Chapter 6: Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Supplemental Information >

Policies And Procedures For Accommodations & Alternate Assessment To The MEA

Learning Results legislation clearly articulates that all students will be included in state assessment at the fourth grade, eighth grade, and eleventh grade levels. The Maine Educational Assessment (MEA) has been revised to measure the standards detailed in Maine's Learning Results. As of the 2001-2002 school year, all students in Maine will participate in the state level assessment, the MEA, through one of three avenues. Students will take the assessment through standard adminstration, through administration with accommodations, or through alternate assessment. Legal requirements for students identified for federally funded programs have been taken into account in the development of this document.

Policies and Procedures for the Participation of Students with Accommodations

The policies and procedures for accommodations are designed so that all students with unique learning needs have a fair opportunity to demonstrate what they know and are able to do on the MEA.

Test Accommodation Procedures

All students being considered for accommodations on the MEA must have their individual situations reviewed by a team prior to the time of assessment. This team should include at least one of the student's teachers, the building principal, related services personnel, the parent(s)/guardian(s) and, whenever possible, the student. If it is not possible for the parent and student to attend the meeting, they should be consulted regarding the committee's recommendations for accommodations prior to the time of the assessment.

For a student who has an Individual Educational Plan (IEP), schools are required to address needed accommodations at a Pupil Evaluation Team (PET) meeting. Membership for this meeting is prescribed in the special education regulations.

Students who may be considered for accommodations include, but are not limited to, those who are ill or incapacitated in some way, who are limited English proficient (LEP), who have an identified disability, or who are unable to work independently in any of the subjects assessed.

Recommended accommodations should be consistent with accommodations already being employed in the student's instructional program. Any accommodations recommended for a student will be reflected in a statement in the cumulative folder of the student (in the IEP for a student with an identified disability).

See the section on documentation for a suggested format.

Documentation of Accommodations

Information about the accommodations provided for students and the reasons for providing these accommodations should be documented by marking the appropriate information on the second page of the students' test booklets (grade 4) and the second page of the students' response booklets (grades 8 and 11). This information is to be coded in by staff - not students - after testing is completed. The test coordinator's and test administrator's manuals provide directions on coding in the information related to accommodations. Every student in the district must be accounted for by completion of the first two pages of a test booklet (grade 4) and the first two pages of a response booklet (grades 8 and 11).

As stated earlier, any accommodations made for a student and the reasons for these choices must also be reflected in a statement in the cumulative folder of the student (in the IEP for a student with an identified disability). The following is a suggested statement.

This student will participate in the ___ th grade level MEA with the following accommodations:

Section	Reason for Accommodation	Accommodation
ELA-Writing	________________	________________
ELA-Reading	________________	________________
Health Education	________________	________________
Science/Technology	________________	________________
Social Studies	________________	________________
Mathematics	________________	________________
Visual/Performing Arts	________________	________________

Reporting Students' Scores

All students will be included in the school’s accountability system. Scores of all students who take all sessions of a content area of the MEA are included in the school’s aggregate scores for the content area taken.

Note: Refer to the last page of this document for the allowable accommodation codes A-F.

Policies and Procedures for the Participation of Students in Alternate Assessment

The very few students who will require an alternate assessment are the students for whom accommodations would be so significant that they would compromise the content validity of the MEA tests. Every effort must be made to include students through standard administration or through administration with accommodations. This is true for not only the entire MEA, but also for the content sections within the MEA. (Refer to the previous section of this document for further guidance on accommodations.)

Maine’s alternate assessment, the Personalized Alternate Assessment Portfolio (PAAP), assesses only the content areas of the MEA that provide individual student scores. These areas are English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Technology, and Social Studies.

Personalized Alternate Assessment Portfolio (PAAP) Procedures

Students who may be considered for an alternate assessment include, but are not limited to, those who have significant or profound disabilities or those who have very limited English proficiency.

All students being considered for the PAAP must have their individual situations reviewed by a team prior to the time of assessment. This team should include at least one of the student’s teachers, the building principal, related services personnel, the parent(s)/guardian(s) and, whenever possible, the student. If it is not possible for the parent and student to attend the meeting, they should be consulted regarding the committee’s recommendations. It is anticipated that the PAAP will require the accumulation of evidence over time. Teams are encouraged to meet during the year prior to the MEA administration year, allowing for the gathering of student work during most of the following school year.

For a student who has an Individual Educational Plan (IEP), schools are required to address the need for the alternate assessment at a Pupil Evaluation Team (PET) meeting. Membership for this meeting is prescribed in the special education regulations.

