Assessment Methods in Special and Inclusive Education

The integration of students with special needs into mainstream classrooms necessitates a shift in assessment paradigms. This article explores various assessment methods used in special and inclusive education, emphasizing the importance of multi-faceted, culturally sensitive, and collaborative approaches.

The Imperative of Initial Assessment

Before a child can receive special education and related services, an initial assessment is crucial to determine if the child has a disability. This determination is made following a comprehensive and individualized evaluation. Parents find reassurance in knowing their rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). If the school system initiates the evaluation, they must obtain written parental consent. Should parents disagree with the school's assessment, they have the right to seek an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). Students who may not qualify for special education services under IDEA might still be eligible for protection under other laws, such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Evolving Educational Paradigms

The objective of assessing students with special needs has evolved alongside the movement toward inclusion. The traditional focus was on using norm-referenced assessment tools to diagnose and determine eligibility for services. The current emphasis is on creating a profile of a student's strengths and weaknesses, using data from various sources and assessment approaches. This shift has led to increased use of assessment methods that extend beyond traditional norm-referencing.

Today, preferred approaches to assessing special needs for inclusion in regular classrooms are contextual, performance-oriented, holistic, interactive, multi-perspective, and real-world oriented. Relevant behaviors are observed and rated in natural contexts, and performance-oriented assessments evaluate selected behaviors from a holistic perspective. Checklists and criterion-referenced probes have been developed to focus on:

Basic skills and strategies for listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Responses to curriculum demands (e.g., social science).
Classroom interactions between teachers, peers, and the student.
Effective classroom practices for management and instruction.

The student is viewed as a multifaceted individual whose behaviors change with external demands. The assessment process is broad in scope, designed to provide authentic and sensitive indicators of performance in the real-world setting of the classroom and community. With the focus on determining whether the regular classroom is the least restrictive environment for a student, there is an emphasis on procedures that foster multi-perspective and collaborative processes. This allows staff to profile a student's strengths and weaknesses, provide a baseline for intervention, and support dynamic, long-term educational planning. Assessments for the inclusive classroom empower teachers by giving them control over assessment and planning for intervention.

Unique Aspects of International Schools

International schools present unique considerations for assessing students for inclusive classrooms. The admissions process often results in self-selection, with few students with severely handicapping conditions applying. Students typically come from families with professional backgrounds and represent multi-cultural and multi-linguistic backgrounds. For most, English, the language of instruction, is a second or third language. Students rarely present with learning disabilities that are more than slight or moderate. This contrasts with public schools in the United States, where the system is responsible for all children, and laws govern the services that must be in place. With the movement toward inclusive classrooms, teachers can be empowered to adapt and enhance the language of instruction and support individual learning styles through training or team-based problem-solving.

Classroom teachers can be empowered to deliver targeted interventions for students with language and learning disabilities as part of regular teaching, supported by consultation or collaboration with educational specialists.

Cultural and Linguistic Considerations

Language and communication, the primary tools for teaching and assessing skills and knowledge, are influenced by culture. Each culture has rules and conventions for exchanging information and interacting academically, vocationally, and socially. Linguistic rules for content (semantics) and form (morphology and syntax) are determined by members of a language community in a constantly evolving process. Rules for what, how, and when to communicate in different contexts (pragmatics) are also arbitrary and influenced by differences related to authority and social status within a culture.

Because English is the language of instruction in international schools, it is important to consider where the cultural-linguistic rules and expectations for English may conflict with those of a child's background. For instance, a student raised in an Arabic-speaking culture may face barriers due to differences in the linguistic-cultural rules of Arabic and English. Analysis of a child's background culture and language may assist educators in identifying possible points of conflict between the linguistic and cultural features of a child's first language and English.

When considering the levels of differences between the linguistic codes of English and a child's first language, it becomes apparent that any assessment using language as a tool can never be entirely free of bias. In the example of an Arabic-speaking student, further analysis of the characteristics of Arabic morphology and syntax reveals potential significant barriers in the translation to English. Arabic uses a high degree of word inflection and derivation; sentence structure is not as dependent on word order as it is in English, and transformation rules also differ. There are also significant differences in literary forms and styles and conventions for verbal and nonverbal communication in social and other contexts. These differences are substantial enough to present barriers for learning and expressing knowledge in English for a student with language and learning disabilities.

Children with language and learning disabilities bring inherent, neuropsychological barriers to the acquisition of the prevailing linguistic and cultural codes for their first language and a second language. Therefore, educators must accept responsibility for being as linguistically and culturally fair as possible when assessing a child's general potential for learning in an inclusive classroom.

Types of Special Education Assessments

Special education assessments offer several options, each involving tests to determine a student's level in specific areas, such as intelligence, mobility, and understanding.

Academic Achievement: These tests evaluate a student's performance in various school subjects. Examples include the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery.

Developmental Assessments: Often the first step in determining if young children need additional help, these tests are less applicable to older students but are relevant for diagnosis. Examples include the Development Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL-3) and the Denver Developmental Screening Test II.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ): An IQ test helps determine if an intellectual component contributes to a student’s learning disabilities or behavioral issues. This can help schools determine the best approach to support the student. Tests include the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities, Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children.

