Diagnosing the Learning Enabled: New Ways of Thinking About Assessment, Identification and Intervention – And Why We’re

1. Diagnosing the Learning Enabled: New Ways of Thinking About Assessment, Identification and Intervention – And Why We’re Thinkin’ That Way Rhode Island Technical Assistance Project Summer Institute ‘03 W. David Tilly III, Ph.D. Heartland Area Education Agency 11 July 24 and 25, 2003 Correspondence about this presentation should be directed to David Tilly, Heartland AEA 11, 6500 Corporate Dr., Johnston, IA 50131. Email is dtilly@aea11.k12.ia.us, (515) 270-9030.

2. IOWA Where is Iowa?

3. Who am I?

4. Like ME • I was born in Rhode Island • I am a parent • I’ve got tomatoes in my garden this year • I have gone to a National Conference in the past 5 years • I have lived outside of the United States • I am a special educator

5. Like ME • I have worked in education for: • 20 years or more • 15 years or more • 10 years or more • 5 years or more • Less than 5 years

6. Take a Couple Minutes • Introduce yourself at your table • Who are you? • Where are you from? • What do you do in your school?

7. Parking Lots

8. Big Picture Objectives • Updates on what’s going on Nationally and in RI in education • Some background on some of “Why” it’s going on • Look at the big themes, processes, implementations and outcomes • Take some time to process this and to contemplate possibilities. That is, I’m going to ask you to talk with eachother about the stuff I’m presenting • Whatchagonnadowhenyougohome?

9. Morning Advance Organizer • Discuss where educational assessment is going and for all students with a focus on helping students with learning challenges • To review some of the rationale behind reforming our assessment/identification systems in schools • To propose a more rational and helpful alternative system consistent with NCLB • To provide illustrations and data on the effects of successful implementation of that model

10. One More Objective for The Morning To encourage you think “Outside of the Box”

11. Current Realities: We Can View Them As Obstacles or Opportunities • Major Reform • Federal Law Changes • Few Precedents Leading to the Future • High Stakes • Ready or not, Here We Come

12. Big Picture Context (NCLB) • We can’t ignore it • We know enough to get started • We have enough guidance too know some things about our near term future • We know we have till ’13-’14 to get ALL students proficient in Reading and Math

13. Big Picture Context (NCLB) Activity 1 • Question: What percentage of students in the buildings you work in are proficient in mathematics and reading?

14. Big Picture Context (NCLB) • The accountability provisions in NCLB, with subgroup analyses, can provide over a hundred opportunities a year to be designated a School in Need of Improvement (SINI) • Schools need to miss only one for SINI designation

15. Big Picture Context for Kids With Learning Problems • We know with the collateral changes in IDEA all means every, and no students can be exempted from the accountability system • The stakes are really high • Both the House and Senate Bills have some REALLY INTERESTING STUFF IN them!!!!

16. It Can No Longer Be Business As Usual So Where Do We Start?

17. Richard Feynman has said: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it”

18. It is Also True That... If we don’t learn from the past, we’ll repeat it

19. K-12 Education One Perspective on History • Our education system has grown up through a process of “Disjointed Incrementalism” (Reynolds, 1988) Gifted SPED The current Education System’s Programmatic Evolution Migrant Title 1 At Risk ELL

20. Unintended Effects • Conflicting programs • Conflicting funding streams • Redundacy • Lack of coordination across programs • Nonsensical rules about program availability for students • Extreme complexity in administration and implementation of the programs

21. Intensive Interventions 5% Strategic Interventions 15% Core Curriculum 80% We Have Got To Get More Systematic and Simplify – Especially in High Stakes Areas (RMS) School Curricula – Pick an area We’ll Come Back to This Students Adapted from: Sugai and Horner

22. This Sounds Good, But…. • Our hands are tied • Federal law prescribes lots of how we’re organized • Especially in Special Education, there are lots of things we have to do • How can we get them done along with the new requirements?

23. SPED Assessment Survey ‘03 Activity #2: Complete Survey

24. Forces Underlying Our Assessment Systems For Kids • Ethical Reasons • Legal Reasons • Professional Reasons • Socio-Political Realities

25. Ethical Reasons Why Did You Become An Educator?

26. Legal Reasons: The Purpose of IDEA ‘97 • To ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them FAPE... • To ensure that the rights of children with disabilities… • To Assist States $$… • To ensure parents and teachers have tools to improve results...

27. Legal Reasons: The Purpose of IDEA ‘97 • To assess and ensure the effectiveness of efforts to educate children with disabilities

28. Professional Reasons: Professional Judgment • Determines how we carry out and meet our legal and inspirational purposes. • Assumptions • Practices

29. In the Beginning • Assessment System for Students With Learning Problems Was Based On A Series of Assumptions

30. Activity #3: Name the Assumptions • Think about your experience. • What are one or more assumption about kids, teaching and/or learning problems inherent in how our special education system was defined.

