To evaluate effects of psychotropic medication for children with disabilities, direct assessments may offer a valuable supplement to caregiver reports. Relative to indirect assessment, direct measures of behavior can increase objectivity and sensitivity, and some have potential to isolate distinct behavioral and learning processes. We conducted a…

The purpose of the current review is to examine three frequently employed types of assessment: (a) standardized tests, (b) screening, and (c) behavioral assessment. The aims are to advocate for best practices with evidence-based assessments (EBAs) and provide guidance to implement EBAs within applied settings. Information regarding the current…

Disabled children experience increased risk of abuse and neglect. Concurrently, serious concerns and practical impediments persist regarding the capacity of statutory child protection and welfare services to respond adequately to their needs. Specifically, the focus in this article is on the assessment stage of the social work process within child…

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) is focused on improving the 5-year graduation rates for all students with disabilities. To make progress toward the state-identified measurable result (SIMR), the state recognized that a single evidence-based practice (EBP) would not address the diverse needs of all the local entities across…

This article presents theoretical orientations and practical applications for the assessment of d/Deaf and hard of hearing (d/Dhh) children. It discusses current approaches to assessment and the factors affecting d/Dhh children's participation in assessments using those approaches. Gaps in the field around access to appropriate assessments are…

In the context of the United States K-12 school system, reclassification processes of emergent bilinguals are laden with high-stakes assessments. Largely absent in reclassification scholarship is the consideration of how reclassification policies uniquely affect those learners with identified disabilities. Applying an intersectionality lens that…

Over the past decade, there has been a movement toward increased accountability, focusing on teacher performance, in U.S. education. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss student learning objectives (SLOs) as one component of high-stakes teacher evaluation systems, within the context of learners with special needs. We describe SLOs and their…

There is currently little consensus on how special education teachers should be evaluated. The lack of consensus may be due to several reasons. Special education teachers work under a variety of complex conditions, with a very heterogeneous population, and support student progress toward a very individualized set of goals. In addition, special…

As a result of the demanding 21st-century workforce, local education agencies are beginning to refocus and retool to ensure students with disabilities have the knowledge and skills to be productive adults and attain positive postschool outcomes. The skills 21st-century transition assessments address are relevant to teachers and students given the…

Designing assessments and tests is one of the more challenging aspects of creating an accessible learning environment for students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), particularly for deaf students with a disability (DWD). Standardized assessments are a key mechanism by which the educational system in the United States measures student…

Often the consideration of assistive technology devices and services during the individualized education program (IEP) process is overlooked. Because the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) authorized this consideration, IEP team members must be keenly aware of the importance they hold in providing this valuable input. Thus, IEP…

This paper analyses the first significant change to Special Educational Needs (SEN) legislation in England for over a decade, a change that promises new approaches to identification and assessment, increased parental choice and enhanced pupil outcomes. The paper aims to examine to what extent this new framework can live up to its claims in the…

States are increasingly using value-added approaches to evaluate teacher effectiveness. There is much debate regarding whether these methods should be employed and, if employed, what role such methods should play in comprehensive teacher evaluation systems. In this article, we consider the use of value-added modeling (VAM) to evaluate special…

The purpose of this essay is to provide an overview of the challenges of accounting for students with disabilities (SWDs) and English learners (ELs) in the evaluation of mainstream teachers. We focus on the two prominent indicators of teaching quality--classroom observations and value-added scores. We begin by describing each indicator and…

Inclusive large-scale assessments have become the norm in states across the U.S. Participation rates of students with disabilities in these assessments have increased dramatically since the mid-1990s. As consortia of states move toward the development and implementation of assessment systems that include both non-summative assessments and…