Despite challenges educators face when assessing needs of students with significant cognitive disabilities, providing a fair and accurate assessment of skills is crucial to a student's future success. Dismal outcomes for these students indicate the current transition planning process is weak and not appropriate. Research suggests meaningful…

As educators are increasingly called on to use data to inform improvement initiatives (and are being held accountable for doing so), there is a corresponding need for program leaders to monitor progress. Program monitoring--the systematic and continual observation and recording of key program aspects--can provide leaders with realistic assessments…

"Data Wise: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching and Learning" presents a clear and carefully tested blueprint for school leaders. It shows how examining test scores and other classroom data can become a catalyst for important schoolwide conversations that will enhance schools' abilities to capture…