Assessment

In Learning II

SUBMMITED BY:

Muldong, Erlie M.

Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in Mathematics’

SUBMMITED TO:

Mrs. Mila Laxamana

 TABLE OF CONTENT

My Autobiography…….………………………………………………………….......1

Unit I: Overview of Assessment of Learning

Utilization of Assessment Data……………………………………………………….2- 12
Problem Set #1………………………………………………………………………..13

Unit II: Performance-Based Assessment……………………………………………..14- 18

Exercise #2.2……………………………………………………………………….....19

Exercise #2.3………………………………………………………………………….20

Exercise #2.4………………………………………………………………………….21

Problem Set #2………………………………………………………………………..22

Unit III: Assessing Affective Learning Outcomes…………………………………....23-26

Exercise #3.1………………………………………………………………………….27

Exercise #3.2………………………………………………………………………….28

Exercise #3.3………………………………………………………………………….29

Exercise #3.4………………………………………………………………………….30

Exercise #3.5………………………………………………………………………….31

Exercise #3.6………………………………………………………………………….32

Problem Set #3………………………………………………………………………..33

Unit IV: Definition of portfolio……………………………………………………….34-44

Problem Set #4………………………………………………………………………...45

Unit V: Grading and Reporting Systems……………………………………………...46-48

Quiz #5………………………………………………………………………………...49

Problem Set #5………………………………………………………………………...50

Unit VI: Assessment of Children with Special Needs………………………………...51-62

MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

I am Erlie Matias Muldong, I was born on March 20, 2001 at San

Agustin, Candaba, Pampanga. We are four siblings in the family. I am the first
child. My mother’s name is Leslie Muldong and my father’s name is Ernesto
Muldong. I took my elementary education in Candaba Central Elementary
School and my secondary education at Pasig National High School. I had a happy
childhood living with my grandparents.

Since I was born I leave in my grandparents’ house. It’s not because I don’t
my own family it just because I am the first grandchild in the family. I have a lot of
memories with my grandparents, they are the reason why I am here taking the
course I want.

Before I graduate senior high school my mother said I will not continue my
college degree because we don’t have enough money for my study. I said I will
enroll in DHVTSU but they don’t want that school because it is too far. Until my
uncle helps me he said he will pay for my tuition fee.

My first experience in college was not easy because when you enrolled the
course you want you will not be with your friends, it is not what you want is they
want you are all different person so you will follow want you want to be in the
future. I am happy because I met Jerald we help each other just to surpass our
chosen course it is not easy to be a college student because this is the key to have a
good job and give your family a better life.

My motto in life is “ Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you

can make anything happen.” always believe in yourself and love yourself that is
the main ingredients to make the impossible, possible.

When I am high school I read a lot of love story in ebook then I discover
wattpad until my friend gives me a lot of pocket books I also read them. I am
addicted with books before but now I lost my interest to read love story I don’t
know why maybe because the flow of the story now is not like before. Maxinejiji
is my favorite author before, I read all her works and my favorite is “His into Her”
it takes me a month before I finish that story because it is divided into 3 books.
Actually I want to buy that book because I want to read it again in the future.
Second author that I idolize is “KnightInBlack” they called him KUYA KIB, and
there is a humor that he is taking his college cause in SMACP but when I enrolled
in SMACP he already graduated.

I forgot I also play Badminton sometimes because that is the only sports I
know. I hope I will finish my chosen college course because since I was young I

want to be an Educator.
1
 Unit I
Overview of Assessment of Learning:

Utilization of Assessment Data

2
DEFINITION OF STATISTICS
The term statistics comes from the Italian word “stato” which means “state”.

Statistics is the branch of science that deals with the collection, presentation, analysis, and
interpretation of quantitative data.

Statistics is a very important tool in the utilization of the assessment data most especially in
describing, analyzing and interpreting the performance of the students in the assessment
procedures.

BRANCHES OF STATISTICS
 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS – concerned with collecting, describing and analyzing a
set of data without drawing conclusions or inferences about a large group
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS – concerned with the analysis of a subset of data
leading to predictions or inferences about the entire set of data

DESCRIBING GROUP PERFORMANCE

In describing the group performance of the students in a certain test, the measures of
central tendency and measures of variability are used. Measures of central tendency are used to
determine the average performance of a group of scores, while measures of variability indicate
the spread of scores in a group. These two concepts are very important and helpful in
understanding the performance of a group.

Measures of Central Tendency

This refers to that numerical values in the central region of a distribution of scores; a
central point around which the values in a distribution assembles. This is also numerical values
which describe the average or typical performance of a given group in terms of certain attributes.
It is the basis in determining whether the group is performing better or poorer than the other
groups.

MEAN

This is called arithmetic average. Used when the distribution is normal/ symmetrical or bell
shaped. It is also used when the data are in interval or ratio level of measurement. This is used to
compute other measures such as standard deviation, coefficient of variation, skewness and z-
score.

3
MEDIAN

The centermost score when the scores in the distribution are arranged according to
magnitude. Point in the distribution above and below which are 50% of the scores / cases. It is
the midpoint of a distribution. This is used when the distribution is skewed or irregular, used
when the data are in ordinal level of measurement.

MODE

Most frequent/common score in a distribution. This is used as a quick description in

terms of average / typical performance of the group. This is also used when the data are in the
nominal level of measurement.

TYPES OF MODE
1. UNIMODAL – is a score distribution that consists of one mode
2. BIMODAL – is a score distribution that consists of two mode
3. TRIMODAL – is a score distribution that consists of three mode
It is also considered as “multimodal” a score
distribution that consists of more than two modes.

MEASURES OF VARIATION OF DISPERSION

Is a single value that is used to describe the spread of the scores in a distribution. The variation
is also known as variability or dispersion.

RANGE (R) is the difference between the highest score and the lowest score.

Interpretation: If the range is large, the scores are more dispersed.

INTER-QUARTILE RANGE (IQR) refers to the distance between the third quartile and the
first quartile.

Interpretation: The larger the value of IQR, the more dispersed the scores are from the median
value; or the smaller the value of IQR, the more clustered the scores are from the median value.

QUARTILE DEVIATION (QD) refers to the average deviation of the third quartile and the
first quartile from the value of the median.

Interpretation: The larger the value of QD, the more dispersed the scores are from the median
value; or the smaller the value of QD, the more clustered the scores are from the median value.

