66.037 - Writing for Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities: It's More Than Just Writing Their Names

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Writing is essential for communicating and learning, but we have little understanding about how students with the most significant cognitive disabilities learn to write and even less about how to measure their writing ability. This session will provide an overview of the work of the National Center and State Collaborative to develop a writing alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards for 24 states. The session will cover (a) defining the construct; (b) aligning the construct with grade-level content standards; (c) creating accessible items using evidence-centered design; (d) evaluating the quality and impact of items, products, and procedures; and (e) implementing the writing content area (instruction and assessment) at the classroom and student levels.

Sub Unit

• Division H - Research, Evaluation and Assessment in Schools / Division H - Section 3: Assessment in Schools

Chair

• Martha L. Thurlow, University of Minnesota

Papers

• Building From the Ground Up: A Writing Assessment Story - Claudia P. Flowers, University of North Carolina - Charlotte; Bill Herrera, edCount, LLC

• Creating Writing Items of Graduated Complexity for Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities - Renee Cameto, SRI International

• Evaluating the Quality and Impact of Items, Products, and Procedures - Elizabeth Towles Reeves, edCount LLC; Lori J. Nebelsick-Gullett, edCount, LLC

• Items in Action: Implementing Items in the Classroom - Audra Ahumada, Arizona Department of Education

Discussant

• Robert Pennington, University of Louisville