolio format demonstrates that students taking the CAS-Alt have high-quality daily instruction that reflects grade-level content standards. Evidence for the portfolio is collected throughout the school year as part of instruction to show progress over time. The portfolio format also fits with the underlying philosophy and goals of DC OSSE due to the system-wide focus on accountability.
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Kentucky Alternate Assessment Program
The Kentucky Alternate Assessment Program (KAAP) was developed in 1990 as a result of the Kentucky Reform Act of 1990 to provide schools and programs with a valid and reliable means of assessing the instruction provided to students with moderate and significant disabilities (i.e., for the less than 1% of the total student population for whom traditional assessments would be an inappropriate measure of progress). The program modification in 2006-2007 revised the portfolio process and added the Attainment Tasks and the Transition Attainment Record to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 amendments.
KAAP is based upon three components: Alternate Portfolio, Attainment Tasks (AT), and Transition Attainment Record (TAR). All components play very vital roles in the assessment of the individual student and are included in the school's overall Accountability Index. To learn more about KAAP, visit their website.
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Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center (Gallaudet University)
The Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University provides education for students pre-kindergarten through high school. The Center includes two schools: the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES) and Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD). The renewal of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (2008) (P.L. 110-315) provided KDES and MSSD with the power to build a school-wide accountability model as well as align with state standards. ILSSA is currently working with the KDES, MSSD, and edCount to provide professional development to those who are helping students who are deaf and hard of hearing to meet grade level standards. In addition, ILSSA is providing technical assistance in building a responsive curriculum and accountability model.
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National Alternate Assessment Center (NAAC)
The National Alternate Assessment Center (NAAC) is a five year project funded under the United States Department of Education , Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) . The primary objectives of NAAC are to bring together and build on high quality, technically sound alternate assessments, demonstrate through selected partner states high quality design and administration of all types of alternate assessments, and provide technical assistance through high quality dissemination practices. NAAC functions in collaboration with the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) , the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) , CAST , the University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne (UIUC) , and the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment (NCIEA)
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NCSeT KY ETEXT Implementation Project
The purpose of the NCSeT KY ETEXT study is to increase student access to the general curriculum through increased availability and use of ETEXT technology with the anticipated outcome of gains in reading comprehension and student achievement. Use of ETEXT to support student access to the general curriculum in Kentucky and nationwide has not reached meaningful implementation levels sufficient to have measured impact on student performance. This is evident in the recent data from the project. In this study, Read & Write Gold (RWG) usage data was collected electronically from 23 Kentucky schools for approximately 400 students for the last two school years (06/07 & 07/08) on student frequency and duration of use of the text reader software. Analysis of this data indicates students were using the software an average of 63 minutes per month per student in 06-07 and 54 minutes per month per student in 07-08. These statistics indicate a need for a systematic school-wide model of implementation of ETEXT with text reader software across the general curriculum.
The implementation model used for this project is the one put forth by CITEd and HIRN . The stages of implementation laid out by HIRN are: 1) Exploration and Adoption, 2) Program Installation, 3) Initial Implementation, 4) Full Implementation, 5) Innovation, and 6) Sustainability.
Data collected from the KY ETEXT/RWG usage data shows that out of the 23 KY schools submitting RWG usage data, Shelby County Schools has emerged as one of the current leaders in Kentucky in frequency and use of RWG/ETEXT with large numbers of students. Based on data collected from the KY ETEXT/RWG usage data, Shelby County East Middle School may have accomplished significant aspects of the first two phases of Exploration and Installation, and can likely move through the next stage of Initial Implementation and on into Full Implementation.
This project plans to document Shelby County East Middle’s completion of the first two stages of implementation (Exploration/Adoption and Program Installation) and then to assist Shelby County East Middle in full completion of Initial Implementation on into the next level of Full Implementation. Shelby West Middle School will be used as a control group with non-intervention.
Project evaluation will consist of both process and outcome measures. Process measures will include documentation of the proceedings and activities that accompany the previously mentioned steps to implementation. Outcome measures will include but not necessarily be limited to: 1) Read & Write Gold Student Usage Data Tracking ;2) Digital Text Made Available for Access to the General Curriculum; 3) Student Performance on State Assessment Across Content Areas; 4) Control vs. Intervention Group Measures.