STANDARD DEVIATION (s) refers to the average distance that deviates from the mean value.

4
Absolute Measures of Variation
There are five types of absolute measures of variation which are very important in analyzing the
variation of scores of the students in certain assessment procedures.

1. Range

Range (R) is the difference between the highest score and the lowest score in a distribution.

Range for Ungrouped Data Range for Grouped Data

R = HS – LS R = HSUB – LSLB

where, where,

R — range value R — range value

HS — highest score HS — upper boundary of the highest score

LS — lowest score LS — lower boundary of the lowest score

2. Inter-quartile Range (IQR) and Quartile Deviation (QD)

Inter-quartile range is the difference between the third quartile and the first quartile.

IQR = Q3 – QI

Quartile Deviation indicates the distance we need to go above and below the median to
approximately include the middle 50% of the scores.

The formula in computing the value of the quartile deviation is where QD is the
quartile deviation value, QI is the value of the first quartile, and Q3 is the value of the third
quartile.

3. Variance and Standard Deviation

Standard deviation is the most important measure of variation or dispersion.

Variance is one of the most important measures of variation. It shows variation about the mean.

5
Relative Measures of Variation
COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION shows a variation relative to the mean. It is used to compare
two or more groups of distribution of scores.

6
MEASURES OF SKEWNESS
Measure of skewness describes the degree of departure of the scores from symmetry. The
skewness of a score distribution only tells about the performance of students, but not reasons
about their performance. The skewness coefficient (Sk) can solved using the formula:

7
Normal Distribution: the graph of the frequency versus the event
Standard Normal Distribution : (z-distribution) the simplest of the family of normal distribution;
a distribution of a normal random variable with a mean equal to zero ( μ = 0 ) and a standard
deviation equal to one ( σ = 1 )

Characteristics of Unit Normal Distribution

1. Symmetrical about the vertical line through z = 0 (the shape of the distribution at the right
is a mirror image of the left)
2. The highest point in the curve is y = 0.3989
3. The curve is asymptotic to the x-axis (both ends approach the horizontal axis but do not
touch it)
4. The area under the curve z = -3 and z = 3 equals 1, hence the term unit normal curve.
5. The three measures of central tendency ( mean, median and mode ) coincide with each
other.

8
STANDARD DEVIATIONS
As can be seen from the above graph, stddev represents the following:

• 68.3% of data values are within 1 standard deviation of the mean (-1 to +1)
• 95.4% of data values are within 2 standard deviations of the mean (-2 to +2)
• 99.7% of data values are within 3 standard deviations of the mean (-3 to +3)

The area under the bell shaped curve, when measured, indicates the desired probability of a
given range:

• less than X: – e.g. probability of data values being less than 70

• greater than X – e.g. probability of data values being greater than 95
• between X1 and X2 – e.g. probability of data values between 65 and 85
• There are four ways of describing the individual performances of the students.

STANDARD SCORES
A measure of relative position which is appropriate when the data represent an interval or ratio
scale

A z score expresses how far a score is from the mean in terms of the standard deviation units

Allows all scores from the different tests to be compared

In cases of negative values transform z score to T scores (multiply z score by 10 plus 50)

Determine the exact position of each score in the normal distribution

We can determine whether an individual student performs well in the examination compared to
the performance of the whole class

Standard Scores
1. z-score : the deviation from the mean μ divided by the standard deviation σ.

2. T-score : a standard score with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. ( T = 50 +

10z )
G-score : a standard score which has a mean of 500 and a standard deviation of 100. ( G
= 500 + 100z )
3. STANINE SCORE

9
 Standard scores that tell the location of a raw score in a specific segment in a normal
distribution which is divided into 9 segments, numbered from a low of 1 through a high
of 9
Scores falling within the boundaries of these segments are assigned one of these 9
numbers (standard 9)

The descriptive interpretation of stanine 1, 2, 3 is below average, stanine 4, 5, 6 is

average and stanine 7, 8, 9 is above average

10
DESCRIBING RELATIONSHIPS
Describes the degree of relationship or correlation between two variables (academic achievement
and motivation). It is expressed in terms of correlation from -1 to 0 to 1

Correlation : the measure of relationship between two variables

Correlation Analysis : a method of measuring the strength of such relationship between the two
variables

Correlation Coefficient : a numerical measure of the linear relationship between two variables

Relationship Between Two Variables

1. Direct or positive relationship : implies that an increase in value of one of the variables
corresponds to an increase in value of the other variable

2. Indirect or negative relationship : implies that an increase in value of one of the variables
corresponds to a decrease in value of the other variable

3. Zero relationship : an increase in value of one of the variables is not accompanied by either
an increase or decrease in value of the other variable

11
There are several types of correlation coefficients, but the one that is most common is the
Pearson correlation (r). This measures the strength and direction of the linear relationship
between two variables.

Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient or simply Pearson r is a measure of the

linear correlation of two variables which are either ratio or interval.

´ Most appropriate measure of correlation when sets of data are of interval or ratio type

Most stable measure of correlation

´ Used when the relationship between the two variables is a linear one

Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient or Spearman rho is a measure of the correlation

between two ordinal variables

Interpretation: r verbal interpretation

0.00 to ±0.20 slight correlation

±0.21 to ±0.40 low correlation

±0.41 to ±0.60 moderate correlation

±0.61 to ±0.80 high correlation

±0.81 to ±1.00 very high correlation 12

Problem Set #1

Measure the degree of relationship of the following sets of variables using the appropriate formula for
correlation and interpret the results. Measure the degree of relationship between the grades in Math and
Physics of the ten students

Student Grade in Grade in

Math Physics

1 85 80

2 82 89

3 87 84

4 89 86

5 75 85

6 80 86

7 88 90

8 85 90

9 86 87

10 83 86

13
 Unit II:
Performance-Based
Assessment

14
Performance-based assessment (Mueller, 2010) is an assessment in which the students
are asked to perform to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of
essential knowledge and skills.

1. Greater Realism of the tasks. This means that the students must apply the knowledge and
skills by demonstrating a task that shows application in a real world situation.

2. Greater Complexity of the tasks. The task are difficult to understand and analyze because
they are less structured problems that encourage the students to perform with originality and
thinking skills and they may have multiple solutions.

3. Greater time needed for assessment. Performance-based assessment needs longer time to
assess the performance of the students, because of the difficulty of designing the tasks, the
comprehensive nature of the tasks, and the increased time needed to evaluate the results.

