Improving Test Performance of Students With Disabilities: ...On District and State Assessments - Softcover

Elliott, Judy L.; Thurlow, Martha L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0761975594 ISBN 13: 9780761975595

Publisher: Corwin, 2000

Synopsis

"Finally, Elliott and Thurlow deliver on the major missing piece in two decades of school reform rhetoric in America – real accountability includes measuring the performance of disabled students also. This book is a landmark "how to" on getting at this important educational policy issue. Must reading for all those who care about "all" kids."
Carl A. Cohn, Superintendent of Schools
Long Beach Unified School District California

"This book is by far the most comprehensive effort at dealing with the real issues about how students with disabilities can benefit from raising standards. It will take the reader beyond the emotional arguments to solid strategies for instruction and assessment that are practical and clear for teachers, parents and administrators."
Larry C. Gloecker, Deputy Commissioner
Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities

A step-by-step approach that improves student learning!

Amendments added to the 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandated that districts and states include students with disabilities in state and district-wide assessments, and report on their performance. In Improving Test Performance of Students With Disabilities, Elliott and Thurlow, nationally recognized assessment experts in the field of special education, outline how schools can improve student test performance, and improve learning as a result.

Emphasizing practical application, the authors move step-by-step through different approaches to improving the performance of students with disabilities, providing:

• An exploration of standards-based instruction for students with disabilities
• Strategies for making right decisions in specific situations
• Tips for accurate and effective documentation
• Checklists, worksheets, and fact sheets for tracking student progress and improving performance
• A valuable professional development resource section with real-world activities
• Key points about assessment, decision-making, and instruction
• Topic-specific Internet sites
• National and regional networks for technical assistance and resource dissemination

All district and school professionals, including IEP teams and teachers, will find this an essential resource for helping students improve learning, and benefit from their inclusion in assessment and accountability systems.

About this title

About the Author

Martha L. Thurlow, Ph.D., is Director of the National Center on Educational Outcomes in the Institute on Community Integration (University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities) at the University of Minnesota. In this position, she addresses the implications of contemporary U.S. policy and practice for students with disabilities and English Language Learners, including national and statewide assessment policies and practices, standards-setting efforts, and graduation requirements. Dr. Thurlow has conducted research for the past 35 years in a variety of areas, including assessment and decision making, learning disabilities, early childhood education, dropout prevention, effective classroom instruction, and integration of students with disabilities in general education settings. She has published extensively on all of these topics, and also recently completed serving as co-Editor with Bob Algozzine of Exceptional Children, the research journal of the Council for Exceptional Children. Dr. Thurlow is a co-author of several books, including Testing Students with Disabilities, Improving Test Performance of Students with Disabilities, Alternate Assessments for Students with Disabilities, and Critical Issues in Special Education. Dr. Thurlow was one of the original developers of the dropout prevention program Check and Connect, which was empirically tested, and replicated in several settings. She is the author of numerous reports, journal articles and chapters on the topic of dropouts and dropout prevention, and also addresses the dropout problem within the current context of federal legislation, high stakes testing, and standards-based education.

Edition details

• Publisher: Corwin
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0761975594
• ISBN 13: 9780761975595
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 360