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Professional Development on Assessment Systems

What education leaders need to know

The need for professional development for principals in special education has been well established in the literature (DiPaola & Walther-Thomas, 2003; Goor, Schwenn, & Boyer, 1997; Monteith, 2000; Sage & Burrello, 1994). Specifically, education leaders need professional development to understand the participation of students with disabilities in large-scale assessments. School leaders are keenly aware of AYP and the requirement to report separately on the subgroup of students with disabilities. As required by ESEA (as amended by NCLB in 2002), each school is held accountable for the AYP of all students within the school, including those with disabilities. However, as Farkas, Johnson, and Duffett (2003) report, 48% of principals surveyed in 2001 and 2003 identified as unreasonable the requirement to demonstrate AYP with special education students and English as a second language learners. As student annual performance scores are more and more routinely disaggregated by disability status, the performance of students with disabilities may have serious consequences for students, schools, and administrators.

McLaughlin and Thurlow (2003) have documented the shift in accountability for special education, which ranges from simple compliance to access to education to evidence of student learning and performance. To keep pace with this shift, administrators not only must understand special education law (Davidson & Algozzine, 2002; Davidson & Gooden, 2001); they also must have knowledge of psychological and educational assessments; of inclusive assessment practices, including universal design; and of indicators of best practice instructional strategies for students with disabilities (Monteith, 2000; Patterson, Marshall, & Bowling, 2000). As students with disabilities participate in large-scale assessments with the various participation methods, administrators must have specific knowledge of each type of assessment and must be familiar with the needs of students who participate.

Administrators need training related to the selection and use of state-adopted accommodations and alternate assessments. Elliot, Braden, and White (2001) describe the parameters on which decisions should be based to include all students in large-scale assessments. Administrators who are familiar with these parameters can effectively participate in IEP team meetings and facilitate discussion of inclusive instructional practices, including the use of classroom accommodations (when appropriate). It is important that principals also understand the alternate assessment formats used in their states, the content measured on the assessments, performance requirements for students using those assessments, and the inferences that can be made when the performance of students with disabilities is judged against modified or alternate achievement standards.

Additionally, administrators must be vigilant in their efforts to ensure that instruction for all students is aligned to state grade-level content standards. Greene-Bryant (2002) describes the need for assessment and instruction to be in direct alignment for all students, including those with disabilities. As all students are included in assessments that are linked to or derived from general education grade-level content standards, administrators must be aware of initiatives that help bridge students' access to instruction based on the goal of reaching those standards. School administrators must lead their schools in aligning instruction, content, and assessment, and at the same time in avoiding narrowing the curriculum excessively or "teaching to the test."

Finally, administrators must be able to help teachers use assessment data to inform their decisions about modifying instruction. The Interstate School Leadership Licensure Consortium (Council of Chief State School Officers, 1996) defines standards for school leaders that include the use of assessment data in shaping the school vision and the instructional program. The American Association of School Administrators Web site, www.aasa.org, lists a variety of software tools, links to research, and sample plans to assist administrators in making data-based decisions. A summary of what school leaders need to know appears in Table 3.

Table 3

Summary: What Education Leaders Need to Know About Participation of Students with Disabilities in Statewide Assessment