NCAAAI:%20What%20Is%20It%20and%20Why%20and%20How%20Should%20I%20Use%20It%20As%20An%20Assessment?

1
NCAAAIWhat Is It and Why and How Should I Use
It As An Assessment?

• Sheila Garner Brown
• North Carolina State University
• Technical Outreach for Public Schools
• sheila_brown_at_ncsu.edu

2
What is the NCAAAI?

• The North Carolina Alternate Assessment Academic
  Inventory (NCAAAI) is an assessment in which
  teachers utilize a checklist to evaluate student
  performance in the areas of reading and
  mathematics at grades 3-8 and 10, writing at
  grades 4, 7, and 10, and in high school courses
  in which an end-of-course test is administered.
• Data are collected at the beginning of the school
  year or course (baseline), in the middle
  (interim), and at the end of the school year or
  course (final).
• As stated in State Board policy HSP-C-005,
  eligible students with disabilities and students
  with limited English proficiency may participate
  in the NCAAAI instead of taking the
  multiple-choice test.
• For students with disabilities, participation
  must be documented in each students current IEP.
  
• Students identified as limited English proficient
  must meet particular criteria set forth in state
  policy.

3
COMMONLY USED ACRONYMS

• NCAAAI North Carolina Alternate Assessment
  Academic Inventory
• AAP Alternate Assessment Portfolio
• HSCT High School Comprehensive Test
• OCS Occupational Course of Study
• EOG End-of-Grade
• EOC End-of-Course
• EC Exceptional Children
• LEP Limited English Proficient
• ESL English as a Second Language
• NCLB No Child Left Behind

4
For which assessments can the NCAAAI be used as
an alternate?

• Grade 3 Pretest in Reading and Math
• EOG Tests in Reading and Math at Grades 3-8
• Writing at Grades 4, 7, and 10
• High School Comprehensive Test at Grade 10
• EOC tests for Algebra I, Algebra II, Biology,
  Chemistry, Geometry, English I, Physical Science,
  and Physics
• Statewide EOC Field Tests for Civics and
  Economics and U.S. History

5
What do I do first?

• Decide which assessment is most appropriate for
  your student (IEP team process).
• This decision should be made using the Guidelines
  for Making Decisions for Participation of
  Students with Disabilities and all available
  academic information.

6
Considerations for Students With Disabilities

• What should I think about when choosing an
  assessment for my student?

7
Academics

• Where is this student functioning academically?
• How does the student access the standard course
  of study/at what level?
• What supports and accommodations are needed for
  the student to access the curriculum?

8
Types of Assessments Used

• What types of assessment has the student used
  previously?
• How is the student assessed currently in the
  classroom?
• What types of modifications and accommodations
  are used in the classroom?

9
Other Factors That Must be Considered

• Parent Input
• Student Input When Appropriate
• Team Consensus

10
THE DECISION FOR ASSESSMENT SHOULD BE MADE ON AN
INDIVIDUALIZED BASIS AND SHOULD NOT BE PART OF A
BLANKET DECISION FOR A PARTICULAR SCHOOL OR
CLASS!!!!!!
The decision to place a student with
disabilities on a particular assessment should be
made as part of the IEP process after careful
consideration of the students current academic
functioning and how that student accesses the
Standard Course of Study. The addition of
guidelines for determining students with the most
significant cognitive disabilities is a federal
NCLB requirement for reporting purposes and
should not affect the assessment decision of an
IEP team. DPI/TOPS Staff, TNN announcement
10/6/04
11
The team has decided to use the NCAAAI as the
assessment. What do we do now?

• Notify test coordinator of decision.
• Upon receipt of materials, begin baseline scoring.

12
How to Complete the NCAAAI
13
Principals Responsibilities

• Assigns assessors for each NCAAAI.
• Ensure that all assessors are trained and
  understand the curriculum.
• Monitor completion of the NCAAAI throughout the
  school year.
• Sign at the end of the assessment period that all
  procedures have been followed appropriately and
  NCAAAIs are complete, valid, accurate and
  appropriate.

14
Assessors Responsibilities

• Teach from the North Carolina Standard Course of
  Study.
• Attend a test administration training session.
• Complete NCAAAI following procedures and
  according to established timelines.
• Meet with the principal periodically to review
  the inventory.
• Ensure that the inventory reflects student
  progress.
• Sign at the end of the assessment period that all
  procedures have been followed appropriately and
  NCAAAIs are complete, valid, accurate and
  appropriate.