Read also: Enhancing Student Growth

Curriculum-Based Assessments: These assessments are more specific, looking at a student’s skill level within a particular curriculum at a specific time. They are primarily used to ensure the student is progressing adequately. Examples include AIMSweb and Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills.

End-of-Grade Assessments: While used for all students, special education students may have accommodations or separate assessments. These include State Standardized Tests.

Screening Tests: These tests help identify students who are below the norm in specific areas. More in-depth tests may follow to ensure the student receives the best possible support. Examples include Pre-Kindergarten Screen, Revised Behavior Problem Checklist, the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, and Iowa Test of Basic Skills.

Adaptive Behavioral Assessment: Students with intellectual disabilities may show deficits in regular living skills and adaptive behavior. This assessment looks at how the student manages daily living skills, social abilities, motor abilities, communication, and community participation. Examples include AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scales and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales.

Behavior Rating Scales: Teachers or parents complete worksheets that rate various student behaviors, highlighting which behaviors are more challenging to manage. Examples include the Social Skills Rating System and Devereux Behavior Rating Scale.

Who Administers the Assessments?

Teachers are often unable to administer the assessments required to determine if a child requires special education. The specific test dictates who is responsible for the assessment, which may include:

Special education teachers
Occupational therapists
School psychologists
Speech and language therapists

The school must obtain written permission from parents to conduct assessments and maintain frequent communication with the student’s family to foster cooperation.

Utilizing Assessment Results

Once the school has a clear understanding of a student’s limitations, they can determine the best way to support them, potentially through a 504 plan or an IEP. The assessment will help determine a child’s:

Health Level
General Intelligence
Communication abilities
Academic performance
Emotional and behavioral status
Vision and hearing abilities
Motor abilities

With this information, the student’s current levels should be marked, and goals created, often with the student’s input to ensure realistic goals and a collaborative plan. Necessary modifications are determined according to the individual student. At this point, it is also noted whether a few educational changes are enough or if the student needs to receive special education. This should be discussed with all parties to ensure the student's best possible outcome.

It's important to remember that having a disability does not automatically qualify a student for special education. Their disability must fall under a specific category, according to IDEA, and require special education and services specifically due to the disability.

The disability categories include:

Autism
Deafness
Deaf-blindness
Developmental delay
Emotional disturbance
Hearing impairment
Intellectual disability
Orthopedic impairment
Specific Learning disabilities
Speech and Language impairment
Traumatic brain injury
Other impairments

The student must be diagnosed with one of these before the other assessments are carried out. The student often won’t need any extra educational assistance or specialized educational programming. For this reason, it’s important to evaluate each student individually.

The Case of Johann

Johann, a German-speaking third-grader, faced challenges due to a language disorder. Despite strong nonverbal intellectual abilities, he was initially denied admission to an international school that lacked inclusive practices. He experienced articulation problems, dysfluency, and was later diagnosed with a language-based learning disability.

When Johann was considered for admission to an international school, language test results were used as the admissions criteria. Johann's parents were advised that the school was unable to provide the services he needed to achieve in the regular classroom. The staff was concerned that Johann's primary language difficulties might make it difficult for him to learn from instruction in English. As an alternative, the family split up temporarily to allow Johann to receive education in his native language.

In retrospect, it is difficult to judge whether the international school was accurate in rejecting Johann's application for admission. One indication that Johann might have succeeded in an international school was that he had no problems with the English language requirements for his native country.

Had the international school used a variety of assessment strategies and instruments, they might have better explored Johann's language strengths and weaknesses and his potential for learning in an inclusive classroom.

Cultural-Linguistic Similarities and Differences:

Comparing German and English reveals differences in phonology, morphology, and syntax. While articulatory differences could be reconciled with practice, German accent features would likely persist. Differences in articles for nouns and verb tenses might cause difficulties. Word order differences also exist. However, similarities in transformational rules for compound and complex sentences should aid in acquiring English sentence forms.

Vocabulary and concepts differ between German and English. English has a larger vocabulary with more synonyms. Metaphors also differ in contextual reference. Johann might have experienced slowness in acquiring English synonyms and metaphors, impeding listening and reading comprehension. While he wouldn't likely have difficulties abstracting concepts due to his nonverbal reasoning, he might struggle with idiomatic aspects of English, such as slang, jokes, sarcastic remarks, and metaphors from English nursery rhymes and literature.

In the classroom, teachers would need to recognize these potential difficulties and provide pre-teaching or mini-lessons to prepare him for lessons, themes, or units in English and Social Studies.

Children's Acquisition of English

Children who learn English as a second language acquire metalinguistic and metacognitive abilities in predictable patterns. By early adolescence, they can analyze and discuss the English language and use language as a tool for listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Positive Action Program

Programs like Positive Action offer teachers effective teaching strategies for students with special needs. Compared to other SpEd curriculums, Positive Action provides the most content and meets the highest number of state and national standards.

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