Modified High School Assessment ModHSA Maryland State Board

Modified High School Assessment (Mod-HSA) Maryland State Board of Education August 26, 2008

IDEA REQUIREMENTS • Students with disabilities will participate in general state and district wide assessments, with appropriate accommodations, where necessary. [Sec. 612(a)(17)(A)] • For students with disabilities who are determined to be unable to participate in general assessments, alternate assessments will be used. []Sec. 612(a)(17)(A)(ii)] NCLB REQUIREMENTS • Beginning in 2005 -06, all students in grades 3 -8, including students with disabilities (with reasonable adaptations and accommodations, as necessary) will participate in annual assessments in, at a minimum, mathematics and reading/language arts, and, beginning no later than 2007 -08, in science. [Sec. 1111(b)(3)(C)] • Accommodations, guidelines, and alternate assessments must be provided in the same manner as under [Sec. 612(a)(17) of the IDEA. Sec. 1111(b)(2)(I)]

ALL Students with Disabilities Participate in Assessments · Regular assessment with accommodations · Alternate assessment based on grade-level achievement standards (Mod-2%) · Alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (Alt-1%)

· A student’s disability must not determine which assessment the student will take. · There is no limit on the number of students TAKING any particular assessment. · A student’s IEP team will make the decision as to which assessment a student will take.

· May not be limited to students in a particular disability category. · Alternate achievement standards and modified achievement standards must be developed using a documented and validated standardsetting process. · Assessments based on alternate or modified achievement standards must be valid and reliable and must be of high technical quality. · Assessments must be linked to academic content standards for the grade in which the student is enrolled.

Alt-HSAs · · · Includes students with the most significant cognitive disabilities Includes students whose cognitive impairments may prevent them from attaining grade-level achievement standards, even with the best instruction Preclude students from earning a regular high school diploma Mod-HSA · · Includes students with disabilities who can make significant progress but may not reach grade-level achievement standards in the same time frame as other students States that students must receive grade-level instruction States that the student’s IEP team must use objective evidence (e. g. , from state assessments), based on multiple measures, and collected over a period of time to identify these students May not preclude students from earning a regular high school diploma

Characteristics of Assessments Achievement Standards MSA & HSA Mod-MSA & Mod-HSA (2%) Alt-MSA (1%) A grade level academic achievement standard defines a level of “proficiency” performance equivalent to grade-level achievement on the State’s regular assessment. A modified academic achievement standard is aligned to grade-level content standards for the grade in which a student is enrolled and challenging for eligible students, but may be less challenging than grade-level achievement standards. An alternate academic achievement standard is an expectation of performance that differs in complexity from a grade-level achievement standard, usually based on a very limited sample of content that is linked to but does not fully represent grade-level content. Achievement standards must include 3 levels of performance, cut scores that distinguish one level from another, and descriptions of the contentbased competencies associated with each level May be defined grade-by-grade. Test Content Standards Grade-Level Achievement standards must include 3 levels of performance, cut scores that distinguish one level from another, and descriptions of the content-based competencies associated with each level gradelevel May be defined for grade cluster, e. g. , 3 -5 Must be defined grade-by-grade Grade-Level “Extended” standards may include substantially simplified content, including emerging and pre-requisite skills.

General Curriculum and Assessments Content Regular MSA/HSA Mod. MSA/HSA Alt-MSA Alternate Achievement Regular Modified Alternate

Modified Achievement Standards and Instruction Designed to meet the needs of student’s specific instructional characteristics, such as the need for: § Shorter reading passages § More visual cues § Scaffolding questioning § Few items presented on a page • Provide a measure of students with disabilities performance compared with grade-level academic content standards • Provide teachers and parents with information that will help guide access to the general curriculum and instruction strategies •

Who is a Mod-Eligible Student? • A student with an IEP working on grade level content • A student making progress on grade-level academic IEP goals, but not a year for a year • Has had multiple interventions over consecutive years • Does not qualify for Alt-MSA eligibility (not a student with significant cognitive disabilities)

• Cannot attain proficiency on the actual grade-level MSA, even with the provision of accommodations based on documented multiple valid and objective measures of student’s progress • Learning based on the State’s approved Academic Content Standards/Core Learning Goals in Algebra/Data Analysis, Biology, English and/or Government.

