Category » Instruction

• A framework for developing high-quality english language proficiency standards and assessments

  1/1/08 - Southeast Comprehensive Center,

  Edynn Sato, PhD, director, WestEd Assessment and Accountability Comprehensive Center, discusses the framework for creating high-quality English language proficiency (ELP) standards and assessments. The purpose of the framework is to assist states with interpretation and implementation of Title III requirements for ELP standards and assessments.

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  A state guide to the development of universally designed assessments.

  1/1/06 - Johnstone, C. , Altman, J., Thurlow, M.

  The purpose of this guide is to provide states with strategies for designing tests from the very beginning, through conceptualization and item construction, field-testing, item reviews, statewide operationalization, and evaluation. The objective is to create tests that present an accurate measure of the knowledge and skills of the diverse population of students enrolled in today’s public schools.

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  A summary of research on the effects of test accommodations: 2002 through 2004

  1/1/06 - Johnstone, C., Altman, J., Thurlow, M., Thompson, S. J.

  The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires the reporting of participation in assessments overall and by subgroup, including students with disabilities. As states and school districts strive to meet the goals for adequate yearly progress required by NCLB, the use of individual accommodations continues to be scrutinized for effectiveness, threats to test validity, and score comparability. This report summarizes 49 empirical research studies completed on test accommodations between...

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  A summary of research on the effects of test accommodations: 2005 through 2006

  1/1/07 - Zenisky, A., Sireci, S.

  A report summarizing test accommodations research published from 2005-2006, covering 32 published research studies. It identifies promising directions in research and provides suggestions for future studies.

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  Academic literacy instruction for adolescents: A guidance document from the Center on Instruction.

  1/1/07 - Torgesen, J. K., Houston, D. D. , Rissman, L. M. , Decker, S. M. , Roberts, G. , Vaughn, S. , Wexler, J., Francis, D. J. , Rivera, M. O., Lesaux, N.

  This document developed by the Center on Instruction's Reading, Special Education and ELL Strands makes recommendations for improving literacy-related instruction in the content areas or across the entire school day, interventions for students reading below grade level, and recommendations for supporting literacy development in adolescent English language learners.

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  Access to the General Education Curriculum for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

  1/1/06 - The Access Center,

  This brief explores the linkages between alternate state standards, alternate assessment, the IEP, and classroom instruction and assessment as the process of providing access to the general education curriculum for students with significant cognitive disabilities

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  Addressing Diversity in Schools: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

  1/1/04 - Heraldo Richards, Ayanna Brown, Timothy Forde

  This practitioner brief deals with how to address educational needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. It applies to all parents and teachers of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) children. The authors of this article suggest that as more and more students from diverse backgrounds populate 21st century classrooms and efforts mount to identify effective methods to teach these students, the need for pedagogical approaches that are culturally responsive intensifies...

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  Assessment of Deafblind Access to Manual Language Systems (ADAMLS)

  1/1/07 - Robbie Blaha, Brad Carlson

  The Assessment of Deafblind Access to Manual Language Systems (ADAMLS) is a resource for educational teams who are responsible for developing appropriate adaptations and strategies for children who are deafblind and who are candidates for learning manual language systems. Includes strategies for organizing the assessment process, assessment questions with considerations for adaptations, and summary results.

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  Assisting students struggling with mathematics: Response to Intervention (RtI) for elementary and middle schools (NCEE 2009-4060)

  1/1/09 - Gersten, R. , Beckmann, S. , Clarke, B. , Foegen, A. , Marsh, L. , Star, J. R. , Witzel, B.

  This Practice Guide, released by IES in April 2009, aims to help educators develop and implement Response to Intervention to assist students struggling in math. The focus is building an instructional program in order to improve outcomes for students who have difficulty with math. The guide presents recommendations about screening, instruction, and progress monitoring and indicates the quality of the research base that supports them. It includes common questions and potential concerns that...

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  Assisting students struggling with reading: Response to Intervention and multi-tier intervention for reading in the primary grades. A practice guide. (NCEE 2009-4045)

  1/1/08 - Gersten, R., Compton, D., Connor, C.M., Dimino, J., Santoro, L., Linan-Thompson, S., Tilly, W.D.

  This Practice Guide, released by IES in February 2009, aims to help educators develop and implement Response to Intervention to assist students struggling with reading. The focus is building an instructional program in order to improve outcomes for students who have difficulty with reading as well as set in place a screening process for all students. The guide presents recommendations and indicates the quality of the research base that supports them. It includes common questions and...

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  Barriers to the preparation of highly qualified teachers in reading

  1/1/07 - Susan Smartt, Daniel Reschly

  This brief discusses scientifically based reading instruction in relation to federal policy mandates. It focuses on strategies and standards for ensuring that teachers are qualified to teach reading and provides recommendations for improving the teaching of reading.

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  Becoming Culturally Responsive Educators: Rethinking Teacher Education Pedagogy

  1/1/06 - Cathy Kea, Gloria D. Campbell-Whatley, Heraldo V. Richards

  This practitioner brief deals with designing teacher education programs (TEPs) that are mindful of student diversity. It applies to all teacher educators, teachers and parents. Despite the steadily increasing numbers of culturally and linguistically diverse student populations in schools, not all TEPs readily embrace multicultural education or culturally responsive teacher education pedagogy. In this brief, the authors demonstrate the need for rethinking current approaches to teacher...

• Beyond "getting the answer": Calculators help learning disabled students get the concepts

  1/1/07 - Center for Implementing Technology in Education,

  This Info Brief summarizes Thompson and Sproule's (2000) "Calculator Decision-Making Flow Chart" and uses the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to clarify how calculator usage helps students with learning disabilities understand math concepts.

• Blogs, wikis and text messaging: What are the implications for students with learning disabilities

  1/1/08 - Center for Implementing Technology in Education,

  The usefulness of assistive technologies for students with learning disabilities is fairly obvious. It is easy to understand the educational benefits of software designed specifically for students with dyslexia. But what about Web 2.0 tools? What are they and how do they affect learning and interaction for students with learning disabilities?

• Boosting inclusion in after school activities with AT and supplemental services

  1/1/06 - National Center for Technology Innovation,

  NCTI has suggestions for how assistive and accessible technologies and other supplemental services can help make activities more inclusive for students with special needs.

• Circle of Inclusion

  Multilingual, this webpage is for those who provide services for early childhood settings, as well as families with young children. Information and demonstrations are given relating to inclusive education. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education. One can search for examples of inclusive settings, as well as view discussions and questions that have been answered by people invovled in inclusion. There are role-playing scenarios and re-printable...