New York University
Steinhardt School of Culture Education and Human Development
Department of Teaching and Learning
Programs in Special Education
SPCED – UE 1035; Classroom Assessment - Spring 2015
WELCOME TO THE CLASS!!
Instructor: Joan Rosenberg, Ed.D
Office: East Building Room 508
Phone: 212- 998-5554
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Mondays 9:00 – 10:00 am, Tuesdays 9:00 – 10 am, Wednesdays 10:00 – 11 am or by
appointment
Meeting Time and Place: Mondays 3:30 – 5:10 pm 194 Mercer Room 206
Required Texts:
Overton, T.( 2012) Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An applied approach ( 7th ed) Boston, MA;
Pearson
Willingham, Daniel T. Why Don’t Students Like School? San Francisco, CA. Jossey- Bass
Recommended Texts
Hosp. M.K. J.L.& Howell, K.W. ( 2007 ) The ABC’s of CBM; A practical guide to Curriculum-based
measurement, New York, Guilford
Rathvon, N. (2008) Effective School Interventions: Strategies for enhancing academic achievement an
social competence ( 2nd ed.) New York; The Guilford Press.
Course Description
This undergraduate course focusses primarily on the understanding and the implementation of specific
and meaningful assessments in elementary grades. The process of assessment is examined in order to
delineate the important decisions that are made for students who are at risk and require special
education services. We will explore models of classroom based assessment and interventions for
students with disabilities within the general education classroom. Students must be student teaching
in a special education setting concurrent to completing this course and/or have access to the student’s
Individual Education Plan.
Course Overview:
We will look at evaluation of student progress using problem solving techniques which lead to
intervention strategies in the classroom, curriculum standards, developmental guidelines, screening,
legal and ethical issues, along with basic considerations in psychological and educational assessments.
The coursework is designed to familiarize students with the assessment procedures as outlined in IDEA
and as they apply to individualized educational assessment and planning. Various assessments will be
analyzed such as high-stakes testing, achievement tests, psychological evaluations, student portfolios,
School Based Support Team evaluations, IEP evaluations as well as types of informal classroom
evaluations. Students will review case studies, literature and research to support their developing
knowledge of various assessments. Students will be able to evaluate, testing results and apply the
knowledge to design instructional strategies for all learners.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course students will have the skills and knowledge to:
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Participate in the special education process, including implementing evidence-based pre-referral
and secondary interventions, working collaboratively with families, colleagues and other
professionals to meet the needs of students with special needs, and working within
collaborative teaching models
Create instructional strategies that are responsive to the various characteristics of struggling
learners
Develop instructional plans that differentiate instruction by using a range of data including
formal and informal assessments, observations and inventories
Use a problem-solving approach to identify and respond to the needs of exceptional children,
including the ability to read and incorporate scientific literature
Course Requirements
1. Readings, Class Activities, Participation and Written Reflections ( 10% ) Students are expected
to be active participants in the learning process through attendance and participation in class
activities. You are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the facts, concepts and
theories presented in the course, to think critically and creatively about the material covered,
and to be prepared to share ideas and insights during class. Your participation will be evaluated
at each session.
2. Assessment Assignment – Project ( 35%) This project will help you to learn how to administer
and score assessments to both guide your instruction and make recommendations regarding
special education eligibility. The final assignment will provide you with opportunities to collect,
interpret, report data and plan instruction and interventions based on this information. Note:
This assignment will require observations and administering assessments at your student
teaching placement.
3. Mid-term Exam ( 25% ) The mid-term exam will assess your understanding of the material
covered in the readings and lectures as well as the application of this information. Note: The
exam must be taken in class on the day it is scheduled unless you have made prior
arrangements with me.
4. Final Exam ( 30% ) The final exam will assess your understanding of material covered in the
readings and lectures as well as application of this information. Details will be distributed in
class.
Additional Comments:
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Please let me know if you need any special accommodations to enable you to fully participate in
this course. I will respect the confidentiality of the information that you share with me. Any
student attending NYU who needs an accommodation due to a chronic, psychological, visual,
mobility and/or learning disability, or is Deaf or Hard of Hearing should register with the Moses
Center for Students with Disabilities at 212-998-4980, 240 Greene Street, www.nyu.edu/csd.