15
Front of folder
16
Inside of folder
17
Back of folder
18
Baseline Student Profile
19
Final Student Profile
20
Baseline Scoring

• Begin baseline scoring within the first 30
  calendar days of student participation.
• Score all objectives based on 0-8 scale.
• Date when scoring is completed.
• Complete Baseline Student Profile and assessment
  history.
• Begin collecting student work samples.

21
Interim Scoring

• Score all objectives using 0-8 scale.
• Date when scoring is completed.
• Continue to collect student work.

22
Final Scoring

• Should be done within the final 30 calendar days
  of the school year or course.
• Score all objectives using 1-8 scores. The 0
  score is not allowed at final scoring.
• Date when scoring is completed.
• Complete Final Student Profile.
• Finish collecting student work.

23
Completing Scoring-on back of folder

• Transfer final goal or category scores.
• Complete transfer information, if applicable.
• Answer Did student achieve growth?
• Complete final evaluation section.
• Transfer scores to scannable information sheet.

You are finished!
24
Frequently Asked Questions
25
What is the student work folder, and what goes in
it?

• The student work folder is the same folder that
  most teachers keep for all students.
• Teachers place ongoing work samples in the folder
  that show evidence of the objectives in the
  students assessment.
• Work samples can be any type of work that the
  student is completing in the classroom as part of
  instruction.

26
What information do I need to include for work
samples/evidence?

• DPI is not setting any requirements for work
  samples/folders at this time!
• LEAs may place requirements on work
  samples/folders.
• Dates and descriptions of modifications are
  nicebut NOT required by DPI at this time.

27
Does the evidence need to be matched to specific
objectives?

• NO!
• The work samples/evidence included in the folder
  should match the students level of instruction.
  If the student is working on 4th grade math, the
  work samples should show 4th grade math concepts
  with or without modifications.

28
Who is responsible for completing the NCAAAI?

• The person assigned to complete the NCAAAI must
  have training in the specific content area being
  assessed and must have routine contact with the
  student.
• p. 16 of NCAAAI Test Administrators Guide for
  Grades 3-8 and 10

29
Can a student with disabilities score proficient
using the NCAAAI?

• All students with disabilities have an
  opportunity to score proficient on the NCAAAI IF
  they are being assessed on grade level and are
  completing grade level work.
• Students with disabilities assessed 3 or more
  grade levels below can be scored proficient based
  on alternate achievement standards, if they are
  also considered to have a most significant
  cognitive disability.

30
Why is it possible for some students to achieve
proficiency when they are not performing on
grade level?

• The federal government has realized the need to
  address concerns about proficiency for those
  students with the most significant cognitive
  disabilities as they relate to NCLB. The December
  9, 2003 Federal Register provided that states
  were allowed to report up to 1 of the tested
  student population as proficient based on
  alternate achievement standards. Only students
  with the most significant cognitive disabilities
  may be included in this group.

31
What is a most significant cognitive disability?
32
To identify students with the most significant
cognitive disabilities, all of the following must
be true

• The student requires extensive and explicit
  instruction to acquire, maintain, and generalize
  new reading and mathematics skills for
  independent living.
• The student exhibits severe and pervasive delays
  in multiple areas of development and in adaptive
  behavior (e.g., mobility, communication, daily
  living skills, and self-care).
• The students IEP annual goals focus on the
  functional application of academics (reading,
  mathematics, and writing).
• The students performance is evaluated against
  alternate achievement standards (essences of the
  standard course of study or 3 or more years below
  grade level).

33
Can a student be assessed using the NCAAAI for
reading and math, and then assessed using the AAP
(Portfolio) for writing?

• NO, the portfolio is an all-or-nothing
  assessment. If a student is assessed using the
  NCAAAI for reading and math, they must be
  assessed using the NCAAAI or the standard test
  administration with or without accommodations for
  writing.

34
Is the NCAAAI for Grade 10 HSCT for reading and
math a yearlong assessment?

• The grade 10 reading and math High School
  Comprehensive Test (HSCT) is administered as a
  yearlong assessment.

35
What if my student is not taking math or English
both semesters? Who completes the NCAAAI?

• The principal assigns the assessor. The assessor
  must have training in the content area and must
  work routinely with the student.
• It is possible that there will be a different
  assessor for the fall and spring semester.