4. Greater use of judgment in scoring. The evaluator should consider the set of judging criteria
associated with the performance assessment.

ADVANTAGES OF PERFORMANCE BASED ASSESSMENT

1. Assesses complex learning outcomes.
2. Assesses the process as well as the product.
3. Communicates instructional goals related to real world context.
4. Assesses progress as well as the performance.
5. Involves the students in the assessment process.
6. Recognizes that students can express.
7. Specific, direct, and understandable information are available to the parent of the
students.
8. Evaluates the “whole student”.
9. Enhances the professional skills of the teachers.
10. Can establish a framework for observing the students.
11. Can contribute to a meaningful curriculum planning and design of educational inventions.

LIMITATIONS OF PERFORMANCE BASED ASSESSMENT

1. Constructing performance assessment is time consuming.
2. Scoring is often questionable because it is not reliable, most especially if the scoring
guide or rubrics are not properly prepared.
3. It measures only a limited scope of learning objectives.

15
DEVELOPING PERFORMANCE BASED ASSESSMENT
STEPS IN DEVELOPING PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT

1. Define the purpose of assessment.

The first step a teacher must consider in developing performance-based assessment is to clearly
define the purpose for which the result of the assessment will be used. The purpose of the
assessment is considered in making decision in the subsequent steps of the process.

2. Determine the skills. Learning outcomes, and taxonomy level.

Since there is a limited time in the classroom for the assessment procedures, it is very important
to determine the skills, the learning outcomes of any given instruction.

3. Design and develop activity of performance task.

The next step to consider is to create an activity or task that will allow the students to
demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that they have learned.

4. Define the performance criteria.

After determining the activities and the tasks that are to be included in the performance tasks, the
next step in developing the performance-based assessment is to identify the criteria to be used in
the assessment processes.

5. Create the Scoring Rubrics.

Scoring rubrics are used when judging the quality of the work of the learners on performance
assessments.

6. Assess the Performance

The next step in performance assessment is to assess and score the student's performance. To
assess the performance of the students

7. Specify the Constraints in Testing

Performance assessment is a direct form of assessment in which real world conditions and
constraints play a very important role in demonstrating the competencies desired from the
students.

16
SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTING PERFORMANCE TASK

A. FOCUS. Focus on learning outcomes that require complex cognitive skills and student
performances.

B. SELECT. Select or develop tasks that represent both content and skills that are central to
important learning outcomes.

C. MINIMIZE. Minimize the dependence of task performance on skills that are relevant to the
intended purpose of the assessment task.

D. PROVIDE. Provide the necessary scaffolding for the students to be able to understand the
task and what is expected from their performance.

E. CONSTRUCT. Construct task directions so that the student’s task is clearly indicated.

F. COMMUNICATE. Clearly communicate performance expectations in terms of the scoring

rubrics by which the performance will be judged.

TYPES OF PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

a. Impact of the performance. It refers to the success of the performance, given purposes,
goals, and the desired results.
b. Work quality and craftsmanship. It refers to the overall quality, organization, and
difficulty of the work.
c. Adequacy of method and behavior: It refers to the quality of procedures and manner of
presentation prior to and during the performance.
d. Validity of content. It refers to the correctness of ideas, skills, and materials used.
e. Sophistication of knowledge employed. It refers to the complexity or maturity of
knowledge employed.

TYPES OF RUBRICS

Holistic rubric

- is a type of rubric that requires the teacher to score an overall process or product as a
whole (Nitko and Mertler, 2001). This means the evaluator provides the overall quality of
the performance of students by yielding a single score to represent a specific category of
accomplishment

17

Analytic rubric
 - is a type of rubric that provides information regarding performance in each component
parts of a task, making it useful for diagnosing specific strengths and weaknesses of the
learners (Garcis and Grant, 2008).

Types of Scoring Instruments for Performance Assessments

1. CHECKLIST
- refers to an observation instrument that defines performance whether it is certain
or uncertain, or present or not present. Checklist works well in describing what
students can perform.
2. Narrative/Anecdotal
- is a continuous description of student behavior occurs, recorded without judgment
or interpretation.
3. Rating scale
- is a checklist that allows an evaluator to record information on a scale, noting the
finer distinction like the presence or absence behavior.

There are many ways in determining the excellent performance and not-so- good
performance or product as a result of work students. We need greater time for assessment and
greater use of judgment in scoring. Through the use of assessment tools, the teacher can manage
his time in administering questions and evaluating the work or performance of students whether
it emphasize overall judgment or giving feedbacks to students in different aspects of
performance because students can also be able to evaluate and assess of their own work as well
as other’s work.

These assessment procedures can be done when teacher sets a clear expectation, clear guidelines
regarding the behaviors of student’s performance that is directly observed and avoiding errors to
achieve objectivity and consistency in scoring. Performance-based assessment assessed students’
performance task that represents application of their own knowledge, different skills and surpass
the standard that the teacher expect from their performance. Through guidelines and scoring
instruments, it will be recorded from objective observations which make it increase
meaningfulness and reliability of the result and improve performance assessment.

18
Exercise #2.2

Develop a holistic rubric to evaluate a performance task in your subject.

Write your output in a piece of paper, take a picture of your output and upload it here.

19
Exercise #2.3

Develop a checklist to be used to assess the competencies learned in your subject.

Write your output in a piece of paper, take a picture of your output and upload it here.

20
Exercise #2.4

Develop a rating scale in assessing the product in your subject.

Write your output in a piece of paper, take a picture of your output and upload it here.

21
Problem Set #2

In your own opinion, which is better, performance based assessment or traditional assessment?
Why? Support your answer. Give your answer in not less than 100 words.

22
 Unit III:
Assessing Affective Learning
Outcomes

23
Affective Traits and Learning Outcomes
According to Hohn (1995), as cited by Mcmillan (2001), the term affective refers to a
wide variety of traits and dispositions that are different from knowledge, reasoning, and skills.
The term "affect" is general in nature; it is better for teachers to use specific behavior when
developing learning target.

Affective Traits - the table below is a summary of affective traits where most student's affect
involves both emotional and cognitive beliefs. This was adapted from Mcmillan (2001).

Attitude - Predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably to specified situations, concepts,

objects, institutions, or persons.

Interest - Personal preference for certain kinds of activities.

Value - Importance, worth, or usefulness of mode or conduct and end state of existence.