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The course will utilize a variety of instructional formats including lectures, discussions and group
work. The quality of the learning experience will be primarily affected by student preparation
prior to the class meeting. In other words, although some straight lecturing is inevitable, it is up
to you to make this class work.
Some general tips:
Collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking and writing is valued.
Do your readings… They provide a common ground upon which to base our instruction.
Form your own opinions! Debates and different opinions are welcome and encouraged!
Course Project: This class project is designed to help you develop and practice the skills you will need as
a Special Educator, to provide appropriate evaluations and instruction to ALL students using assessment
data and effective teaching practices. This project will help you to:
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Develop and apply knowledge of the varied needs of the learners.
Consider research and theory about learners with varied needs and are best supported to learn.
Develop knowledge and skills using individual education plan goals, content standards and ongoing assessment to select instructional objectives and learning targets.
Provide individualized instruction, small group instruction, and instructional performance
adaptations and accommodations.
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Attend to generalization and maintenance of newly learned knowledge and skills.
Reflect on and analyze evidence of instruction and other supports on individual learning and be
able to use this information for future instruction, planning and selection of instructional
content and interventions.
CLASS PROJECT OVERVIEW:
You will construct an assessment plan and an evaluation for one student ( focus learner ) with an
Individual Education Plan ( IEP ). You will discuss WHY you have selected the student and WHY you are
selecting specific assessments. What is the EVIDENCE that you have gathered that helps you to make
the decisions as to how to assess the student? Describe the specific assessment plan that you have
chosen in order to evaluate and understand the cognitive and behavioral needs of the student. You will
assess and analyze the learner’s performance and describe the FEEDBACK that you will give to the
student in order to guide and motivate the learner based on your assessments.
You will provide the EVIDENCE of needs for improvements, and the strengths of the student.
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Planning stage (observations, interviews, etc.)
Artifacts as to how you planned for and assessed your student, copies of instructional and
assessment materials or data collection procedures.
Include a work sample from the focus learner
Summative assessment concluding with a self- analysis and evaluation of your results.
You will develop two learning targets for your student.
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One learning target should be in the area of language development
One learning target can be in another curricula area representing a skill needed by the learner to
support access to instruction or to demonstrate learning. Curricular areas for the second
learning target include academics ( including functional academics) independence
( functional/adaptive) learning strategies or social skills
The learning targets and your assessments should be related to the learner’s IEP (Individual
Education Plan) to which you MUST have access. (See me immediately if this is presenting a
problem! )
Your assessments should be aligned to relevant academic or non/academic standards and /or
goals/ benchmarks specified in the learner’s IEP. What are you trying to find out?
Keep in mind the appropriate adaptations necessary for the student. What kinds of assessments
are necessary to give you a complete and fair evaluation?
PART 1: PLANNING - Outline your plan for assessment and instruction - Discuss why the assessment is
appropriate for your focus learner.
Based on the assessments you will then describe how your assessments drive your instruction.
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What do I want the student to be able to do? What will the student accomplish?
What does the student know now? What does the student have to know in order to understand
the content of the instruction? What is the prior knowledge that is required?
What knowledge or skill does s/he need to develop within the learning segment?
What instructional strategies, interventions, and or activities have you designed to support and
access the learning and curriculum related language/ communication?
How will you monitor and record the focus learner’s progress toward the objectives of the
lesson?
How is the teaching you propose influenced by your knowledge of your focus learner?
What current research is available to help you make appropriate decisions about assessment/
instruction/ interventions and best practices?
What to do to get started
1. Select your focus learner
2. Plan to do some informal observations: look at behavior, health assessments, review of school
history and data – Review the IEP/ ARIS/ Interviews
3. Determine one learning target you have chosen from the IEP
4. Determine the learning target in another curricular area representing a skill needed by the focus
learner – Discuss how you have made that decision… on what have you based your decision?
REMEMBER - to choose the learning targets and the assessments and RELATE them to the IEP
goals. Determine what is the benchmark outcome expected of the students of that grade or age.
