This text on the assessment of students with disabilities is divided into six major parts. Part 1, "Introduction to Assessment, Issues and Concerns," discusses the historical, philosophical, legal, practical and ethical bases of assessment and proposes an assessment model. Part 2, "Informal Procedures: Basic Tools for Teachers," includes chapters…

A project sought to improve mathematics instruction at the Winnebago Public School (WPS) on the Winnebago Indian Reservation (Nebraska) and to provide purposeful interactions between preservice teachers from Wayne State College and Native American children. WPS educators, grades K-6, improved their mathematics instructional ability by attending…

The concept of location is a first step in spatial thinking, one of the multiple intelligences and an historical and social science analysis skill listed in the California Academic Content Standards for History-Social Science. Based on what they learned in kindergarten and first grade about mapping their classroom and the playground, students…

This paper reports the findings of a study that explored the validity of curriculum-based measures of reading in order to develop a valid and practical instrument for regular education teachers as well as special education teachers in Korea. Participants in the study were 213 students from 7 elementary schools in Seoul, Korea. Of the total, 183…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the nation's only ongoing survey of what students know and can do in various academic subject areas. This report summarizes the results of the 1998 NAEP civics assessment for the nation. The results are based on an assessment of students at grade 4, grade 8, and grade 12. Students'…

The 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) civics assessment contained a combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Each student participating in the assessment received two 25-minute sections of questions. Most civics questions measured both knowledge and intellectual skills. In addition, some questions measured…

This article describes strategies for integrating alternate assessments into the context of ongoing instruction and for enabling students with disabilities to take a more active role in the construction and self-evaluation of their own assessments. Fourth-grade, seventh-grade, and middle school examples of integrating assessment and instruction…

Eighty-three students enrolled in general education classrooms and 62 Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in bilingual education classrooms were assessed in reading English three times a year using curriculum-based measurement. Fluency in Spanish passages was also assessed for Spanish-speaking ELLs in the bilingual education…

This paper presents a conceptual framework for organizing and relating the many confusing concepts associated with continuous assessment (CA) practices. Curriculum-based criterion-referenced CA is shown to have two major components: formative and summative assessment of student learning. The nature of these components and their interrelationships…

This practicum implemented a resource/consultative model in place of a pullout model that was failing to meet the needs of second grade students with specific learning disabilities (SLD), at-risk students, and regular and special educators. The practicum involved conducting team meetings, increasing faculty awareness, and implementing…

This paper reports on the findings of a longitudinal study that investigated the trends in reading growth for 49 elementary students with severe reading difficulties. The students received special education services in a large Midwestern city in which curriculum-based measurement (CBM) procedures were implemented fully. The study began when the…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a 3-year federally supported project that provided 326 students, ages 18-21, with developmental disabilities employment training through five community colleges and three K-12 system adult education systems. Program sites were in California, Iowa, Ohio, and North Carolina. The program…

A major commitment of the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD) has been to work with school sites that are implementing RTI. The work with these schools began in November 2002 after the U.S. Department of Education requested that NRCLD identify, describe, and evaluate the implementation of responsiveness to intervention (RTI)…

Examines forces that shape the design of assessment systems for teachers and some inherent contradictions with regard to curriculum and assessment. Proposes a system of assessment that is continuous, dynamic, and principled and does not remove from teachers the responsibility of defining what is important to student learning. (SD)

This article considers current educational trends that may undermine the service delivery system for individuals with severe learning disabilities, including influence of terminology, teacher-training models, full inclusion, curriculum-based assessment, reliance on quantitative decision making, adherence to singular teaching methodologies, and…