Opinions- Beliefs about specific occurrences and situations.

Preference- Desire or propensity to select one object over another.

Motivation- Desire and willingness to be engaged in behavior and intensity of involvement.

Academic Self Concept- Self-perception of competence in school and learning.

Self-Esteem- Attitude toward oneself; degree of self-respect, worthiness, or desirability of self-

concept.

Locus of Control- Self-perception of whether success and failure is controlled by the student or
by external influences.

Emotional Development- Growth, change, and awareness of emotions and ability to regulate
emotional expression.

Social Relationship- Nature of interpersonal interactions and functioning in group settings.

Altruism- Willingness and propensity to help others

Moral Development- Attainment of ethical principles that guide decision making and behavior

Classroom Environment- Nature of feeling tone and interpersonal relationships in a class

24
Affective Domain of the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
- Affective domain describes learning objectives that emphasize a feeling, tone,
emotion, or degree of acceptance or rejection. Affective objectives vary from
simple attention to selected phenomena to complex, but internally with consistent
qualities of character and conscience.

Levels of Affective Domain

The affective taxonomy has five levels of affective targets namely: receiving, responding,
valuing, organization, and characterization by value set.

Level 1: Receiving (Attention).

Receiving refers to the student's willingness to attend to particular phenomena of stimuli

(classroom activities, textbook, music, etc.).

Level 2: Responding (Interest).

Responding refers to active participation on the part of the student. At this level he or she not
only attends to a particular phenomenon but also reacts to it in some way.

Level 3: Valuing (Preference/Appreciation).

Refers to the willingness to be perceived by the others as valuing certain ideas, materials,
phenomenon, or behavior.

Valuing is concerned with the worth or value a student attaches to a particular object,
phenomenon, or behavior. This ranges in degree from the simpler acceptance of a value (desires
to improve group skills) to the more complex level of commitment (assumes responsibility for
the effective functioning of the group).

Level 4: Organization (Philosophy of life).

Organization is concerned with bringing together different values, resolving conflicts between
them, and beginning the building of an internally consistent value system.

Level 5: Characterization by a Value (Lifestyle).

It is concerned with how the students act consistently with values internalized.

The individual has a value system that has controlled his or her behavior for a sufficiently
long time for him or her to develop a characteristic “life-style.”

1. Teacher Observation 25
Observation technique was already introduced in the Assessment of Learning I as a tool of
assessing student's performance during instruction or during formative assessment

Unstructured observation is also known as open-ended observation. Here, the teacher does not
use any rating scale, or checklist to record observations;

Structured Observation is another way of assessing the affective traits of students. This type of
observation is somewhat different from unstructured observation because more time is needed
for the preparation of the materials and the process of recording the observation.

2. Student Self-report

The second method of assessing affective learning outcomes is through the use of student self-
report. Student self-report is a method of assessing affective learning outcomes that allows
students to express their feelings or attitudes toward a given specific classroom activity.

a. Constructed-response format is done using a completion item or an essay item. In the

completion item, the teacher asks the students about their feelings to respond to a simple
statement by writing a word or phrase to complete the said statement.
b. Selected-response Format

There are three types of selected-response format presented in this section. These are rating
scale, semantic differential scale, and checklist. They are usually used to assess attitudes, beliefs,
and interests of the participants.

a. Rating scale
- Rating scale is a set of categories designed to gather information on quantitative
attributes in social sciences.
b. Semantic Differential Scale
- Semantic differential scale is another type of selected-response format in which a
pair of adjectives are used to provide connections with feelings, beliefs, and
opinions that can be measured by degrees of agreement that show both opposite
directions and intensity.

c. Checklist
- Checklist is the easiest tool to develop compared to rating scale and semantic
differential scale. It consists of simple items that the students or teacher marks as
"present" or "absent" of a certain attribute that describes the affective traits.

3. Peer Rating

Peer rating is the least method to be used in assessing affective learning outcomes. In this
method, the students are asked to assess or judge their classmates' behavior. 26
Exercise #3.1

Make an anecdotal record of at least two students (example only) in your class with one entry
each that will assess the affective domain of your student.
Write your answer on a clean sheet of paper. Take a photo of your answer and upload it here.

27
Exercise #3.2

Make a student self-report using a constructed-response format completion type, with at least 5
statements, measuring attitude towards certain activity in your subject.
Write your answer on a clean sheet of paper. Take a photo of your answer and upload it here.

28
Exercise #3.3

Make a student self-report using a selected-response format rating scale type, with at least 5
statements, measuring study habit and related to your subject.
Write your answer on a clean sheet of paper. Take a photo of your answer and upload it here.

29
Exercise #3.4

Make a student self-report using a selected-response format semantic differential scale type, with at least
5 statements, and related to your major that will assess the affective domain of your student.
Write your answer on a clean sheet of paper. Take a photo of your answer and upload it here.

30
Exercise #3.5

Make a student self-report using a selected-response format checklist type,

with at least 5 statements, for performing an activity in your subject.
Write your answer on a clean sheet of paper. Take a photo of your answer and upload it here.

31
Exercise #3.6

Make a peer-rating guess-who approach type, with at least 5 five questions,

and related to your major that will assess the affective domain of your student.  Then summarize
the result (example only) using a sociometric approach.
Write your answer on a clean sheet of paper. Take a photo of your answer and upload it here.

32
Problem Set #3

Develop affective learning objectives (at least two examples each) in the
levels of receiving, responding, valuing, organizing, and characterization by value that is related
to your subject.

33
 Unit IV:
Definition of portfolio

34
Portfolio
Refers to the collection of projects and works of students that exemplifies their skills,
attitudes, and interests within a certain period of time. It is the compilation of students' best
works and materials which are essential to assess their progress or achievement. Examples of
portfolio work samples are poems, songs, letters, drama scripts, drafted and revised stories
written by the students in their Literature or Language subject, and final solutions of students in
solving complex mathematics problems, etc.

Definition of Portfolio Assessment

The portfolio should represent a collection of students' best work or best efforts, student-
selected samples of work experiences, related to outcomes being assessed, and documents
according growth and development toward mastering identified outcomes.

Difference Between Portfolio Assessment and Portfolio Collection

One of the critical issues when using portfolio assessment is to be able to differentiate
assessment model and portfolio collection to enhance and monitor the performance of the
students in the classroom. Shaklee et al. (1997) gave the differences between portfolio collection
and portfolio assessment.