• • • Only Selected Responses Reduced number of answer choices (3 instead of 4) Simplified sentence structure, vocabulary, and graphics Deleted extraneous information when possible No “EXCEPT” and “NOT” questions Separated long paragraph questions into bullets whenever possible Online Assessment “Pre-reading” text added prior to passages Use pictures to support passage

Mod-MSA Math Test Format Publicly Released Item Look at the equation below. 125 x N = 375 What value of N makes this equation correct? A. B. C. D. 2 3 4 5 Sample Modified Test Item

Benefits • • Eligible to take the Mod-HSA in one subject and take the HSA in another subject Test is more accessible and students with IEPs will do better All accommodations available Students do not need to “pass” to benefit from participation in assessment Assist in increasing points towards composite score of 1602 Improve opportunities for completion of Bridge Modules Online Availability

Mod-HSA Professional Development Trainings State and Regional meetings and individual Technical Assistance to LSS and schools. 949 participants attended the Mod-HSA Regional Trainings and Technical Support meetings • Assistant Superintendents • Local Accountability Coordinators • Directors of Special Education • Central Office Special Education Personnel • High School Principals • High School Assist. Principals • STCs • IEP Chairpersons

Topics Covered at Mod-HSA Professional Development Trainings • Mod-eligibility requirement • Guidelines for IEP Teams • Summary of Maryland’s Assessments • Sample of modified test items • Creating standard based IEPs • Writing IEP goals based on content standards

Modified High School Assessment (Mod-HSA) Standard Setting

Mod-HSA Alternative assessment for students working on grade level content Assesses algebra, biology, English § End of course • Multiple-choice assessment • English and algebra scores included in AYP – 2% •

Mod-HSA Standard Setting New Assessment in May 2008 Equated to regular HSA scale to maintain graduation passing scores. • NCLB requires standards of proficient and advanced. § Proficient is defined as passing for the regular HSA § Standard setting was to recommend proficient and advanced performance for AYP calculations •

Numbers of Students Participating in the 2008 Mod-HSA (Grades 9 -11 Combined) Algebra English Biology 2719 2532 2012

3 content groups Psychometric Council Review & Articulation Committee State Superintendent August 26 -27 th Week of August 18 th August 17 thru 19 th Standard-Setting Work Flow State Board of Education Set Mod-HSA Standards

3 Standard-Setting Groups 15 to 16 participants (teachers and supervisors with content area and special education expertise) representing 20 school systems • Mod-HSA Algebra • Mod-HSA English • Mod-HSA Biology

Mod-HSA Performance Standards threshold students Basic Proficient Advanced Recommended Standards

Review and Articulation August 21, 2008 • Superintendents • Local Accountability Coordinators • Teachers • Central Office Personnel • Directors of Special Education • Advocates for students with special needs • Parents • Business Community members • MSDE

Proposed Mod-HSA Cut Scores Proficient Advanced Algebra 412 450 English 396 429 Biology 400 452

Impact Data Percent of students scoring Proficient and Advanced on May 2008 Mod-HSA Proficient/ Advanced Proficient Advanced Algebra 9. 8 9. 5% . 3% English 10. 5 10. 3% . 2% Biology 16. 0 15. 9% . 1%

Next Steps for Mod-HSA Assessments September • Implement cut scores, double check the data for accuracy at school and system level Late September • NCLB Parent reports sent to school systems • Data added to regular HSA status data • High school AYP calculated • Scores added to website

Modified High School Assessment (Mod-HSA) Questions & Discussion