Chapter 22

Making Decisions About Participation

in Accountability Programs

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 Learning Objectives (slide 1 of 2)
• 22-1 Describe the legal requirements for state and
school district assessment and accountability systems
specified in the No Child Left Behind Act and the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act.

• 22-2 Explain the two different types of accountability.

• 22-3 Define the important terms associated with

assessment for the purpose of making accountability
decisions.

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 Learning Objectives (slide 2 of 2)
• 22-4 Describe the role that standards play in
accountability systems.

• 22-5 Explain the purpose of the alternate assessment.

• 22-6 Articulate the important considerations for

making decisions about how students participate in
accountability systems.

• 22-7 Describe important considerations for interpreting

assessment information from accountability testing.

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 Increasing Accountability
• Over the past 20 years, there has been an
increasing demand for educational
accountability
• Movement from focus on processes to focus
on outcomes

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 Legal Requirements
• No Child Left Behind
– States must have assessment and accountability
students
– Must report on performance and progress of all
students
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
– Students with disabilities must participate
– Alternate assessments
• New legislation
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 Types of Accountability Systems
• System accountability
– States must set targets for adequate yearly
progress that include assessment participation
and performance, graduation rates, and
attendance
– Certain consequences occur if targets are not met
• Student accountability
– Some states choose to set additional
consequences for individual students (i.e., grade
promotion/retention, scholarships, etc.)
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 Types of Standards
• Content Standards
• Achievement (performance) standards
– Grade-level achievement standards
– Alternate achievement standards
– Modified achievement standards (controversial)

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 Alternate Assessment
• Developed by states to measure the
achievement of students (particularly those with
disabilities) who can not demonstrate skills and
knowledge according to the regular assessment,
even with accommodations
• Students with severe disabilities often
participate
• Variation in format (portfolio, test, rating scales,
etc.)
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 Important Considerations for
Making Individual Participation
Decisions
1. What standards is the student working
toward?
2. Are there specific characteristics of the
individual student and/or of the test that may
represent barriers to optimal measurement of
the targeted skills/ knowledge?
3. Does the student receive accommodations
during instruction?

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 Important Considerations in
Understanding Assessment Information
1. Ensure those who have access to data know
how to appropriately interpret the
information
2. Recognize not all students need to be tested
in the same way, and those with expertise in
assessment should be involved in
determining what accommodations or
alternate assessments can best help students

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Rights Reserved.