DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O.
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 235
October 27, 2006
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division
Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Billy K. Cannaday, Jr. Superintendent
of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Guidelines
for the Read-aloud/Audio Accommodation on the Standards of Learning (SOL)
Reading Tests and the Virginia Grade Level Alternative (VGLA) for |
As announced
in a Superintendent’s e-mail dated October 10, 2006, the United States
Department of Education has advised states that scores resulting from the use
of nonstandard accommodations on tests may not be used in the calculation of
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). States
have flexibility in determining which accommodations are nonstandard-based on
the construct measured by the test.
Beginning
with the spring 2007 Standards of Learning test administration, the following
guidelines apply to the use of the read-aloud/audio accommodation on the
statewide reading assessments for students with disabilities:
ALLOWED
Students with
a visual impairment, including blindness, and those students with a specific
disability that severely limits or prevents them from decoding text at any
level of difficulty, as determined by a diagnostic tool(s) or instrument(s)
administered by a qualified professional, are allowed to use the read-aloud/audio
accommodation on the statewide reading assessments.
NOT ALLOWED
Students with
disabilities who are simply having difficulty reading text and/or are reading
below grade level are not allowed to use the read-aloud/audio accommodation on
the statewide reading assessments.
The following
questions and answers should guide decision-making to implement this new
requirement:
Who should be considered?
Those
students should be considered for a read-aloud/audio accommodation on the
reading assessments who:
• demonstrate a weakness in decoding and the
IEP/504 Plan identifies diagnostic
information and goals to address this
area;
• demonstrate adequate comprehension;
• have access to the general education
curriculum; and
• use accommodations for the identified
weakness in decoding.
What diagnostic instrument is
appropriate?
The list
below includes common diagnostic instruments and their publishers. This is not
an exhaustive list but may be a resource for the IEP Team/504 Committee. Other
tests may be administered at the discretion of the division.
|
Diagnostic Instrument |
Affiliation/Publisher |
|
Comprehensive
Test of Phonological Processing in |
Pro-Ed
Publishing Co. |
|
Test
of Phonological Awareness |
Pro-Ed
Publishing Co. |
|
The
Phonological Awareness Test |
LinguiSystem |
|
Test
of Word Reading Efficiency |
AGS
Publishing |
|
Phonological
Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) |
|
|
Yopp-Singer
Test of Phoneme Segmentation |
The
|
If such
assessment results are currently in the student’s record, no additional testing
is required.
Who may administer the instrument?
Among
qualified professionals in the school division who may administer the test are
a:
• learning
disabilities teacher
• speech language
pathologist
• reading specialist
• school psychologist
Refer to the
instrument manual for other qualified personnel.
How will 2006-2007 IEPs
be affected by this change?
If the
read-aloud/audio accommodation for the reading test is identified on the
student’s current IEP and the student is found to be eligible for this accommodation as a result of diagnostic testing,
no changes to the IEP are required at this time. The accommodation will be coded as standard
on the SOL test answer document. A
passing score will count for all purposes.
If the
read-aloud/audio accommodation for the reading test is identified on the
student’s current IEP and the student is found to be ineligible for the accommodation as a result of diagnostic testing,
the IEP team must be convened to consider the continuance of that accommodation
as it applies to the SOL reading test administration.
If an IEP
team determines that the student is not eligible for the accommodation and the
IEP is not amended, the accommodation may remain as a nonstandard accommodation
and the student’s test record will be identified as such. Beginning with the spring 2007 SOL test
administration, students who use a read-aloud or audio accommodation on the
test who do not meet the eligibility criteria will count as non-participants
and as failing in the calculation of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).
Beginning
with the 2007-2008 school year, the read-aloud/audio
accommodation on the reading tests will continue to be allowed for those
students who meet the criteria as described above. However, for those students who are
ineligible under the criteria, the accommodation will not be allowed as a
nonstandard accommodation.
Questions
about the students’ eligibility for the read-aloud/audio accommodation should
be directed to Diane Gilliam, Office of Special Education Instruction at Diane.Gilliam@doe.virginia.gov
or (804) 371-8283. Questions about
testing should be directed to the Division of Assessment and reporting at darfax@doe.virginia.gov or (804)
225-2102.
BKCJr/hdc