In the unit on inclusion, you learned that IDEA requires that all students have access to general curriculum. It also says that schools are accountable to show that students with disabilities are actually learning. It says that if a State uses a test or other technique (like our CATS test here in Kentucky) to assess the progress of students without disabilities, then students with disabilities must also take part in these assessments. The law does provide that students with disabilities can use any accommodation that is a regular part of their program during the assessment test. It also acknowledges that some students with severe disabilities cannot participate in the regular assessment, even with accommodations. In these cases, the law requires the state to design an “alternate assessment” to evaluate the effectiveness of the instruction that these students are receiving. In writing this part of the law, Congress was influenced by a program of alternate assessment that started here in Kentucky! Within Kentucky’s alternate assessment, students with significant disabilities create portfolios of their work just like you develop a writing portfolio. These portfolios are very different, however, than the writing portfolios that you complete. A portfolio for a student with s amoderate to severe disability is referred to as an Alternate Portfolio. Alternate Portfolios ensure that students with significant disabilities are represented in the school accountability system, provide a way to measure progress on student outcomes, encourage student choice and decision-making in their learning and evaluation of their work, and build support for meaningful participation in the regular education curriculum.
The student,
or a peer, can write the table of contents and the letter to the reviewer.
They student can dictate to a peer, who can then write it for the
student. These entries can be pictorial or they can be audio taped.
The following page offers an example of a pictorial table of contents. Alternate Assessment and Student SchedulesIt is very important for us to plan our days. We all use some form of schedule to keep us on task. Many people use a planner to keep track of the things we need to do. Most of us think about our day and what we are going to do without writing it down. For students with disabilities, it is important for them to be able to plan their day so that they will know what to expect.
Each portfoio is scored according to six dimensions: standards, performance, settings, support, social relationships, and self-determination. These dimensions reflect what is considered to be best practice in educating students with significant disabilities. The standards dimension includes the academic expectations that all students are expected to know. The more academic expectations that are evidenced through student work, the higher the score. In the performance dimension, a targeted skill must be identified for each entry, and progress must be shown on that skill. This progress may be demonstrated in the form of a chart or graph. All of the materials in each entry must also be age-appropriate. For the settings dimension, there must be evidence that the student attends regular classes with non-disabled peers. Other settings may include other areas in the school or community, but those settings must be with other students without disabilities. For the support dimension, there must be evidence of peer tutor support or natural support. Natural support comes from a regular education teacher or a peer who is working on the same content. Peer tutor support can become natural support when the students involved are working together on equally challenging activities. These activities may include working on homework together or going to the library to look for materials. Adaptations to the regular curriculum must be evidenced, as well as the assistive technology that the student uses. The social relationships dimension shows that the student with a disability has regular opportunities for interactions with peers who are non-disabled and among a social network of friends who choose to spend time together. Peer tutoring can lead to the development of a social network of friends who choose to spend time together outside of school. Letters from a peer describing how they spend time together, possibly going to the movies or out to eat, could evidence this social network. The last dimension, self-determination, has to do with students’ choice, planning, monitoring, and evaluating their learning. They must also use their evaluations to improve their performance the next time they go to a particular setting.
(MISSING GRAPH) As a peer tutor, you may assist a student with his or her portfolio. You may also attend classes with a student who is working on an Alternate Portfolio. Now you know a little about Alternate Portfolios. If you would like to see what a complete portfolio looks like, ask your teacher about them. |