Syllabus

Master of Science in Education

EDU 722: Special Education Assessment in Inclusion Settings – Spring A 2016

Credits - 3

Description

Assessment approaches for identifying students with disabilities and assessing progress toward learning goals and standards are addressed. Students examine a variety of formal and informal procedures for use in the assessment of the instructional and behavioral needs including curriculum-based assessment, observations, and continuous and periodic assessments of instruction and behavior. Participants will be expected to have access to and administer selected standardized formal and informal instruments to K-12 students with disabilities.

Materials

Salvia, J, Ysseldyke, J. E., & Bolt, S. (2013). Assessment in special and inclusive education (12th ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Course Objectives This course will provide information regarding…	Learning Outcome Upon completion of this course, teachers will be able to…	UNE Guiding Principles	INTASC	Evaluation
Formal and information assessment procedures	Identify and describe a variety of assessment procedures	CD RS RM	2, 6	Formal Assessment Procedures Quiz Behavior Case Study
Research-based issues	Describe a research based issue in assessment of students with disabilities	RM	2, 6	Research Review
Response to Intervention	Describe Response to Intervention Procedures	CD RS	2, 6	RtI Process Essay Intervention Analysis
Assessment and data collection of behavior	Describe various methods of collecting behavior assessment data	CD CH	2, 6	Behavior Case Study

Guiding Principles of the Conceptual Framework of the Department of Education

Rigorous mind (RM)
Compassionate heart (CH)
Competent demonstration (CD)
Reflective stance (RS)

Assignments

Discussion Questions

This course has several discussions you are required to participate in. The discussions may ask you to discuss an issue related to the week’s content or post your assignment and comment on others.

Research Review Assignment

This assignment requires you to identify a topic in special education assessment and write a brief synthesis.

Formal Assessment Procedures Quiz

This is an open-book assessment on the content regarding formalized standardized assessment procedures.

RtI Process Essay

You will have the opportunity to choose whether to review the RtI process utilized by your school, or more carefully examine the origins of Response to Intervention.

Intervention Analysis

You have an opportunity to learn more about specific diagnostic measures utilized to assess either reading or mathematics. This assignment will also enable you to check out a terrific website called “What Works Clearinghouse.”

Behavior Case Study

This assignment requires you to analyze a case study and provide recommendations and answers to questions.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assignment	Points - 100 total
Discussion Board Threads (whole class and small group)	3 points each - 21 points
Research Review	20 points
Formal Assessment Procedures Quiz	14 points
RtI Process Essay	15 points
Intervention Analysis	15 points
Behavior Case Study	15 points

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00

Schedule

This schedule is meant to give you a bird’s eye view. The activities and assignments may change at the discretion of the instructor.

Topics	Readings	Discussion Initial posts due by Wed. each week. Responses due by Sun.	Assignments due
Week 1: Jan. 6 – Jan. 10
Introduction	Course materials (Getting Started, Syllabus, etc.) Chapter 2	Introduction	None
Week 2: Jan. 11 – Jan. 17
Disproportionality in Special Education	Chapter 22 Article: Fairness in Assessment of English Learners (Abedi & Levine, 2013)	Disproportionality	None
Week 3: Jan. 18 – Jan. 24
Formal, standardized assessment procedures	Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 11 Chapter 15	None	Formal Assessment Procedures Quiz Jan. 24
Week 4: Jan. 25 – Jan. 31
Classroom-Based Assessments	Curriculum-Based Measurements Chapter 8 Progress Monitoring to Support Science Learning for All (Vannest, Soares, Smith, & Williams, 2012 )	CBM question	Research Review Jan. 31
Week 5: Feb. 1 – Feb. 7
Response to Intervention I	Chapter 24	RtI	RtI Process Essay Feb. 7
Week 6: Feb. 8 – Feb. 14
Response to Intervention II	Option 1: Diagnostic Reading Measures Read Chapter 12	Option 1: Elementary teachers Option 2: Secondary teachers	Reading Intervention Analysis Feb. 14
Response to Intervention II	Option 2: Diagnostic Math Measures Read Chapter 13		Intervention Analysis (Math or Reading) Feb. 14
Week 7: Feb. 15 – Feb. 21
Behavior	Chapter 6	Behavior Assessment	Behavior Case Study Feb. 21
Week 8: Feb. 22 – Feb. 28
Course Wrap-Up	none	Wrap up Closes Friday Feb. 28	None

Student Resources

Online Student Support

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UNE Student Academic Success Center

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Accommodations

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Policies

AI Use

The Graduate Programs in Education holds the position that Grammarly and other AI writing and generative technology should not be used when completing course assignments, unless explicitly permitted by course faculty and assignment instructions. These tools do not support a student’s personal and direct capacity to develop and hone skills in creativity, logic, critical thinking, analysis, evaluation, theorization, and writing, which are central to graduate-level rigor, assessment, and research. Use of these tools when not explicitly permitted may result in an academic integrity infraction.

Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool

The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.

Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.

You can learn more about Turnitin in the guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.

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Course Evaluation Policy

Course surveys are one of the most important tools the University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.

Late Policy

Assignments: Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.

Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.

Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.

Attendance Policy

8 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Sunday at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.

16 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Friday at 11:59 pm ET of the second week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.

UNE Online Student Handbook

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Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.