Alternate Assessments for Students With Disabilities

Designed for general and special education administrators, teachers, and other education professionals, this book offers a "big picture" of high expectations, assessment, and accountability for students with significant disabilities. Chapters focus on the following eight steps involved in the development and administration of alternate assessments: (1) placing alternate assessments in the context of assessment and accountability systems; (2) considering how all students in the school can work toward the same standards, how their progress can be measured, and how expectations can be increased for each student; (3) defining the roles of each partner and building support for success; (4) deciding how a student will participate in assessment and accountability systems in general assessments with no accommodations, in general assessments with accommodations, or in alternate assessments; (5) building alternate assessments into the collaborative work of the Individualized Education Program teams; (6) using a variety of strategies to administer alternate assessments and compiling assessment data; (7) ensuring data from alternate assessments are used to improve education systems for all students; and (8) figuring out who wins when alternate assessments are in place. Lists of legal and educational resources are provided. (Contains 25 references.) (CR)