Source: Turnbull, A.P., Turnbull, H.R., & Wehmeyer, M. (2007). Exceptional lives: Special education in today's schools (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall. (The information is from the following pages: 127, 153, 179, 205, 255, 283, 310, 334, 366, 395-396, 421).

Disability categories / Strategies for assessments
Learning disability /
  • Curriculum-based measurement involves the use of multiple, frequent probes that collect samples of student progress in content areas, including math, reading, science, and social studies.
  • There are a number of test accommodations, including extended time, oral presentation, computer administration, and calculator use, which have been shown to be effective with students with learning disabilities.

Communication disorders /
  • Curriculum-based assessment can help monitor student’s progress in the general education curriculum.
  • Ecological inventories can be helpful for assessing and monitoring progress in and outside the classroom.

Emotional or behavioral disorders /
  • Mastery evaluation takes a different approach to evaluation is intended to provide information on student progress that teachers can use to modify instruction.
  • Interventions to promote social skills are important for students with emotional or behavioral disorders, and teachers can use a commercially available scale to measure progress or can use sociometric ratings techniques.
  • Students with emotional or behavioral disorders need access to the general curriculum. A critical component of that is the provision of accommodations, such as extended time, individual administration, and testing with breaks.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder /
  • Goal attainment scaling allows teachers to compare student progress in the general curriculum by tracking goal attainment and can be used to compare among students and, for a particular student, among goals.
  • Simple T-charts or checklists can be excellent ways to supplement more standardized data collection and to document progress in areas of other educational needs.
  • Students with AD/HD may need test accommodations to address problems with attention and concentration that include extra breaks, multiple sessions, or distraction-free testing environments.

Severe and multiple disabilities /
  • Using portfolios to assess the progress of students with severe disabilities involves collecting examples of permanent products for students.
  • Observational methodologies like field observations, time sampling, and event recording enable teachers to collect data such as behavioral frequency, percentage, rate, duration, and latency.
  • Students who cannot take the state’s general assessment even with modifications can still be involved in accountability decisions using alternate assessment procedures such as portfolios, performance assessments, IEP-linked content data, and checklist data.

Autism /
  • Sometimes systems or assessment packages, such as the Autism Screening Instrument for Educational Planning, provide teachers with organized ways to collect data on student progress, including progress in the general curriculum, across multiple domains.
  • There are multiple means for collecting data on progress as a function of the implementation of positive behavior supports, most of which focus on collecting data from school referrals, types of problem behavior, or changes in absenteeism or tardiness.
  • For students with autism, having a familiar person administer standardized tests may reduce test and schedule anxiety and improve the performance of students with autism.

Physical disabilities and other health impairments /
  • Students with physical disabilities and other health impairments may perform more effectively on curriculum-based measurement and mastery learning assessments if such measures are computer-based.
  • There are multiple means to measure progress in physical education, but teachers should focus on a wide array of health outcomes, including cardiovascular and other outcomes.
  • Students with physical disabilities and other health impairments may need multiple accommodations for testing, such as extended time, a scribe, or computer administration. Physical access to the testing site is also important.

Traumatic brain injury /
  • Rubrics provide a means for teachers to quantify student progress in the general curriculum.
  • A variety of neuropsychiatric assessments may help teachers who are working with students with TBI. Teachers should definitely focus on determining perceptual-motor skills since they directly impact handwriting.
  • The use of a scribe and test item formats that minimize the use of essay exams are accommodations for students with TBI who have memory impairments.

Hearing loss /
  • There may be problems in the assessment of students with hearing loss if the student uses English as a second language (ASL being the first language), has unintelligible speech, or has difficulty with reading.
  • Story retelling allows the student to show that he understands what he has read, even though he may not have been able to sound out each individual word.

Visual impairments /
  • Progress in the general curriculum is measured through materials selected by the general education teacher that are adapted appropriately by the TVI [teachers of the visually impaired].
  • Progress in the expanded core curriculum is measured by the TVI and Q&M [orientation and mobility] specialist using informal assessment techniques, including interviews, teacher-made tests, and rubrics.
  • Options for the use of accommodations on statewide tests are determined by the IEP team and often include different presentation (Braille or print), additional time, a quiet setting, and use of a reader or scribe.

Gifted and talented /
  • Product and process evaluations and learning contracts are ways in which students who are gifted can be involved in evaluating progress in their educational programs.