Transcript Slide 1

Minnesota
Manual of Accommodations
for Students with Disabilities
Training Guide
Workshop Materials
Five steps guiding
accommodation decisions:
1. Expect students with disabilities to achieve
grade-level academic content standards.
2. Learn about accommodations for instruction.
3. Make decisions about accommodations for
assessment.
4. Administer accommodations during
instruction and assessment.
5. Evaluate and improve accommodation use.
Equal Inclusion in
Grade Level Content
• Every IEP team member familiar with MN
academic standards and accountability
systems at state and district level.
• Every IEP team member knows where to
locate MN academic standards and updates.
• Collaboration between general and special
educators must occur for successful student
access to grade level content.
STEP
1
Conditions for
High Expectations
1. Teachers qualified to teach content areas
and who know how to differentiate
instruction for diverse learners
2. IEPs that provide specialized instruction
(e.g., reading strategies, study skills)
3. Accommodations which increase access
to instruction and assessment
STEP
1
STEP
Include all students with disabilities
in state accountability assessments
• Assure the provision of accommodations
to facilitate student access to grade-level
instruction and state assessments
(MCA-IIs, GRAD, TEAE included for ELLs with Disabilities, etc.)
• Use of alternate assessments to assess
the achievement of students with the most
significant cognitive disabilities
(MTAS in reading and math)
1
STEP
What are accommodations?
Accommodations are practices or
procedures that provide inclusion in
content. They do not reduce learning
expectations.
(Modifications will be addressed later
in this step)
2
Decision-making for
Instructional Accommodations
STEP
2
Accommodation
Categories
Presentation - students may access
to information in alternate modes.
Response - students may complete work
in different ways
Timing and Scheduling - students have
flexibility in how time is organized to
complete work
Setting - students may have changes to
setting or conditions
STEP
2
Accommodations vs.
Modifications
Accommodations provide access
without reducing learning
expectations
Modifications can increase the
achievement gap by lowering
expectations for what students are
expected to know or do.
STEP
2
STEP
IEP Team Considerations
1. Student characteristics
2. Instructional tasks expected of
students to demonstrate grade level
content in state standards
3. Consistency with standards-based
IEP for classroom instruction and
assessments
2
STEP 3:
Making decisions
about assessment
accommodations
STEP
3
Accommodations and
Modifications on Assessments
• Accommodations do not change
what is being measured on a test.
• Modifications do change what is
being measured.
Decision-making for
Assessment Accommodations
STEP
3
STEP 4:
Administering
accommodations
during instruction and
assessment
STEP
Examples of appropriate and
inappropriate practices for instruction.
• Accommodations chosen in instruction
are very different from what is allowed on
assessments.
• Accommodation choices are made that
will provide the most seamless
experience between instruction and
assessment.
4
STEP
Examples of appropriate and
inappropriate practices for instruction.
• Accommodations chosen in instruction
are very different from what is allowed on
assessments.
• Accommodation choices are made that
will provide the most seamless
experience between instruction and
assessment.
4
More appropriate and
inappropriate practices...
• School level personnel are not aware of
the accommodation needs of students in
instruction.
• School level personnel track students’
ongoing accommodation use to best
ensure their needs for accommodations
on assessment days are met.*
STEP
4
STEP
4
Examples of appropriate and
inappropriate practices for Assessment
• Develop instructional objectives based on
the academic standards.
• Prepare instructional objectives or study
guides based on specific Minnesota test
items and teach accordingly.
STEP
More appropriate and
inappropriate practices...
• Encourage IEP teams to base
assessment decisions on what is typically
used for students with similar
characteristics.
• Base assessment decisions on individual
student needs.
4
STEP
Examples of ethical and
unethical accommodation
practices during the assessment
• Follow state guidelines on appropriate
accommodations that maintain test
validity for specific tests.
• Allow the use of notes or other materials
that give students an edge in answering
items.
4
STEP 5:
Evaluate and improve
accommodations use
STEP
5
Ways to collect information
• From classroom data
• Observations of test administration
• Interviews with test administrators
• Talking with students after testing
• And more...
Thank You