Students with learning disabilities may be assessed using formal, informal, norm-referenced, or criterion-referenced
means. Define these approaches and provide an example of each.
What will be an ideal response?
ANSWER: The notions of formal and informal have grown to mean standardized versus teachermade
tests or techniques. Standardized instruments are those that are published and
distributed widely on a commercial basis, such as intelligence tests and achievement
tests. Teacher-made (or those devised by any professional) generally refer to techniques
or instruments that are not commercially available. These may be constructed for
specific assessment purposes and are often quite formal in the sense that great care is
taken in the evaluation process. Both formal and informal assessment techniques are
effective ways of evaluating students with learning disabilities and other students, as
well.
Two other background concepts are also important, norm-referenced assessment and
criterion-referenced assessment. Norm-referenced assessment compares an individual's
skills or performance with that of others, such as age-mates, usually on the basis of
national average scores. Thus, a student's counting performance might be compared
with that of his or her classmates, others in the school district of the same age, or state
or national average scores. In contrast, criterion-referenced assessment does not
compare an individual's skills with some norm. Instead, his or her performance is
compared with a desired level (criterion) that is a goal. The goal may involve counting to
100 with no errors by the end of the school year or some other criterion, depending on
the purpose.
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a. True b. False
Which of the following statements about the effectiveness of bilingual education is supported by research?
a. There appears to be little difference between bilingual programs and immersion programs in terms of gains in test scores. b. Bilingual education appears to produce moderate gains in achievement in reading, language, and math skills tests. c. Bilingual education is not as effective as immersion programs in terms of bringing non-English-speaking students up to the same level of competence as English-speaking students. d. English and reading scores seem to benefit from bilingual programs, whereas math and science test scores appear to benefit more from immersion programs.
Chelsia has very limited communication abilities. She is nonambulatory, has difficulty with memory, and needs supports for many of life's major activities (e.g., daily living, leisure, community participation, employment). Chelsia is showing characteristics of which group of children with disabilities?
A. Children who have deaf-blindness B. Children with TBI C. Children with multiple disabilities D. Children with physical impairments
You have been assigned gate duty when the children go home and notice that a number of parents allow their youngsters to scramble into the front seat rather than going to the trouble of getting out themselves, boosting the children into their car seats and buckling them in. Since it is the child's own parent who is making this decision, you should:
a. mind your own business and say nothing because it's the parent's responsibility once the child is in the parent's car. b. say to the parent you'll be glad to help her put the child in the car seat so he'll be safe. c. find out how to obtain free car seats to lend to parents who can't afford to buy them. d. make certain other children don't car pool with that parent. e. b and c are both correct.