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New Jersey Alternate Proficiency Assessment
ILSSA has been working with the New Jersey State Department of Education (NJDOE) since 2001. Throughout our partnership with New Jersey, as well as their testing contractors, ILSSA has provided technical assistance and professional development on a range of topics, from all aspects of the implementation of the New Jersey Alternate Proficiency Assessment , to research based practices and access to the general curriculum. Beginning in the summer of 2007, ILSSA worked closely with New Jersey on the revision of the NJAPA through the development of an up-front alignment design, redesign of the rubric, standard setting, and increasing the standardization of the assessment items. We also worked closely with New Jersey educators on providing training and support to teachers on examples of standards based instruction to better meet the requirements of the revised portfolio assessment.
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Pacific Assessment Consortium
The Pacific Assessment Consortium (PAC6) aims to build local capacity of six Pacific Basin entities — American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau — to accurately report the participation and performance of students with disabilities in each entity's inclusive assessment system. Guam CEDDERS, University of Guam leads the GSEG and partners with ILSSA, NCEO, WRRC, and NAAC.
ILSSA has conducted 4 weeklong institutes and a 3 day cadre training involving representatives from the 6 entities as a part of ongoing project involvement since January 2007. These institutes and cadre trainings have been focused on assessment and instruction and have been held in Guam, Pohnpei, and Palau. ILSSA also provides onsite technical assistance to Federated States of Micronesia, American Samoa, The Commonwealth of
Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.
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Project SMART
Project SMART (Supported Math Accessibility Reading Tool) is studying approaches to extending the use of assistive technology to read aloud the content of computer-based math materials to middle school students. Project SMART is a two year (10/01/07-9/30/09) federal grant aimed at using a combination of technologies to improve the math skills of middle students with disabilities.
Complex middle school math content is being made available in an electronically readable format (i.e., MathML) to support the learning needs of students with disabilities. The successful computerized reading of complex math content is the result of project partners, Design Science and Texthelp, Inc., working together to assure integration of Read & Write Gold 8.1 text reader software with MathPlayer to support computerized reading of complex math equations and expressions by students from two Kentucky middle schools.
Notable progress has been made to date on at least two fronts. First, by the successful development and integration of the different technologies necessary for students to successfully read the digital math files, and secondly through the opportunity to begin to evaluate the operational process and instructional benefits of use of the digital math content by 8th grade students with disabilities.
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Puerto Rico
ILSSA began work in Puerto Rico in 2005. Working with Spanish translators, ILSSA staff collaborated with teachers and administrators to define a vision for the redesign of their alternate assessment, review and specify grade level content expectations to be assessed, and develop the test design and scoring materials. The new assessment was piloted in the spring of 2005 and full implementation started in the fall of 2005. A Teacher’s Guide for the Alternate Assessment was written, and staff prepared all of the necessary teacher training materials and agendas. In addition, ILSSA acted as an onsite consultant during 16 teacher trainings each year in October and November. Trainings were held throughout Puerto Rico for 1,386 teachers to learn how to conduct the alternate assessment. ILSSA staff also acted as consultants for a 3-day district-level training in January/February in which the training materials were presented in Spanish. ILSSA staff continues to provide technical assistance to teachers by working with the 800 number call center and responding to questions for the Department.
In 2008, ILSSA staff, responding to the Puerto Rico Department of Education’s request, redesigned the alternate assessment to link to the new content standards and comply with federal regulations. Staff developed the materials and conducted a Content Mapping for all assessed grades and content areas. With ILSSA’s assistance, general and special educators developed a prioritized list of grade level expectations, activities for each expectation from the general education classroom and modification/adaptation suggestions for the activity. The material generated from that 4-day work session was written into a Teacher’s Resource Guide. For the revised alternate assessment, ILSSA staff developed new test design requirements, as well as a Teacher’s Guide to explain those new contents and the training materials needed. Staff currently provides onsite consultation for range-finding and scoring centers, in which approximately 2,025 portfolios are scored by trained bi-lingual scorers.
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