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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December
19, 2002
State Board Approves Recommendations to
Simplify State Alternate Assessment
The
State Board of Education today approved recommendations of
the Illinois Alternate Assessment (IAA) subcommittee of the
Assessment and Accountability Task Force that will greatly
simplify and improve the IAA for the 2002-03 school year and
beyond, pending the development of a long-range plan for assessing
students with disabilities.
The
subcommittee included parents, teachers and administrators.
The changes are aimed at alleviating concerns raised by teachers
of students with disabilities that the current way the test
is given does not ensure that student progress is accurately
measured.
The
IAA uses a portfolio format to reflect student learning through
actual student work products, charts, graphs, pictures, teacher
and parent notes, and other relevant documentation. During
three collection periods teachers collect evidence of student
progress in the same subject areas assessed through ISAT and
PSAE. In 2002 students’ IAA portfolios were scored using
a six-dimension rubric (student progress, link to the standards,
self-determination, multiple settings, use of support, and
social interactions).
In
the recommendations approved by the Board, specifications
for what is “counted” were made, with a new emphasis
on linking student progress with instruction to standards,
being emphasized. Further, two collection periods during the
school year rather than three were adopted. The system is
further strengthened by an adopted recommendation requiring
that only certified teachers be used in scoring portfolios.
“These
improvements strike a balance for ensuring that students with
disabilities who are unable to take the ISAT or PSAE, even
with accommodations, will be included in a state system of
accountability. And they will ensure that the IAA portfolios
are a reflection of student progress,” said State Superintendent
of Education Robert E. Schiller.
“These
recommendations are the result of input from many interested
parties who deserve our thanks, “Schiller said. “They
help us toward our goals of simplifying an important process
and guaranteeing access to the general education curriculum
while ensuring assessment and accountability.”
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