Portfolio Collection Portfolio Assessment

Why am I collecting evidence? How am I using the evidence?
l for representative skills l  to offer the next level
l for areas of development l to promote development
l for demonstrated ability l to document ability
l for conferencing l  to modify instruction
l for reporting l to adapt curriculum

Three Types of Portfolio

1. Working Portfolio

The working portfolio may be used to diagnose student needs. Using this, both the student and
the teacher are aware of the former's strengths and weaknesses in achieving learning objectives,
as evidenced by the portfolio. This information is very useful in designing future instruction
for the students.

2. Showcase Portfolio

Showcase portfolio is the second type of portfolio also known as the best work portfolio or
display portfolio. This kind of portfolio focuses on the student's best and most representative
work; it exhibits the best performance of the student. The best work portfolio documents 35
the students' efforts with respect to curriculum objectives. It may also include the evidence of
student activities done outside the school 

3. Progress Portfolio

The third type of portfolio is progress portfolio and it is also known as the teacher alternative
assessment portfolio. It contains examples of students' work with the same types done over a
period of time which are then utilized to assess their progress. All the works of the students in
this type of portfolio are scored, rated, ranked, or evaluated.

Uses of Portfolios
1. It provides both formative and summative opportunities for monitoring progress
toward reaching identified outcomes.

2. It communicates concrete information about what is expected of students in terms of

the content and quality of performance in specific curriculum areas.

3. It allows students to document aspects of their learning that do not show up well in
traditional assessments.

4. It is useful to showcase periodic or end of the year accomplishments of students such

as in poetry, reflections on growth, samples of best works, etc.

5. It is also used to facilitate communication between teachers. and parents regarding the
child's achievement and progress in a certain period of time.

6. Administrators nay use the portfolio for national competency testing to grant high-
school credit and to evaluate educational programs.

7. It combines the purposes of instructional enhancement and Progress documentation.

Through the portfolio, a teacher is able to review the students, work periodically and
makes notes to revise his instruction for the next year.

Purposes of the Different Types of Portfolio

Purposes of Working Portfolio Samples of Student's Accomplishments
1. To show growth or change over l previous and recent pieces of work in any subject area
time
l previous and recent tests/scores in any subject area

l rough drafts and final drafts of essay writings in English

and Filipino subjects
 l reflections on students' growth about a certain topic

l goal-setting sheets

l reflections on progress toward goal/s

2.   To identify strengths/weaknesses l samples of work reflecting specifically identified
of the learners strengths and weaknesses

l reflections on strengths and weaknesses of samples

l goal-setting sheets

l reflections on progress toward goal/s

3.   To track development of one or l drafts of the specific product or performance to be
more products or performances tracked

l self-reflections on drafts

l reflection sheets from teacher or peer

4.    To help develop process skills l samples which reflect growth of process skills

l self-reflection sheets accompanying samples of work

l  reflection sheets from teacher or peer

l identification of strengths/weaknesses

l goal-setting sheets

l reflections on progress toward goal/s

Purposes of the Different Types of Portfolio

Purposes of Progress Portfolio Samples of Student's Accomplishments

 
1.   To document l samples of representative work in each subject/unit/topic
achievement for grading to be graded

l samples of work documenting level of achievement on

course/grade-level goals/ standards/objectives tests/scores

l rubrics/criteria used for evaluation of work (when applied)

l self-reflection on how well samples indicate attainment of

 course/grade-level goals/ standards/objectives

l teacher's reflection on attainment of goals/ standards

l identification of strengths/weaknesses
2. To place students l representative samples of recent work
appropriately
l representative samples of previous work to indicate rate of
progress

l classroom tests/scores

l external tests/evaluations

l match of work with standards accomplished

l self-reflection on current aptitudes

l teacher's reflection on student's aptitudes

l parent's reflection on student's aptitudes

l other professionals' reflection on student's aptitudes

3. To document progress l list of applicable goals and standards
toward standards
l representative samples of work aligned with respective
goals/standards 

l rubrics/criteria used for evaluation of work

l self-reflection on how well samples indicate attainment of

course/grade-level goals/ standards/objectives

l teacher's reflection on attainment of goals/ standards

l analysis or evidence of progress made toward standards

over course of semester/ year

Advantages of Portfolio (Venn, 2000)

1. It is consistent with the theories of instruction and philosophies of schools promoting
students' involvement in learning.

2. It is an excellent way to document student's development and growth over time.

3. It provides students the opportunity to have extensive input from the learning process.
 4. It fosters a sense of ownership of the work and the skills in critical self-reflection and
decision-making.

5. Portfolio contents may be used to illustrate the processes and procedures students
follow.

6. It combines paper-and-pencil tests with performance and product assessments.

7. It promotes student self-evaluation, reflection, and critical thinking.

8. It measures performance-based assessment from genuine samples of student work.

9. It provides opportunities for students and teachers to discuss learning goals and the
steps to achieve those goals in structured and unstructured conferences. 38

10. It enables measurement of multiple dimensions of student progress by including

different types of data and materials.

Disadvantages of Portfolio (Venn, 2000)

1. Logistics involved in designing and maintaining a portfolio system may be
overwhelming with little or no support.

2. All stakeholders need training to design, implement, manage, and assess portfolio.

3. Portfolio is a new assessment strategy to most teachers, relative to previous

approaches, with many unresolved issues.

4. Gathering all the necessary data and work samples can make the portfolio bulky and
difficult to manage.

5. Requiring extra time to plan an assessment system and conduct the assessment.

6. Scoring portfolio involves the extensive use of subjective evaluation procedures, such
as rating scales and professional judgment; these limit reliability.

7. Developing a systematic and deliberate management system is difficult, but this step
is necessary in order to make a portfolio more than a random collection of student
work.

8. Scheduling individual portfolio conferences is difficult and the length of each

conference may interfere with other instructional activities.
Developing Portfolio Assessment
There are eight basic steps in developing portfolio assessment system. The process of
developing portfolio assessment was adapted from the article written by Charlotte Danielson and
Leslye Abrutyn. Since portfolio entries represent a type of performance these steps resemble the
principles for developing good performance assessments.

