Assessments - 2

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Establishing goals in academic case studies.

In the context def. section of our case study, we must have a goal established, based on our baseline data and percentile data for the class compared to the student. The goal can be set based on class averages, trends, etc. The student could be goaled to progress at the same rate as the class, rather than falling further behind, or possible to progress to the Xth percentile of the class at the time of baseline. Different situations and children will require different goals.

Problem Analysis: (After we have analyzed the CBM type data to determine who is having problems)

There are two ways to look at the problem. It is either a skill issue, or a performance issue.

We need to use a multi-modal approach to figure out which it is:

Look at: Observation, record review, testing, and teacher interview. Also look at information across settings. Get information from parents and teachers. Maybe the perception of the problem is not the same. Look at student characteristics (traits and states).

Student States: Attitudes which occur in certain settings or at certain times.
Student Traits: Personality or attitudes that the person carries with them all the time.

When doing individual assessments:

Information gathering will require a high amount of inference vs. a low amount of inference.

IQ test are high inference. So are personality assessments, rating scales (based on someone’s subjective opinion) and process scales.

Observations are low inference. You can state that X occurred Y times during the observation. They are limited in data, as they give you little choice as to what is happening. Low inference assessment is best for academic problems because it gives you hard data and you can measure success or failure over time. We can be more confident about our hypotheses in these situations. CMBs are low inference.

After you gather assessment data from the student, you want to turn the data into referral questions. We can then generate hypotheses from those referral questions.

Seven ways to look at assessment data:

1. Assess the referral setting. What does the behaviour look like in the natural environment.
2. Gather data which is idiographic (internal) rather than nomothetic (norm referenced).
3. What is taught? Is it the same thing that we are testing?
4. Make sure that you gather assessment data that will lead logically to intervention.
5. Assessment methods must primarily be capable of providing ongoing evaluation of the intervention.
6. Multi-method, multi-trait, mulit-setting.
7. Low inference procedures take precedence over high inference procedures.

Record Reviews:

Where: Cumulative file, guidance counselor files, special education files, teacher files, nurse file.
Hearsay is not useable. If a parent says something, you put, “according to parent report…”

Common standard scores:

Z-score. Mean of 0, SD of 1.
T-score. Mean of 50, SD of 10
IQ. Mean of 100, SD of 15
Stay-9. Divides the distribution into 9 equal parts. The first and ninth are 1.75 SD below or above the mean. Stay-9 of 1-3 is low. 4-6 average, 7-9, high.

Some subtest scores have a mean of 10 and a SD of 3

Remember, generally 2 SD below the mean is a problem.

Criterion referenced assessment scores:
Give single or multiple skill scores.
Ex. Criterion Test of Basic Skills (CTBS)

Criterion test often have a pass / fail setup. Some have a partial credit score. Scores may be reflective of instructional level. 90th percentile is considered the mastery level. Below 85% correct is typically the level of frustration. Instructional level is often considered 85-90% correct. Independent is 95% or better.

When looking at visual information, you may see something about restricted field of vision and color vision. Types of visual assessments (nurses would have to interpret): functional visual assessment. Learning media assessment (what does the student need to be able to access instruction) brail, or color.

Types of hearing impairment: Conductive hearing loss (most common - due to presence of fluid in the middle ear [ear infections]). Sensory-Neural Cochlear or Neuro-sensory hearing impairment. Mixed hearing loss. Central auditory processing dysfunction (often, trouble with background noise).

Ratings scales. Remember, these are subjective opinions. Always gather other types of data to support the documentation. Connors’ rating scale is popular. You could use the BOSS to back it up.

Obtain intervention history as much as possible – whether useful or not. Know WHAT was happening – how the intervention operated.

Failed interventions: why did they fail. What it probable that it would fail? Did the teacher not buy in? Was it implemented with integrity? Where there unintended results? It was discontinued too early?

Skill Assessment (from Best Practices, ch. 48): Based on the assumption that if the child can’t do something, it is because the child doesn’t know how. If the child knows how, Then the child will perform. The target here is to find the missing knowledge.

Once you have identified the areas of skilled deficit, you need to hypothesize the reasons for the deficit. Is it based solely on skills the child has not learned because of not enough instruction or practice. If that is the case, then it is totally skill based. Even if it is because they missed a lot of school, it is still skill based. Instruction and practice are the two options of intervention.

On the other hand, the skill deficit may be due to a performance reason. The teacher may be teaching, but the student is doing something else – daydreaming, etc. This is a performance based issue.

Naturalistic Observations: ABC approach, etc. Observation will establish some validity to beliefs about the student. If we think he doesn’t like math, this may show behaviours which show that to be true. Your goal is to link what is going on in the environment to the behaviour itself. Then, set up hypothesis to test.

Systematic Direct Observation: BOSS, Duration recording (good for temper tantrums)

Hypothesis. You can test the function of the behaviour. What is the function?

Performance Assessment: Ch 80 in Best Practices.

1. Define or determine who owns a referred problem. If it only occurs with one person, it is a performance issue and is owned by that person.
2. Validate your hypotheses about what is causing or reinforcing the problem.
3. Create a sound baseline of data to work from.
4. Identify behavioural assets and environmental resources that could be a factor in fixing the problem.
5. Identify and analyze recurring patterns of behaviour or affect.
6. Understand the demands and the severity of the students social/emotional problems.
7. Look for unrealistic academic expectations. Determine whether inappropriate student behaviour is related to that. This could be a cart/horse issue. Is the behaviour because of a lack of skill, or causing the lack of skill.
8. Address less potent problems which may not be a concern for referral, but might have an impact on the actual referral problem.

Assumptions to be aware of:

1. Children’s behaviour and affect are the interdependent products of the institutions, settings, people, and contingencies with which they interact.
2. Assessment must be approached through a multi-trait, multi-method, multi-setting analysis.
3. The assessment should focus on the way that students develop resilient responses to challenging events and environments that leads to growth in development.

Four primary student outcomes:

1. Academic skills
2. Cognitive or meta-cognitive skills.
3. Social behavioural skills
4. Adaptive behavioural skills.

Questions you want to be able to answer:

1. When is the student likely to engage in the behaviour?
2. What are the triggers?
3. What is the function of the problem behaviour (if a performance deficit)
4. What might the student be communicating through the problem behaviour.
5. If there are times when the student is successful, why is he or she successful in those times?
6. Are their other factors that you haven’t considered?

Interview:

One purpose is to develop the relationship with the person you are interviewing. To obtain relevant information, clarify the initial concerns. Ask about the interventions of the past. Add to information about functional assessment. Helps to add information to generate hypotheses.

Filed under: EDC 514-515 Academic Assessment for Intervention
Copyright: January, 2004 - David Profitt