The PAAP recommended for a student will be reflected in a statement in the cumulative folder of the student (in the IEP for a student with an identified disability). See the section on documentation for a suggested format.

Documentation of Alternate Assessment

Information about the participation of students in PAAP and the reasons for this assessment option should be documented by marking the appropriate information on the second page of the students’ test booklets (grade 4) and the second page of the students’ response booklets (grades 8 and 11). This information is to be coded in by staff, not students. The test coordinator’s and test administrator’s manuals provide directions on coding in the information related to alternate assessments. Every student in the district must be accounted for by completion of the first two pages of a test booklet (grade 4) and the first two pages of a response booklet (grades 8 and 11).

As stated earlier, the PAAP provided to a student and the reasons for this option must also be reflected in a statement in the cumulative folder of the student (in the IEP for a student with an identified disability).The following is a suggested statement.

This student will participate in an alternate assessment to the ___ th grade level MEA:

Section	Reason for Alternate Assessment (PAAP)
ELA—Writing	_______________________________
ELA—Reading	_______________________________
Science/Technology	_______________________________
Social Studies	_______________________________
Mathematics	_______________________________

Note: Guidance on PAAP development, content, and scoring will be available through a series of regional workshops held during the next two years. For details on these events, as well as additional information on the Alternate Assessment component of the Maine Comprehensive Assessment System, please refer to the DOE web site at <<www.state.me.us/education>>.

Alternate Assessment Scoring and Reporting of Student Scores

All PAAPs will be scored using content rubrics generated by MDOE in collaboration with various stakeholders. The 2001-2003 school years will provide baseline information leading to full implementation of the scoring and reporting systems in 2003-2004. Once implementation is complete, alternate assessments will be reported as part of the Comprehensive Assessment System.

Note: Refer to the last page of this document for the allowable alternate assessment codes G1-G5.

Coding for Accommodations and Alternate Assessment

Specific Allowable Accommodations Codes

A. Scheduling Accommodations

Tests were administered

A.1.	at a time of day or a day of the week most beneficial to the student.
A.2.	in appropriate blocks of time for individual student needs, followed by rest breaks.
A.3.	with time extended beyond the regular test administration allotments until, in the administrator’s judgment, the student could no longer sustain the activity.

B. Setting Accommodations

Tests were administered

B.1.	individually.
B.2.	in a small group.
B.3.	in a carrel.
B.4.	in an alternative setting.
B.5.	at the student’s home, by school personnel.
B.6.	with the student seated in front of the classroom.
B.7.	with the teacher facing the student.
B.8.	by other school personnel known to the student (e.g., LEP, Title 1, Compensatory Education, Special Education).

C. Equipment Accommodations

Tests were administered

C.1.	with the student using magnifying equipment.
C.2.	with the student wearing noise buffers.
C.3.	using a template.
C.4.	with the student using amplification equipment (e.g., a hearing aid or auditory trainer).
C.5.	with the student using a typewriter or word processor.
C.6.	with the student using a calculator for non-calculator sessions (only if the use of a calculator is part of the student’s IEP).
C.7.	using voice-actuated technology.
C.8.	using other assistive technology.
C.9.	using a bilingual dictionary.

D. Recording Accommodations

D.1.	The student’s answers were dictated to the test administrator and recorded in the student test booklet by the test administrator (except for the writing sessions).
D.2.	The student wrote answers by machine or on large-spaced paper.

NOTE: Oral dictation of a writing sample is NOT an approved accommodation.

E. Modality Accommodations

E.1.	Tests were administered in large print.
E.2.	Tests were administered in Braille.
E.3.	Tests were read to the student by the test administrator (with the exception of the reading session).
E.4.	Tests were interpreted for the deaf or hearing-impaired student (with the exception of the reading passages).
E.5.	An administrator gave test directions with verification that the student understood them.
E.6.	Tests were translated into native language for an LEP student, if the student is participating in a native language instruction program. (Translation is to be done by local personnel.)
E.7.	Tests were read in “Sheltered English” content for an LEP student in a manner that does not compromise test integrity.

F. Other Accommodations

F.1.	Other (must be approved by the Department of Education in advance)

 

G. Areas of Alternate Assessment The student will be provided with an alternate assessment (assessment other than the MEA) in the following areas: G.1. the English language arts-writing section G.2. the English language arts-reading section G.3. the science and technology section G.4. the social studies section G.5. the mathematics section

For further information contact: Dr. Horace (Brud) Maxcy, Coordinator, Maine Educational Assessment, Department of Education, 23 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333, (207) 624-6774.