The 2016 National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA) is the premiere forum for assessment practitioners to discuss what is happening in the real world of educational assessment—what is new, what is going on at the state and federal level, what works, and what does not. This year, the NCSA meeting will be held in Philadelphia, PA, on June 20-22, and NCEO staff members will participate in several sessions, namely:
The ALTELLA Project: Closing Our Knowledge Gap and Understanding Language Proficiency Testing for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Marlene Johnston & Tracy Cerda, Presenters; Phoebe Winter, Discussant; Laurene Christensen & Leila Williams, Moderators (Monday, June 20, 2016; 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
This presentation highlights key activities of a new enhanced assessment grant designed to build a foundational knowledge base toward the development of an English language proficiency assessment for English learners with significant cognitive disabilities. Two states will share general demographic information related to this group of students. In addition, preliminary project findings and ongoing investigations will be discussed.
Improving Accessibility Approaches for All Students: CCSSO Accessibility Manual
Vitaliy Shyyan, Jennifer Paul, & Brian Touchette, Presenters (Monday, June 20, 2016; 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
This session highlights the new comprehensive CCSSO Accessibility Manual for states that recognizes the body of knowledge generated by assessment consortia and other educational stakeholders. This collaborative project involving the National Center on Educational Outcomes, ASES SCASS, ELL SCASS, and other experts, reflects the paradigm shift and technological advances in the area of large scale assessment and related accessibility approaches.
Plenary – Ensuring Equitable and High-Quality Assessments under the Every Student Succeeds Act
Stephen Pruitt, Scott Marion, Chris Stewart, & Martha Thurlow, Presenters; Chris Minnich, Moderator (Tuesday, June 21, 2016; 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM)
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) presents opportunities for state education agencies to rethink how they best serve students by providing new flexibility from federal constraints. States have already committed to establishing or adopting high-quality assessments, including both formative and summative assessments, based on college- and career-ready (CCR) standards. This plenary session will offer a range of tactics and suggestions for finding ways to build equitable assessment systems given the opportunities under ESSA.
Reconsidering Grade-Based Assessments
Martha Thurlow, Cara Laitusis, & Karen Barton, Presenters (Tuesday, June 21, 2016; 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM)
This presentation provides (a) a historical overview of how administration of off-grade-level assessments resulted in unintended consequences for students with disabilities, (b) advances in assessment design and technologies (i.e., adaptivity combined with learning analytics and learning progressions) that may improve measurement of students performing well above or below grade level, and (c) a discussion of how federal policy could balance these new ideas with the unintended consequences of the past.
Closing the Gap for English Language Learners: Implementing Accessibility Tools for English Language Proficiency Assessments
Cheryl Alcaya, Audrey Lesondak, & Terri Schuster, Presenters; Mira Monroe, Discussant; Laurene Christensen, Moderator (Tuesday, June 21, 2016; 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM)
This presentation showcases the accessibility tools and accommodations used for the WIDA ACCESS and the ELPA21 assessments. The presentation features two states from each consortium sharing key issues related to accessibility implementation, including (a) the accessibility features of the assessment, (b) the most commonly used features, and (c) challenges and opportunities in implementing the accessibility features. Each state will share lessons learned within the framework of their state’s assessment system.
Improving the Accessibility of Locally Developed Assessments: Successes, Issues, and Perspectives
Matthew Holloway, Craig Waterman, & Mary Ann Snider, Presenters; Sheryl Lazarus, Moderator (Wednesday, June 22, 2016: 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM)
The use of innovative, instructionally supportive, high-quality locally developed assessments (LDAs) has the potential to significantly improve instruction and outcomes for all students, including students with disabilities and English learners (ELs). This session explores how to successfully include diverse learners in LDAs. Two states discuss their visions and strategies for the successful inclusion of students with disabilities and ELs in LDAs.
Delivery of Testing Accessibility Tools and Accommodations Across 3 Testing Platforms: Implementation, Success, and Lessons Learned
Melissa Gholson, Jennifer Paul, & Trinell Bowman, Presenters; Cara Laitusis, Discussant; Laurene Christensen, Moderator (Wednesday, June 22, 2016: 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM)
States that used three different computer-based delivery platforms in the Spring 2015 administration will talk about (a) how the accessibility tools and accommodations (for English learners, students with disabilities, and general education students) were implemented on each platform; (b) performance differences across students who used the feature and those that did not; and (c) lessons learned about implementation and related challenges.
What Does Formative Assessment Look like in Action with Students with Disabilities? Using Formative Assessment Practices with Students with Disabilities
Susan Brookhart, Sheryl Lazarus, & Sandra Warren, Presenters; Margaret Heritage, Discussant; Ed Roeber, Moderator (Wednesday, June 22, 2016: 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM)
Few would question the importance of formative assessment strategies in helping students to become more effective and self-regulated learners. And, few would question the importance of accommodating students with disabilities to maximize their learning. The ASES SCASS and FAST SCASS jointly commissioned a monograph to consider these two fields together—how teachers and students with disabilities can use formative assessment practices during teaching and learning. Presenters will share what was learned.
Closing the Accessibility Gap: Making Data-Informed Decisions for All Students
Cheryl Alcaya, Melissa Gholson, & Joseph Amenta, Presenters; Martha Thurlow, Discussant; Vitaliy Shyyan, Moderator (Wednesday, June 22, 2016: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM)
This session highlights accessibility guidelines generated by a collaborative project between nine states and NCEO, titled “DIAMOND: Data-Informed Accessibility—Making Optimal Needs-based Decisions.” Presenters will describe project activities and preliminary findings of this initiative launched to improve the validity of assessment results and interpretations for students with documented needs (including general education students, English learners, students with disabilities, and English learners with disabilities) by developing guidelines for making informed decisions about accessibility features and accommodations.