GRADING
A ( 93-100 ) Demonstrates exceptional breadth and depth of understanding of the subject matter,
demonstrates proficient use of existing research literature and exceptional analytic and critical thinking
skills; articulates ideas very well in both oral and written form; consistently makes strong explicit
connections between theory and practice, shows a high degree of creativity and personal engagement
with the topic, can substantiate opinions and develops individual ideas.
A- ( 90- 92 ) An A- paper or assignment meets all of the criteria listed above, but may have
proofreading errors and may slightly fall short of the criteria.
B+ ( 87 – 89 ) B (83-86 ) B- ( 80 – 82 ) Demonstrates good breadth and depth of understanding
of the subject matter, demonstrates good use of existing literature and research discussed in class.
Exhibits strong analytical and critical thinking skills; articulates ideas well in both oral and written form;
makes strong connections between theory and practice; shows some degree of creativity and personal
engagement with the topic. A paper or assignment that is graded ‘B’ is well organized, presents and is
supported by worthwhile evidence of opinions and is presented in a neat and orderly fashion. The
sentences must be clear and organized around a specific idea. The B paper or assignment is
mechanically correct using correct spelling and accurate grammar. The B- paper or assignment would
be missing one or two of the elements listed above.
C+ ( 77-79 ), C ( 73-76) C- (70-72 ) Demonstrates adequate breadth and depths of understanding of
the subject matter, demonstrates some ability to use existing research literature in simple ways, and
some indication of analytic and critical thinking skills; oral and written skills are adequate, occasionally
makes connections between theory and practice, but ideas need to be developed further; few creative
ideas and/or a low level of personal engagement with the topic. The C paper or assignment has a thesis,
however it is vague and broad. It does not advance an argument that anyone might care to debate. It
does not back up personal opinions with evidence. A paper or assignment with insufficient evidence is a
paper that will be graded ‘C’. The paper often has mechanical faults, and errors in grammar and
spelling.
D+ ( 65 – 69) D (60-64 ) F ( < 60 ) Unsatisfactory Papers or Assignment
A minimal understanding of the subject matter, minimal use of existing literature or research and
minimal indication of analytic and critical thinking skills, inadequate oral and written skills, minimal
connection between theory and practice, minimal indication of creative thinking skills and a low level of
personal engagement with the topic. The D or F assignment has no theses or it might be very vague, or
too broad. There is little indication that the writer understands the material presented. The paragraphs
do nor develop-p from sentence to sentence, and may repeat the same thoughts again and again. The D
or F assignment/ paper has many mechanical faults, errors in spelling and in grammar.
Academic Integrity
The following has been retrieved from NYU Steinhardt’s Policies and Procedures ( available from
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/policies/academicintegrity):
The relationship between students and faculty is the keystone of the educational experience in the
Steinhardt School at New York University. This relationship takes an honor code for granted. Mutual
trust, respect and responsibility are foundational requirements. Thus, how you learn is as important as
what you learn. A university education aims not only to produce high quality scholors, but also to
cultivate honorable citizens.
Academic Integrity is the guiding principle for all that you do; from taking exams, making oral
presentations to writing term papers. It requires that you recognize and acknowledge information
derived from others. And take credit only for ideas and work that are yours.
You violate the principle of academic integrity when you:
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Cheat on an exam
Submit the same work for two different courses without prior permission from your professor;
Receive help on a take-home examination that calls for independent work
Plagiarize
Plagiarism, one of the gravest forms of academic dishonesty in university life. Whether intended or not.
Is academic fraud. In a community of scholars, whose members are teaching, learning and discovering
knowledge, plagiarism cannot be tolerated.
Plagiarism is failure to properly assign authorship to a paper, an oral presentation, a musical score
and/or other materials which are not your original work. You plagiarize when without proper attribution
you do any of the following:
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Copy verbatim from a book, an article or other media;
Download documents from the internet;
Purchase documents;
Report from other’s oral work; paraphrase or restate someone else’s facts, analysis and/or
conclusions;
Copy directly from a classmate or allow a classmate to copy from you.
Your professors are responsible for helping you understand other people’s ideas, to use resources and
conscientiously acknowledge them, and to develop and clarify your own thinking. You should know what
constitutes good and honest scholarship, style guide preferences and formats for assignments for each
of your courses. Consult your Professors for help with problems related to fulfilling course assignments
including questions related to attribution of sources.