1. Determine the curricular objectives to be addressed through the portfolio.

2. Determine the decisions that will be made based on the portfolio assessments Will the
assessments be used for high-stakes assessment at certain levels Of schooling (e.g to
enable students to make the transition from grade V to grade VI)?
3. Design assessment tasks for the curricular objectives. Ensure that the task matches
instructional intentions and adequately represents the content and skills (including the
appropriate level of difficulty) students are expected to attain. These considerations
will ensure the validity of the assessment tasks.
4. Define the criteria for each assessment task and establish performance Standards for
each criterion.
5. Determine who will evaluate the portfolio entries. Will they be teachers from the
students' own school? Teachers from another school? Or does the state and train
evaluators?
6. Train teachers or other evaluators to score the assessments. This will ensure the
reliability of the assessments.
7. Teach the curriculum, administer assessments, and collect them in portfolios or score
assessments. 39
8. As determined in Step 2, make decisions based on the assessments in the portfolios.

Guidelines for Assessing Portfolio

1. Include enough documents (items) on which to base judgment.

2. Structure the contents to provide scorable information.

3. Develop judging criteria and a scoring scheme for raters to use in assessing the
portfolio.

4. Use observation instruments such as checklists and rating scales when possible to
facilitate scoring.

5. Use trained evaluators or assessors.

Contents of Portfolio

1. Table of contents

2. .Single best piece, which is selected by the students and can come from any class and
need not address an academic subject
 3. Letter explaining the composition and selection of the best piece

4. Poem, short story, or personal narration

5. Personal response to a book, event, current issue, mathematical problem' or scientific

phenomenon

6. Prose piece from any subject area other than English or Language Arts

Portfolio Process

1. Goal setting.

Goal setting must be vividly and clearly stated to determine the purpose and give direction in
preparing portfolio. For instance, the goal is "To conduct research on utilization 40

and commercialization of milkfish bones as offal of boneless milkfish into fish value-added
products."

2. Selecting.

In selecting the entry to be included in the portfolio, it must be relevant to the goal of
instruction set by the student. For example, the aforementioned goal is to conduct research on
utilization and commercialization of milkfish bones as offal of boneless milkfish into fish value-
added products. Hence, the student has to select at least three of the fish value-added products he
is going to 'conduct, i.e., milkfish bones burger and luncheon meat.

3. Performing.
 After selecting the entry, the student has to perform the activities based on the goal of
instruction. The goal is to utilize and commercialize milkfish bones as offal of boneless milkfish
into fish value-added products. Hence, the student has to conduct research of these milkfish
bones fish value-added products and commercialize to determine if they are salable and
profitable, Return of investment (ROI) of these fish value-added products is also determined to
compare which of the products has the highest ROI to be recommended as entrepreneurial
project.

4. Data gathering.

After performing or conducting research of the foregoing fish value-added products, results
or data are gathered on the acceptability of fish value-added products whether they are very
much acceptable, moderately acceptable, slightly acceptable or not acceptable. Based on these
data gathered, only the acceptable product must be sold to determine which is most salable and
most profitable. If product is most acceptable, does it mean most salable? If product is most
salable, does it mean most profitable? Does most acceptable, most salable and most profitable
product have highest return of investment (ROI)? Write-up of these results must be presented
and recorded in the portfolio of the student. The write-up contains the format as follows:

a. Short abstract
b. Introduction
c. Review of Related Literature
d. Materials and Methods
e. Methodology
f. Results and Discussion
g. Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations/ Implications

5. Reflecting.

In reflecting, the three domains of behavior such as cognitive, psychomotor, and affective
must be stated in the portfolio in relation to the goal set. 41

6. Exhibiting.

The research write-up and samples of the products must be exhibited or displayed in school
during Foundation Day, Science Fairs or other Research Contest. The viewing public must be
given a chance to view the learning activities of the Students in school. The parents must be
invited to view also the works of their children as an inspiration of the accomplishments of their
children.

7. Evaluating.

There are two works of the student that will be evaluated. These are (1) the write-up of the
research project, and (2) the portfolio.
7.1. Write-up of the research project following the foregoing format must be evaluated by the
teacher. The criteria are as follows:

a. Originality - 15%
b. Uniqueness - 15%
c. Socio-economic impact - 30%
d. Significance of the Study. - 15%
e. Relevance to government's thrust - 25%

Total 100%

The foregoing criteria, socio-economic impact has the highest percentage of thirty
percent (30%) to determine the significant contribution of the research project to the social and
economic development of the country, especially when the country is facing an economic crisis.
Invest-harvest principle is applied in research so that the budget will not be exhausted. That is, if
the researcher spends money in research, he has to harvest or gain money so that the capital is
not exhausted. Hence, the emphasis in research is to have return of investment (ROI).

The second highest percentage of the aforementioned criteria is relevance to

government's thrust having twenty-five percent (25%)) weight. The researcher must conduct
research in relevance to the priorities of the government; i.e., waste management utilization. The
foregoing research project is relevant to government's thrust wherein "Thrash turns to Cash."

In the Philippines, majority of the research projects are Descriptive Research with no
return of investment (ROI). That's why the Philippines 'becomes poorer and poorer because
capital in research is exhausted.

In other words, patentable researches must be given more emphasis by the government
and must be implemented in school and research agencies; There are several descriptive
researches which are patentable. To name a few, script writing, essay, and poetry 42

These descriptive researches have return of investments. In script-writing, the researcher

must write a script with good moral values that can attract the audience and televiewers and give
good lessons. Before registration of the script for a telenovela at the Bureau of Patents, dry run of
the script in school during Foundation Day and in the municipality during Town Fiesta must be
done. Good essay and poetry are very much salable and patentable.

7.2. The portfolio is evaluated by self, peer and subject teachers, and teacher-adviser. The
distribution of their evaluation is as follows:

a. Self - 5%
 b. Peer - 5%
c. Subject Teachers - 50%
d. Teacher-Adviser - 40%

Total 100%

The criteria in evaluating the Portfolio are as follows:

a. Content - 50%
b. Format / Style - 15%
c. Originality - 15%
d. Reflection - 10%
e. Punctuality - 10%

Total 100%

a. Content.

The content of the portfolio is divided into parts. For instance, Part 1 presents the
"Introduction;" Part 2 denotes the first task/ activity; Part 3 deals on second work or activity
performed by the student; Part 4, third task/ activity and so on. Dates, venue, time started and
time completion of the work/ activity must be stated, If the work/ activity has a photograph, this
must be included with caption.

b. Format/Style.

