Educators have expressed concerns about the increased paperwork and documentation from alternate assessment (Kleinert & Kearns, 2001). Some are concerned that incorporating alternate assessment within the general education system of accountability assumes a uniformity that ignores the unique needs of students who, by definition, need special education and related services. As one teacher stated,
- Speechms. Schrader's Teaching Portfolio Organizer
- Speechms. Schrader's Teaching Portfolio Strategies
- Speechms. Schrader's Teaching Portfolio Assessment
'I was hesitant to accept that any system or program could be flexible enough to address the many learning outcomes these students exhibited on their Individualized Education Plans.'
Portfolios and bodies of evidence require extensive amounts of work on the part of the teacher and usually incorporate a specific approach to documenting the teaching-learning process. As one alternate assessment coordinator recognized, 'Alternate assessment adds more paperwork and data records for teachers.' Some teachers and parents question whether the results obtained are in balance with the amount of time spent (i.e., the time to document, report and score the information takes too much time away from instruction). Additionally, others are concerned that, in the end, the documentation reflects more on the ability of the teacher to produce a good document than on whether a student is receiving a quality education.
By ADAM SCHRADER Published in The Denton Record-Chronicle on July 6, 2014 SANGER — Barry Durham pulls up to Findings: A Little Bit of Everything in his white pickup to unload some new cargo for the shop he co-owns with his wife, Joanna. Teaching is all about passing on facts and knowledge, whereas sharing is about opening one's heart to the readers and showing them how how you see the world. Looked at another way, the information that is taught belongs in the realm of plot and setting; the philosophy and worldview that is shared belongs to the realm of theme and character.
Considering all the criticism, the key question is whether there is sufficient benefit from alternate assessment. While hard evidence is still emerging and multiple studies of effects have not been conducted nation-wide, we are learning that there can be significant benefits for students, teachers and schools as well as at district, state and national levels, when alternate assessment is implemented well. We have gathered a number of reports from teachers and state level staff regarding some of those benefits. We found that before these respondents seriously tried to implement an alternate assessment as part of their institutional system, few believed that alternate assessment would be worth the effort. After implementing alternate assessment programs, however, all respondents had positive experiences to share.
We begin with stories from teachers about seven students who have benefited from alternate assessment practices. Following the teacher stories, four state stories about system-wide effects are illustrated. We close with some conclusions about the possible impact of alternate assessment.
The reader is free to use this document in its entirety or any part of it in a training, sharing or policy development effort. Some suggested uses:
- Select a few stories to include in a training manual or to share during a training session,
- Share a few stories as examples and ask participants to write their own story using the same format, Use some of the stories to stimulate discussion about the intended and unintended effects of alternate assessment,
- Put the quotes from the teacher stories in a list and use the list in an orientation (e.g., by asking, 'Which of these are real quotes from teachers?' and then debriefing about what is possible),
- Provide all eleven stories to an alternate assessment development team to read and have them draw their own conclusions about how best to approach the work,
- Share the stories with the state large scale assessment technical advisory committee, or
- Use a few stories to bolster a request to the state legislature when asking for an increase in funding for alternate assessment.
We make no apology for the fact that these are not randomly selected stories, because our question was not about averages or norms, but about what can be accomplished with the best aspects of alternate assessment with alternate achievement standards. However, we think that these stories are not unique. We believe that there are hundreds of these scenarios emerging across the United States and we encourage readers to look for and share others. Throughout this paper we maintain the anonymity of the systems and individuals involved because our respondents' descriptions of the 'Background' do not always reflect well on the teacher, the school, the district or the state. In contrast, the good news can be found in the 'Effects' sections.
Wright State University President Cheryl B. Schrader
Cheryl B. Schrader has announced plans to retire as president of Wright State University effective Dec. 31.
'I am extremely proud of the many things that we've accomplished during my service as president of Wright State, and I am grateful for this experience and for the wonderful support I received throughout Raider Country,' said Schrader.
Schrader said she will begin preparing for a return to teaching and research and plans to spend more quality time with her family.
Sean Fitzpatrick, chair of the Wright State University Board of Trustees
Speechms. Schrader's Teaching Portfolio Organizer
The reader is free to use this document in its entirety or any part of it in a training, sharing or policy development effort. Some suggested uses:
- Select a few stories to include in a training manual or to share during a training session,
- Share a few stories as examples and ask participants to write their own story using the same format, Use some of the stories to stimulate discussion about the intended and unintended effects of alternate assessment,
- Put the quotes from the teacher stories in a list and use the list in an orientation (e.g., by asking, 'Which of these are real quotes from teachers?' and then debriefing about what is possible),
- Provide all eleven stories to an alternate assessment development team to read and have them draw their own conclusions about how best to approach the work,
- Share the stories with the state large scale assessment technical advisory committee, or
- Use a few stories to bolster a request to the state legislature when asking for an increase in funding for alternate assessment.
We make no apology for the fact that these are not randomly selected stories, because our question was not about averages or norms, but about what can be accomplished with the best aspects of alternate assessment with alternate achievement standards. However, we think that these stories are not unique. We believe that there are hundreds of these scenarios emerging across the United States and we encourage readers to look for and share others. Throughout this paper we maintain the anonymity of the systems and individuals involved because our respondents' descriptions of the 'Background' do not always reflect well on the teacher, the school, the district or the state. In contrast, the good news can be found in the 'Effects' sections.
Wright State University President Cheryl B. Schrader
Cheryl B. Schrader has announced plans to retire as president of Wright State University effective Dec. 31.
'I am extremely proud of the many things that we've accomplished during my service as president of Wright State, and I am grateful for this experience and for the wonderful support I received throughout Raider Country,' said Schrader.
Schrader said she will begin preparing for a return to teaching and research and plans to spend more quality time with her family.
Sean Fitzpatrick, chair of the Wright State University Board of Trustees
Speechms. Schrader's Teaching Portfolio Organizer
Sean Fitzpatrick, chairman of the Wright State University Board, said Schrader's work has been essential in helping balance the university's budget, avoiding fiscal watch and establishing a new collective bargaining agreement with the faculty. Territory warfree flash games.
Speechms. Schrader's Teaching Portfolio Strategies
'Dr. Schrader has helped instill strong budget controls and accountability that will serve us well into the future and we are grateful for her work,' Fitzpatrick said.
Speechms. Schrader's Teaching Portfolio Assessment
A special meeting of the Board of Trustees to discuss the matter has been called for Wednesday, Oct. 16.
