Chapter 14

Informal Assessment

Special Education classrooms require significant application of informal assessments.  In most special education classrooms students are performing on various levels of academic achievement, which requires individual assessment and attention.  An example of an informal reading skill assessment in an elementary special education classroom is presented in observation of students working with matching word/picture cards.  The activity consists of students placing the correct written word card with the picture card displaying a visual description of each word.  When it is noticed that a specific student is randomly placing word cards with picture cards that do not belong together, it is a way of assessing potential reading skill progression.  That student may need some individual attention if the rest of the class is able to complete the exercise with at least a rate of 90%. 

Performance Assessment

In the same elementary education classroom a performance assessment is performed through students participating in a game that focuses on the understanding and recognition of various facial expressions and body language.  The lesson focuses on nonverbal communication and each student’s ability to understand various nonverbal cues. It also measures their individual ability to communicate to their peers using only nonverbal cues.  The students take turns standing in front of the classroom and use facial expressions and body language to send a message to the class.  The rest of the students then guess the emotional state of that student. 

Authentic Assessment

With the same students, authentic assessment can be a great tool in measuring the use of imagination and it’s application to life skills.  An example of an authentic assessment is giving the students specific instructions that also have room for added imagination.  The students are instructed to use as many art tools as they wish to create a small poster of where they want to live when they grow up.  This assignment should be different for each student.  The only specific criteria to be included are some type of dwelling (house, apt, loft, condo, cabin, tent, RV, etc.), at least one person (being themselves), and the geographic location of the dwelling.  The students can draw, use stickers, construction paper cut-outs, magazine cut-outs, etc.  They are to create what their dream home is. Create their dream family, pets, etc. The assessment will determine student’s level of application of imagination and goal setting to real life.

Teacher-Developed Assessment

Special education students generally respond more positively to teacher-developed assessment versus standardized testing.  Because special education students have specific individual needs, standardized test do not typically provide an accurate measurement of their actual skill level.  With teacher-developed assessments, teachers can construct the assessment to directly measure a specific skill taught in the lesson.  An example of this in the special education classroom is assessing addition and subtraction skills to determine if the students grasped an understanding of the concepts and processes they were taught.  This assessment can take place in groups of 2 students.  Students draw straws to be paired up with a random partner. Each group will be provided with a mini quiz that entails short addition and subtraction problems, a bucket of plastic counting chips, a mini chalkboard, several pieces of chalk, and a pencil to write down the answers.  The students will work together in their groups, using various approaches to answering the problems on the mini quiz.  The students will be given a decent amount of time to complete the quiz.  The groups will be observed during the assignment, to assure that each student is equally participating and displaying an understanding of the lesson. 

Criterion-Referenced Assessment

Criterion-referenced assessments are more applicable and useful in the special education classroom than norm-referenced assessments.  Criterion-referenced assessments determine what students have and have not mastered in comparison to others in their grade/age level.  An example of a useful criterion-referenced assessment in the special education classroom is designed to assess each student’s mathematical skills regarding addition and subtraction, in comparison to standards set for them and their peers.  This is conducted by providing them with a written exam that includes various addition and subtraction problems.  Each problem on the exam will have several correct answers.  Students are to choose the best answer.  This will allow each student to be evaluated in comparison with his/her peers.  Because it is a special education classroom, students will be provided with accommodations such as counting chips, individual mini chalkboards and chalk.

Criterion-Referenced Assessment vs. Norm-Referenced Assessment

As criterion-referenced assessment provides what students have and have not achieved in comparison to standard criteria for their grade/age, norm-referenced assessment does not provide those details.  Norm-referenced assessment ranks students in a percentile amongst their peers across the country. There are advantages to both types of assessment, as well as disadvantages.  An advantage of Norm-referenced assessment is the ability to score geographic locations amongst one another and identify strengths and weaknesses in various areas.  A disadvantage is that many students do not respond well or perform at peak levels with standardized testing procedures.  This could heavily affect their percentile rating.  This specifically holds true with special education students.  Criterion-referenced assessment has a disadvantage in that they are measured against a certain standard of academic performance.  These can be negative when standards are applied too heavily in a special education environment.  The flip side is that the advantage of criterion-referenced assessments allows instructors to determine what specific content the students did not learn.  This helps them prepare for future instruction.