Alternate Assessment for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: An Educator's Guide

To support K-12 students with significant disabilities and get an accurate picture of their skills and knowledge, schools need to implement effective alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). This is the guidebook every team should have--not only to develop successful AA-AAS linked with grade-level content standards, but also to ensure the kind of quality instruction that leads to higher achievement.

The follow-up to Kleinert and Kearns's pioneering Alternate Assessment, this cutting-edge book synthesizes current research on AA-AAS and gives education professionals strategies for implementing assessments and improving instruction. With a strong focus on practical classroom application, the expert authors show readers how to

• understand the key principles of alternate assessment, including validity, technical quality, and content standards
• align instruction with assessment across major academic content areas: reading, math, science, and social studies
• implement a clear four-step process to improve student access to the general curriculum
• use multiple measures to ensure that assessments accurately reflect students' abilities
• link IEPs with grade-level content standards
• teach relevant functional and life skills within grade level content
• build students' communicative competence to improve their educational outcomes
• educate families about the purpose and content of alternate assessments
• decode the federal mandates for alternate assessments and the most recent regulations
• see how alternate assessment works in the context of a school's broader accountability system

To help educators ensure a high-quality inclusive education for students with disabilities, the authors include detailed, step-by-step examples of modified lessons in math, reading, science, and social studies. Readers will see how instruction and assessment can be adapted for students of all ages with a wide range of abilities and communication needs.

The definitive resource on AA-AAS--and an essential supplementary text for future general and special educators--this book will make alternate assessment meaningful and lead the way to higher academic achievement for students with significant disabilities.