Special Education Assessment and Measurement Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering special education processes, RTI tiers, legal frameworks, assessment models, and statistical measurement concepts.

Response to Intervention (RTI)

The application of learning or behavior interventions and measurements of students' responses to such interventions.

Tier 1

Universal, high-quality instruction provided to all students in the general education setting.

Tier 2

Targeted instruction provided to students whose performance on standardized instruments is markedly discrepant from that of their peers.

Tier 3

Intensive instruction or individualized interventions designed for students who need the highest level of support.

504 Plan

A plan under civil rights law that includes protection from discrimination and provides reasonable accommodations for a student who does not qualify for special education.

Individualized Education Program (IEP)

A written plan of education interventions designed for each student who receives special education services.

Informal Assessment

Nonstandardized methods of evaluating progress, such as interviews, observations, checklists, rating scales, and teacher-made tests.

Performance Assessment

An assessment that requires students to create a product that demonstrates their skills, competency, or knowledge.

Portfolio Assessment

An assessment approach where a teacher collects student products over the course of the year to demonstrate the progress students make.

Overrepresentation

A situation where the percentage of students of a culturally different group is greater than the percentage of individuals of that group in the local education agency (LEA).

Overidentification

The identification of students who seem to be eligible for special education services but who actually are not disabled, often caused by unnecessary evaluation and misdiagnosis.

Disproportionality

When the number of students from various ethnic or linguistically diverse groups receiving special education services is skewed compared to the general population.

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM)

A set of standardized, brief, timed tasks drawn directly from the student's school curriculum, administered under consistent conditions and graphed over time to monitor progress against aim lines.

Curriculum-Based Assessment (CBA)

An assessment given to determine student mastery of specific content or words covered in the curriculum, such as an end-of-week test.

Criterion-Referenced Assessment

An assessment that compares a student's performance against a predetermined cut-off score or standard of mastery rather than against peers.

Norm-Referenced Test

A test that compares a student's scores to the performance of their peers to determine if they are performing significantly above or below average.

Historical Model of Assessment

An assessment model where a student struggling in class is referred immediately to a multidisciplinary team, which historically led to an increase in students identified for special education.

Ecological Evaluation

The process of evaluating an environment to determine if there are any influences impacting the student's learning process.

Error Analysis

Looking for patterns of errors to provide insight into learning how a student completes a task.

Early Intervention Services

Services emphasized in IDEA 2004 that should be employed to address a student's needs within the general education classroom and prevent additional assessment.

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)

A legal document required by law for an eligible child who is $3$ years of age or younger.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

The requirement that students with disabilities are educated alongside non-disabled peers to the greatest extent appropriate.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

An educational entitlement guaranteed to students with disabilities under federal special education law.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Federal legislation governing special education services, early intervention, and procedural safeguards for students with disabilities.

Modification

A change to what a student is expected to learn by altering curriculum content, task complexity, or performance criteria to match the student's needs.

Accommodations

Necessary changes in format, response mode, setting, or scheduling that enable a student with disabilities to complete the general curriculum or tests without altering the learning expectations.

Alternative Assessment

A testing method used for students with severe disabilities who are unable to participate in standard statewide assessments.

Mean Difference

The mean of one group minus the mean of another group, used to compare scores and identify differences across cultural, linguistic, or other demographic groups.

True Score

A score that accounts for the standard error of measurement, reflecting student ability once errors from testing conditions and external factors are considered.

Positive Skew

A score distribution in which more of the scores fall below the mean, with extreme high scores pulling the tail to the right.

Negative Skew

A score distribution in which more of the scores fall above the mean, with extreme low scores pulling the tail to the left.

Positive Correlation

A relationship where two variables tend to increase or decrease together (as one goes up, the other goes up; as one goes down, the other goes down).

Negative Correlation

A relationship where one variable increases while the other variable tends to decrease, moving in opposite directions.

Interrater Reliability

The consistency of a test to measure a skill, trait, or domain across different examiners.

Test Variability

The increased risk that a student with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) may experience negative outcomes, barriers, or unfair disadvantages on standardized or curriculum-based assessments.