The Assessment Institute

Course description

The Assessment Institute focuses on analyzing and synthesizing
student  assessment information; interpreting instruments that assess
intellectual,  language, and academic functioning; developing
appropriate educational ecommendations; and writing evaluation
reports that reflect a deep and practical understanding of the science
of reading. Successful participants will use their  knowledge of
phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and cognition to guide 
their assessment, resulting in research-based recommendations for
students who require remediation and support.

Course objectives and outcomes

At the completion of the Assessment Institute:

1. Students will use statistics to quickly, easily, and accurately apply standard and special scoring procedures to tests; correctly interpret test scores from fellow evaluators; convert scores from one statistical system to another; critically review and assess research reports: and prepare special reports for administrative use.
2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of child growth and development and will evaluate exceptional children within the context of normal variations in the development of more typical children.
3. Students will demonstrate knowledge of meaning, causes, characteristics, identification, and assessment of specific learning disabilities, including dyslexia and dysgraphia, according to the best information currently available.
4. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of major scientific consensus reports on the phases of learning to read and write and the nature of skilled reading and writing.
5. Students will identify and apply their knowledge of the subsystems of language, i.e., phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, as well as their interrelationships in written language.
6. Students will understand, produce, and memorize the vowel and consonant speech sounds of English, for the purpose of recognizing phonological confusions as they occur in both decoding and spelling. Students will demonstrate knowledge of instructional strategies and techniques that promote the development of phonemic awareness for reading and spelling.
7. Students will integrate, interpret, and evaluate relevant data on pupils, including achievement and other standardized test data, family and peer dynamics (with appropriate concern for family privacy rights), and other cumulative record data.
8. Students will select, create, administer, and interpret measures of academic, language, and cognitive functioning to provide norm- and criterion-referenced and curriculum-based assessments of skill.
9. Students will demonstrate skill in writing evaluation reports, which will include referral information and questions, background data on children, test interpretation and discussion, responses to referral questions, and appropriate educational strategies clearly linked to the evaluation findings. Reports will be grammatically correct, well written, complete, technically correct, and clear to readers without extensive backgrounds in education. Students’ interpretations and recommendations will be thoughtful and unique to the child. Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate their results in a manner that can easily be understood by parents and other educators.
10. Students will interpret assessment results in the context of the child’s total situation and background, including the child’s own perception of that situation, and arrive at a fully integrated understanding of the child with special attention to issues of social, racial, economic, linguistic, and cultural bias and disproportionality.
11. Students will plan and carry out appropriate follow-up and reassessment procedures. Students will use curriculum-based measures in a problem-solving model assessing response to intervention.
12. Students will demonstrate and apply knowledge of structured language and literacy curricula, methods, and materials in their interpretation of test findings and in their recommendations.
13. Students will demonstrate knowledge of, and will consistently apply the National Association of School Psychologists’ ethical standards in their assessments and other professional activities. Students will demonstrate knowledge of, and concern for, children and parents’ civil and educational rights, as well as personal and family viewpoints and concerns that are not necessarily legal rights.
14. Students will demonstrate and apply knowledge of relevant local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and rules, civil rights, precedents, policies, procedures, and forms. Students will obey all applicable laws and regulations.

Course Requirements for the Institute with and without the Practicum:

1. Active participation in all scheduled classes. All missed classes must be made up; Classes can be recorded and made available for a period of one week upon request. Notes on missed classes must be submitted in order to receive credit for professional learning hours.
2. Completion of all readings and assignments. All assignments must be submitted by the due date. No late assignments will be accepted without permission from the instructor.
3. Consistent demonstration of the highest ethical standards in working with children, parents, and staff. Ethical standards and rules will be discussed throughout the four semesters, and students are expected to bring up for discussion any ethical dilemmas that arise in their practicum. All are expected to follow the laws, regulations, ethical principles, and appropriate codes of conduct.

Additional Course Requirements for the Institute with the Practicum:

1. Four comprehensive educational evaluations will be assigned during the second semester. Reports must be submitted on time, as listed in the Course Schedule, and will be returned with written comments and questions. The standard for an acceptable report will increase with each report submission. The final report will reflect a deep knowledge of the science of reading and assessment. For the purposes of this course, a “comprehensive literacy evaluation” includes referral information, background history, explanation of scoring systems, language and academic assessment, additional assessment as appropriate, interview information, integrated conclusions, and specific recommendations.
2. Reports submitted for the Assessment Institute may be more comprehensive than the reports submitted to the local evaluation/placement team. Submitted reports must be written with pseudonyms for the examinees’ names. All identifying information must be removed from the report.
3. A case study presentation to the class will be optional.

Practicum

During the second semester, practicum students will complete four comprehensive reading/writing evaluations, using tests that are available in the school districts. The two semesters do not allow time to teach administration and scoring of tests, which students must master on their own.

The practicum supervisor will provide written feedback on the student’s evaluation reports. Reports are to be emailed to the practicum supervisor in a doc/docx file. Confidentiality will be strictly observed. Reports will be sanitized; all identifying information will be removed prior to sending. The practicum supervisor will provide extensive edits and detailed comments on each report. The practicum supervisor will also provide feedback on test record forms (protocols) as needed, noting and explaining errors in administration, scoring, and statistical analysis.

Students will meet with their practicum supervisor to discuss report content and feedback. Students will resubmit reports as necessary until each report is comprehensive, clear, accurate, responsive to referral questions, and designed to be helpful to the child, parents, and school staff.

Prerequisite Requirements for the Institute with the Practicum:

1. Master’s degree in a related field. Applicants who are working toward their master’s degree in a related field may also be considered if they have already completed coursework in the ethical administration, scoring, and interpretation of clinical assessments. Please see the Pearson link for additional information: Qualifications Policy (pearsonassessments.com).
2. Coursework and/or certification in a program that falls under the Structure Literacy umbrella, such as Wilson Reading System Certification or Orton-Gillingham Associate Level certification. See independent teacher training programs accredited by IDA: https://dyslexiaida.org/accredited-teaching-training-programs/
3. A sample of a sanitized evaluation report to be submitted for review. The report must be written in the applicant’s own words; computer reports generated by test publishers are not acceptable.
4. Individuals who completed Under the Hood, Spring 2021, may enroll for the second semester with approval by Melissa Farrall. There will be some overlap in course content. Additional readings for the first class will be assigned.
5. Educators must have access to test kits and to examinees in their school district. Educators will be required to have permission signed by their supervisor.

Prerequisite Requirements for the Institute without the Practicum:

1. Master’s or bachelor’s degree in a related field.
2. Knowledge of assessment, i.e., a basic understanding of norm-referenced tests and how they are scored.
3. Coursework and/or certification in a program that falls under the Structure Literacy umbrella, such as Wilson Reading System Certification or Orton-Gillingham Associate Level certification. See independent teacher training programs accredited by IDA: https://dyslexiaida.org/accredited-teaching-training-programs/
4. Writing Sample (one half page in length) explaining what phonemic awareness is.

Required Course Textbooks:

Farrall, M. L. (2012). Reading assessment: Linking language, literacy, and cognition. New York, NY: Wiley. (RA)

Handwriting Research: Impact on the Brain and Literacy Development. (2012). Columbus, OH: Zaner-Bloser, Inc. This text can be ordered online

Recommended Textbook for those who need to learn more about structured literacy:

Moats, L. C. (2020). Speech to print: Language essentials for teachers (3rd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. (STP) (StP)