Through reading, writing and discussions you will undoubtedly acquire ideas from others, and exchange
ideas and opinions with others, including you classmates and professors. You will be expected, and
often required to build your own work based on that of other people. In so doing, you are expected to
credit those sources that have contributed to the development of your ideas.
Avoiding Academic Dishonesty
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Organize your time appropriately to avoid undue pressure, and acquire good study habits,
including note taking
Learn proper forms of citations. Always check with your Professors of record for their preferred
style guides. Directly copied material must always be in quotes; paraphrased material must be
acknowledged; even ideas and organization derived from your own previous work or another’s
work need to be acknowledged.
Always proof-read your completed work to be sure that quotation marks, footnotes and other
references were not inadvertently omitted. Know the source of each citation.
Do not submit the same work for more than one class without first obtaining the permission of
both Professors even if you believe that work you have already completed satisfies the
requirements of another assignment.
Save your notes and drafts of your assignments and papers as evidence of your original work.
Disciplinary Sanctions
When a Professor suspects cheating, plagiarism. And/or other forms of academic dishonesty,
appropriate disciplinary action may be taken following the Department procedure or through referral to
the Committee on Student Discipline.
Departmental Procedure
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The Professor will meet with the Student to discuss, and present evidence for the particular
violation. Giving the student the opportunity to refute or deny the charge(s).
If the Professor confirms the violation(s), he/she, in consultation with the Program Director
and Department Chair may take the following actions:
Allow the student to redo the assignment
Lower the grade for the work in question
Assign a grade of F for the work in question
Assign a grade of F for the course
Recommend dismissal from the University
Once the action(s) is taken, the Professor will inform the Program Director and Department Chair and
inform the student in writing, instructing the student to schedule an appointment with the Associate
Dean for Student Affairs, as a final step. Copies of the letter will be sent to the Department Chair for
his/her confidential file and to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. The student has the right to
appeal the action taken in accordance with the School’s Complaint Procedure as outlined in the
Steinhardt School Student’s Guide.
Referral to the Steinhardt Committee on Student Discipline
In cases when dismissal is recommended and in cases of repeated violations and/or unusual
circumstances, faculty may choose to refer the issue to the Committee on Student Discipline for
resolution which they may do through the Office of the Associate dean for Student Affairs.
The Steinhardt School statement on Academic Integrity is consistent with the New York University Policy
on Student Conduct, published in the NYU Student Guide.
CLASS SCHEDULE (subject to change )
Date
January 26
February 2
Topic
Introduction to the course
Introduction to Assessment
Foundations of Assessment
Types of Assessment
Key Terms & Learning Targets
Readings and Activities
February 9
Laws, Ethics and Issues
Reliability, Validity, & Bias
No Classes – President’s Day
Types of Assessments/ High
Stakes Testing
In Class Exam
Overton Chapters 3 &4
February 16
February 23
March 2
March 9
March 16 – 22 Spring Recess No
Classes
March 23
March 30
April 6
April 13
April 20
April 27
May 4
May 11
Curriculum-Based
Measurement
What is it?
Problem Solving
Maintaining
Informal
Assessment
measures
Overton – Chapter 5
Willingham Chapter 2 & 3
Overton Chapters 1-5
Willingham Chapters 1- 3
Overton – Chapters 6 - 7
of Handout/
7
Screening/
The assessment
Development Process
Ways to Elicit Performance
Measuring Intelligence / tests/
alternative ways of measuring
intelligence.. a look at the tests
Response
to Intervention/
Diagnostic Tests – Progress
Monitoring / Making Decisions
Implementing RTI - Grading –
Important Principles
Importance of Feedback/
Wrap –Up
Effective school based Practices
Have a wonderful vacation!
Overton Chapters 1 &2
Willingham – Chapter 1
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Overton Chapter 6-
Willingham Chapter 6
Willingham Chapter 7- 8- 9
Overton Chapter 9/ Handout
Review
of
psychological
assessment
Overton Chapter 9
Discussion of Willingham
TBD
Final Exam Due