The format/ style in encoding the portfolio must follow the three level headings such as
MIDDLE HEADING, Left Side Heading, and Paragraph heading. The middle heading is
encoded in all capital letters and placed at the center of a page, i.e., PART I. The title of Part 1
should also be in capital letters placed at the center. 43

Paragraph heading.

This is the third level heading of a portfolio format. Paragraph heading is encoded bold and
italic, first letter of a word is capitalized, next word is encoded in small letter and ends with a
period. This is indented seven spaces, ends with a period, placed two spaces before the last line,
two spaces after period, and followed by the statement. See the above format of paragraph
heading.

c. Originality.

The third criteria in evaluating portfolio is originality. The portfolio is original work of
the student. No duplication of portfolio from his classmates due to instruction is individualized.
They have different daily task or work to perform. d. Reflection. In reflection, the three domains
of behavior must be reflected in the portfolio. These three domains are cognitive, psychomotor,
and affective.

d. Punctuality.

The punctuality of submission of portfolio is rated. For instance, if deadline of submission of

portfolio is during the final examination, hence, students who submitted the portfolio five days
after the deadline of submission, poor; two days after the deadline, fair; on the day of the
deadline is given good; two days before the deadline, very good; five days before the deadline of
submission, outstanding.

44
Problem Set #4

Explain each of the following questions in 3 to 10 sentences only.

1. When is portfolio assessment advisable to use?

2. Are the scores of the students always reliable when using portfolio assessment? Why?

3. Is it possible to commit an error when assessing student portfolio? What are the possible errors
that can be committed by the teacher?

45
 Unit V:
Grading and Reporting
Systems

46
Assessment of student performance is essentially knowing how the student is progressing in a course
(and, incidentally, how a teacher is also performing with respect to the teaching process). The first step in
assessment is, of course, testing (either by some pencil paper objective test or by some performance based
testing procedure) followed by a decision to grade the performance of the student.

1. Norm-referenced Grading System

In using norm-referenced grading system, a student performance is evaluated relative to the performance
of other students within the group. The performance of a student will depend on to the performance of
other students in the class. This grading system is also known as "grading on the curve." The teacher will
be the one to set how many percent of the students in the class assigned each grade if it is not stated in the
grading policy of the institution, otherwise, follow what is stated in the grading policy. Percentile rank
and stanines are some examples of norm-referenced grading.

Only a few of the teachers who use norm-referenced grading apply it with complete consistency. When a
teacher is faced with a particularly bright class, most of the time, he does not penalize good students for
having the bad luck to enroll in a class with a cohort of other very capable students even if the grading
system says he should fail a certain percentage of the class. On the other hand, it is also unlikely' that a
teacher would reduce the mean grade for a class when he observes a large proportion of poor performing
students just to save them from failure. A serious problem with norm-referenced grading is that, no matter
what the class level of knowledge and ability, and no matter how much they learn, a predictable
proportion of students will receive each grade. Since its essential purpose is to sort students into
categories based on relative performance, norm-referenced grading and evaluation is often used to weed
out students for limited places in selective educational programs.

Norm-referenced grading indeed promotes competition to the extent that students would rather not help
fellow students because by doing so, the mean of the class would be raised

and consequently it would be more difficult to get higher grades. Similarly, students would do everything
(legal) to pull down the scores of everyone else in order to lower the mean and thus assure him/her of
higher grades on the curve.

A more subtle problem with noon-referenced grading is that a strict correspondence between the
evaluation methods used and the course instructional goals is not necessary to yield the required grade
distribution. The specific learning objectives of norm-referenced classes are often kept hidden, in part out
of concern that instruction not "give away" the test or the teacher's priorities, since this might tend to
skew the curve. Since norm referenced grading is replete with problems.

Criterion-referenced Grading System

In this type of grading system, the student performance is evaluated against a certain criteria or standard.
The student must get a grade higher than or equal to a given standard to pass a certain test. For example,
the students must spell 90% of 50 words correctly to pass the spelling test. The criteria or standard is
absolute in this grading system and it is also possible that all students may receive the highest possible
grade or all of them may pass the said test, subject, or course. It is also possible that all students may
receive a failing grade if they will not reach the standard set by the teacher. 47

Standardized Test Scoring

Test standardization is a process by which teacher or researcher-made tests are validated and item
analyzed. After a thorough process of validation, the test characteristics are established. These
characteristics include e: test validity, test reliability, test difficulty level and other characteristics as
previously discussed. Each standardized test uses its own mathematical scoring system derived by the
publisher and administrators, and these do not bear any relationship to academic grading systems.
Standardized tests are psychometric instruments whose scoring systems are developed by norming the test
using national samples of test-takers, centering the scoring formula to assure that the likely score
distribution describes a normal curve when graphed, and then using the resulting scoring system
uniformly in a manner resembling a criterion-referenced approach. If you are interested in understanding
and interpreting the scoring system of a specific standardized test, refer to the policies of the test’s
producers.

48
Quiz #5

In your own words, discuss the grading system used in the public schools from DepEd
Order no. 33, s.2004 up to the present grading systems used under the K to 12 curriculums.

49
Problem Set #5

Compute for the final grade of Richard Castro in Mathematics following the given criteria and
using the cumulative system to find the final grade.

Seatwork - 10%

Quizzes - 25%

Problem Set - 10%

Project - 15%

Quarterly Test - 40%

50
 Unit VI:
Assessment of Children with
Special Needs

51

Assessment
 Assessment is the process of collecting data for the purpose of making decisions about students or
schools. It aims to aid teachers in understanding the level of every student and decide the next steps to be
utilized in order to ensure proper learning. (Salvia, Ysseldyke, and Bolt 2010)

Assessment in Special Education

In the discipline of Special Education, assessment can bedefined as "the systematic process of
gathering educationally relevant information to make legal and instructional decisions about the provision
of special services" (McLoughlin and Lewis, 2008).

Testing

Testing is a form of assessment where students are presented with different specific problems for
them to answer and as a result, they are expected to gain a specific score. Test is also considered as a
procedure for evaluation by means of determining the presence, quality, or truth of something. A test may
consist of series of questions, problems, or physical responses designed to determine knowledge,
intelligence, or ability. Thus, it is considered as a reliable basis for evaluation or judgment that gives
teachers quantitative data.

Difference between Assessment and Testing

Knowing the difference between assessment and testing is important with regard to student's
learning behavior. In testing, assessment normally results to labeling. The result of test determines the
service that the students need. Hence, the teacher should not be too quick to assess his student. In Special
Education, students who have difficulty in reading are not readily labeled as dyslexic; rather, they are
diagnosed to ha e reading difficulties.