31. If We Assume • Assumption 1: Available educational assessment procedures are sufficient for reliable and valid differential diagnosis.

32. If We Assume • Assumption 2: Thorough understanding of the intrapersonal (within person) cause of educational disabilities is the most critical factor in determining appropriate treatment.

33. If We Assume • Assumption 3: Persons within disability categories have similar educational needs that are different in educationally important ways from persons in other disability categories. Students with LD Students with MR Students with EBD MR Reading Methods LD Reading Methods EBD Reading Methods

34. If We Assume • Assumption 4: Matching treatments to disability type (or underlying characteristics) will result in maximally effective interventions. Learning Disability X LD Methods = Effective Tx. Auditory Learner X Auditory Instruction = Effective Tx. Sequential Processor X Sequential Instr. = Effective Tx.

35. These Were The Assumptions • The year was 1975 • Based on the best information we had at the time • The best research of the time was considered

36. Logical and Rational System Structure • If these assumptions are true, then, from the standpoint of meeting our professional and legal purposes • The historical system is structured appropriately to meet our purposes • Nationally-normed, standardized tests are all we need to meet our purposes. • Effectiveness of service delivery could be determined by examining how many children we are helping.

37. The System Worked • Child find • Children were placed in special programs • Services were delivered • An ever increasing number of professionals were involved • We got really efficient at the process!

38. Until… Activity #4 • Turn To Activity Page • Individually write down some of the challenges (practical, professional, ethical, and/or political) to special education that you have experienced in Rhode Island throughout the past 10 years….

39. Until... • Increases in SPED incidence (particularly in SLD and recently in OHI) • Increases in English Language Learners • National Academy of Science Reports (1984, 1996, 2002) • Inclusion • Undocumented Effectiveness • Fordham Foundation Report “Rethinking Special Education for the New Millennium” • National Movement Toward Better Educational Results (e.g., Nation at Risk leading to Standards-Based Reform)

40. Until... • Increasing 504 Awareness • Increased Poverty • The Americans with Disabilities Act • Judicial Findings Generally Supporting Parents’ Wishes in Placement (e.g., more inclusive environments) • All Converging on IDEA ’97

41. IDEA ’97’s Contributions • Functional and Developmental Assessment in all assessment domains • Increased parental involvement • Inclusion of all kids in district and state assessments • FBA and Behavioral interventions • General Education Curriculum • I could go on….

42. No Child Left Behind • Sweeping changes to ESEA • Increased complexity (1100 pages of it) • Increased accountability • Increased rewards and sanctions • Increased prescriptiveness (esp. in Reading) • Increased linkages with Special Education

43. President’s Commission Report: A New Era • Launch the “antiquated wait to fail” model • SPED kids are GenEd. Kids first! • Empower parents • Emphasize results over compliance • Use better approaches to identifying kids with disabilities • Prepare teachers better • SPED research needs enhanced rigor

44. And Pending IDEA Reauthorization • Some highlights from the House Bill • Adds language saying a child will not be determined to have a disability if the determinate factor is lack of scientifically based instructional practices and programs that contain the essential components of reading as defined in ESEA

45. Pending IDEA Reauthorization – From the House Bill ‘‘(6) SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec- 13 tion 607 of this Act, or any other provision of 14 law, when determining whether a child has a 15 specific learning disability as defined under this 16 Act, the local educational agency shall not be 17 required to take into consideration whether the 18 child has a severe discrepancy between achieve- 19 ment and intellectual ability in oral expression, 20 listening comprehension, written expression, 21 basic reading skill, reading comprehension, 22 mathematical calculation, or mathematical rea- 23 soning. 24

46. Pending IDEA Reauthorization • Adds a provision allowing LEAs to use a process that determines if a child responds to scientific, research-based intervention when determining whether a child has a specific learning disability. • Gets rid of benchmarks or short term objectives • Adds “academic” to functional and developmental information that must be collected

47. Pending IDEA Reauthorization • Adds “prereferal services” which permits an LEA to use up to 15 percent of its Part B funds for students who have not been identified as needing special education and related services but who need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in general education. • Massive Part D changes

48. Should we change the way we do business? - Is no longer a question. • We're All Looking for New Ways to do Things, • But what are the possibilities? • How can we make a good system better?

49. Should We Change the Way We Do Business? • We're all looking for new ways to do things, but how do we do this within the context of NCLB? • Legal Standards (shifting) • Professional Knowledge (evolving)

50. Federal Law and Regs are Prescriptive About Few Things in Assessment and Intervention §300.532. • Administered in child's native language • Validated for specific purpose for which they are used • Administered by trained personnel in conformance with the instructions provided by their producer