36
Can a student who is LEP, but is also identified
as a student with disabilities, be assessed below
grade level?

• A student who is LEP, but also identified as a
  student with disabilities MAY be assessed below
  grade level. This decision would be made by the
  IEP team.
• The EC eligibility always takes precedence over
  the LEP status.
• The student would be eligible for the standard
  test administration with or without
  accommodations, the NCAAAI or the AAP, depending
  on the decision from the IEP team.

37
Do students in the OCS who are in 10th grade have
to take the writing assessment at grade level?

• Students in the OCS are not required to take the
  writing assessment at grade 10.

38
Is the Writing Assessment at Grades 4, 7, and 10
always assessed on grade level? And if so, why
can this assessment not be completed below grade
level?

• The writing assessments are required as part of
  the Statewide Testing Program. They are required
  for all 4th, 7th, and 10th grade students (except
  10th grade students in the OCS program).
• The writing assessments in grades 4, 7, and 10 do
  not have below grade level assessments because
  they are not offered at all grade levels as are
  the EOG tests (3-8). Therefore, there would be no
  below grade level assessment to offer.
• Below grade level assessments for 3-8 reading and
  math are offered because standard tests have been
  developed for those grades.

39
If a student with disabilities has taken the
standard test administration with accommodations
last school year, and scored proficient (Level
III or IV), should he/she be placed on the below
grade level NCAAAI this school year?

• If a student with disabilities took the standard
  test with accommodations last year and scored
  proficient, there would not seem to be a reason
  to place the student on the below grade level
  NCAAAI unless there were circumstances that had
  resulted in a change/decrease in the students
  abilities (ex. brain injury).
• The student has proven that he/she is able to
  perform on grade level the previous year.
• To be deemed proficient for this school year
  using the NCAAAI, the student would have to be
  assessed either on grade level OR 3 or more grade
  levels below and be determined to have a most
  significant cognitive disability.
• As always, this is an IEP team decision.

40
Must every objective on the NCAAAI be taught
during the school year?

• Every objective included on the NCAAAI must be
  assessed by the final scoring period.
• The score of 0 is available at baseline and
  interim to address those objectives for which you
  have no assessment information.
• At the final scoring period, all objectives must
  have a score of 1-8.

41
Why does the NCAAAI for OCS 10th graders not
cover the same objectives as the OCS curriculum?

• All assessments are aligned with the North
  Carolina Standard Course of Study.
• OCS curriculum is based on the standard course of
  study at a lower level. Activities in the OCS
  should parallel the objectives in reading and
  mathematics, though they may not be exact.
• Existing AAAIs were designed to serve as
  alternate assessments for specific tests.
• Evidence from OCS activities would be functional
  applications of skills taught in lower grades in
  reading and mathematics.

42
Why are students in the OCS program required to
take the HSCT, if it is not a requirement for
graduation?

• According to NCLB, all students must be assessed
  in reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in
  grades 10-12.
• The NCAAAI is one option for OCS students to
  fulfill this requirement.
• A science requirement is being added in the next
  few years. An alternate assessment for science is
  in the process of being developed at this time.

43
What is the most important thing to remember when
deciding whether or not to assess using the
NCAAAI?

• The most important thing to remember when making
  an assessment decision is what is best for the
  individual student. ALL assessment decisions
  should be made based on what is most appropriate
  and challenging for an individual student!

44
LISTEN TO THE MUSTNTS

• Listen to the MUSTNTS, child,
• Listen to the DONTS
• Listen to the SHOULDNTS
• The IMPOSSIBLES, the WONTS
• Listen to the NEVER HAVES
• Then listen close to me
• Anything can happen, child,
• ANYTHING can be.
• Shel Silverstein
• Where the Sidewalk Ends

45
Questions/More info. Needed?

• www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/testing/nca
  aai
• ESL website www.learnnc.org/dpi/instserv.nsf/Cat
  egory4
• NCAAAI questions Sheila Brown at
  sheila_brown_at_ncsu.edu
• Policy questions Pam Biggs at
• pbiggs_at_dpi.state.nc.us

46
Contributors

• Pam Biggs, Testing Policy and Operations,
  Department of Public Instruction
• Phyllis Blackmon and Marcy Roan, Technical
  Outreach for Public Schools, North Carolina State
  University