Students with Disabilities

View/download Assessment, Other Indicators, and Alternate Assessment (3 pages, 73KB)

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT

These graphs are similar to Learning and Achievement: Assessments. They depict the assessment scores on the 2005-06 and 2006-07 NECAP tests for elementary schools and middle schools and the 2005-06 NSREs for high schools.

But these bar graphs show the results only for students with disabilities who are enrolled in public schools. Students with disabilities includes both students receiving special-education services (that is, students with Individual Education Programs, or IEPs) and students with 504 Plans.

The 100-point scale represents 100% of public-school students with disabilities who participated in the state assessments. For the elementary schools and the middle schools, the section of each bar above the dividing line shows the percentage of all students with disabilities who achieved proficiency. For the high schools, the numbers in box below each bar show the percentage of all students with disabilities who achieved the standard.

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

You are hoping to see that all students with disabilities have met or exceeded the state standard or have reached proficiency. The standard is the same for all students statewide—whether or not they have disabilities.
In addition, you would like to see that students with disabilities had about the same proficiency level (percent proficient) as students in the state as a whole. If the proficiency level (percent proficient) for any category of student falls significantly below the statewide average for proficiency, then there is an “equity gap” for that category. These gaps must be closed.

Characteristics of the Student Population in Rhode Island

These two pie charts present information about the characteristics of the student population in Rhode Island. The first chart shows what percentage of Rhode Island students have disabilities; it also shows among the students with disabilities what percentage have Individual Education Programs and what percentage have 504 Plans. The second chart shows demographic information about the state’s students with disabilities who have IEPs.

Dropout/Graduation Rates for Students with Disabilities

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT

These two pie charts show the dropout/graduation rates for students with disabilities and for all students in the state. The graduation rate is the inverse of the dropout rate; together, they total 100%, accounting for all (high school) students in each of the categories.

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

The state’s goal for 2006 was a 75.3% graduation rate; the long-term goal is a 95% graduation rate (5% dropout rate) or better for all high schools. In addition, the dropout rate for students with special educational needs should not be significantly higher than the dropout rate for all high-school students; if it is significantly higher, then there is an “equity gap” within the state’s dropout rate.

Percent Proficient by Category of Students with Disabilities

The table shows test results for two categories of students with disabilities—students receiving special-education services (IEPs) and students with 504 Plans—plus an aggregate of the test results for all students with disabilities. The information is presented by school level:

• elementary schools (tested grades 3-5)
• middle schools (tested grades 6-8)
• high schools (tested grade 11).

The tables show, for each category of student, what percentage reached the standard (attained proficiency) in the NECAP exams for elementary schools and middle schools and the New Standards Reference Exams for high schools.

The table also shows the total number of students, including those with and without disabilities, eligible to take the state assessments.

Note: The number of eligible students may vary slightly from test to test; the numbers displayed in these tables are for the mathematics tests.

Students with Disabilities: Alternate Assessment Performance

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT

These charts show the results of the state’s Alternate Assessments in 2005-06. These assessments are designed to evaluate the progress and programs of the most severely challenged children with special educational needs.

Most children with disabilities take the regular state tests, with varying degrees of accommodations, depending on the child’s Individual Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan. About 1 of 50 children in the state has a severe or profound disability and is therefore unable to participate in the standard testing process. These students take the Alternate Assessment, a series of portfolio entries. These items are based on the state’s content standards, as are the state’s regular assessments. They also have goals that are agreed upon by the student’s IEP and caregivers.

The portfolio might include such items as samples of student work, captioned pictures, scripted videotape, or data from the teacher. The teacher develops these portfolios over time, not during a scheduled testing period. Each portfolio is evaluated by two trained scorers, using 27 standards derived and adapted from the regular state tests and 3 more standards addressing life skills appropriate to the child with severe disabilities.

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

You are hoping to see that all students who participated in the Alternate Assessment Program achieved the standard, and thereby met the proficiency goals set forth for them.

The Alternate Assessments provide information to the state, district, and school about the performance of students with severe special needs and their programs; these assessments give parents and caregivers standardized, clear measures of student progress.