Legal Bases of Assessment for Individuals with Disabilities

Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) was previously patterned after the public Law 94-
142 or the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The specific purposes of the law includes the
following: (1) to insure publicly funded Special Education and related services for all handicapped
children no later than 1978; (2) to insure the rights of handicapped children and their parents and
guardians; (3) to relieve the Special Education financial burden of state and local governments; and (4) to
assess and insure the effectiveness of efforts to educate handicapped children.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

This requires stronger accountability for results by specifying that schools must have challenging
educational standards, test children starting grade 3 every year, and specify progress objectives that
ensure proficiency of every child. (Salvia et al., 2012)

52

Members of the Multidisciplinary Assessment Team

 1. Administrators

Whether it is the administrator, principal, or assistant principal, each one is an essential member
of the team. The administrators should have the know-how of specific resources and the expertise within
the school. Furthermore, administrators are qualified to supervise the program and can commit necessary
resources.

Specific responsibilities of administrators in the assessment process are:

a. Conducting administrative arrangements for team meetings.

This includes scheduling the date, time, and place of meetings;

b. Organizing an agenda for the meeting with the assessment team;

c. Identifying experts and appropriate personnel and inviting them to the meetings;
d. Inviting the parents of both the child with special needs and regular students to the
meeting;
e. Acting as the chair during the meetings or appointing qualified personnel;
f. Ensuring that each person has the knowledge on what action the team recommends, the
person responsible for implementation, and the resources needed to support
implementation effectively; g. Ensuring administrative support of the team to all
members Of the school community;
g. Promoting resources to secure the needed technical assistance; and
h. Identifying the needed topics for in-service and developmental training.

2. Regular Education Teachers

The Regular Education teacher and the Special Education teacher should have equal
responsibility to all children in the classroom, whether the child is regular or diagnosed under certain
condition. The Regular Education teacher's role concerns the presentation of subject matter in the
classroom, and is primarily in charge of instruction in the classroom.

In assessing children with special needs, it is the general role of the Regular Education teacher to
accomplish the following:

a. Maintain appropriate communication between the school and home. The teacher should keep
parents informed about their child's educational achievement, grades, and educational program;
b. Help develop, review, and revise the Individualized Educational Program (IEP) of the child;
c. Determine appropriate behavioral interventions and strategies considered positive for the student;
d. Assess determined supplementary aids and services and program modifications for the student;
and
e. Identify supports that school personnel need to help the student progress in the general
curriculum.

53

3. Special Education Teachers

 The roles of the Special Education teacher are to individualize, diagnose, and modify curriculum.
A typical Special Education teacher would teach students with disabilities in self-contained classes.

To be effective, the roles of the Special Education teacher in schools include the following:

a. Provides assessment and instructional planning for the student with disability;
b. Conducts tutorial instruction and remedial classes among students with sub-par performance;
c. Provides consultation to the Regular Class teacher as part of team teaching;
e. Participates as a member in the school's assessment and eligibility committee;
f. Examines ways of integrating students in Special Education to all aspects of the school's program
which includes extracurricular activities; and
g. Offers suggestions for modifying instruction, consults with the Regular Education teacher, and
identifies resources, alternative learning materials, and assistive devices that will be of benefit to
the child with disability (as part of the multidisciplinary team).

Both the Special Education and Regular Education teachers can help parents in the
following ways:

a. Learn useful information about the student from the parents;

b. Provide information regarding the student's disability as well as the duties of the parents in the
IEP process and their role as team members;
c. Explain the process and terms of the disability and the IEP meeting;
d. Help the parents during the IEP process, ensuring that their ideas, concerns, and views are
adequately expressed and heard;
e. Furnish parents with narrative reports and suggestions on how to effectively work their child at
home;
f. Help the student and the parents in planning the student's/ future after leaving the school; and
g. Advocate through representation of interests, preferences, and rights of the student or parents.

4. Students

Students are encouraged to be active participants in their own IEP process. Priority is set in
teaching self-determination skills and how to set their life goals and objectives.

5. School Psychologists

The school psychologist may assume the following responsibilities:

a. Complete thorough assessment to determine if the child is suited for special programs and
services;
b. Provide interpretation and analysis of assessment for parents and other team members;
c. Participate in the identification of curricula modifications and instructional interventions
which are deemed appropriate to the identified needs of the pupils; and
d. Conduct follow-up observations to establish the success of modifications and interventions.
54
6. Related Service Personnel
Related support people who will assist the Regular Education and Special Education teachers include:

a. Speech/ Language Therapists

The speech/language therapist plays a critical role in assessing, diagnosing and treating patients who have
speech, language and communication disorders

b. Occupational Therapists

After physical assessment, an occupational therapist assists a child with disability in developing and
regaining skills important to function independently and develop health and well-being.

c. Physical Therapists

A physical therapist assesses each individual and devises a plan using different treatment techniques to
promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent further disability. The physical
therapist also works with individuals to prevent the loss of their mobility before it occurs by developing
an enhanced fitness and wellness program for a healthier and more active lifestyle,

d. Vision Specialists

A vision specialist, or usually termed as teacher of the visually impaired, is a teacher who holds a special
credential in vision impairment in addition to having a standard teaching credential. A vision specialist is
trained to work with visually impaired students from preschool through latter grades.

e. Dieticians

After the result of assessment, a dietician plans nutrition programs and food programs for the child with
disability. He helps prevent other diseases and obesity problems because they educate their clients about
the role of food in their diet. He usually promotes healthy diet through education and education programs.

f. Guidance Counselors

The main role of a guidance counselor is to aid clients with their adjustment to some circumstances in
their life, utilizing counseling techniques in personal, educational, and vocational counseling.

Functional Phases of the Multidisciplinary Assessment Team

The Pre-referral Phase

The initial purpose of the pre-referral process is to minimize inappropriate referral of students for formal
assessment. This ensures that students will remain in regular class setting and avoid the possible
mislabeling of students to have exceptionality. This phase is usually suggested by experts and is not
mandated. The pre-referral chart designed by Hartley (2007) is as follows:

55
The following questions are to be considered in making decision before referring (Salvia et al.,
2010):

1. Are there unrecognized problems?

2. Is the student making adequate progress in regular education?
3. What can we do to enhance competence and build capacity?
4. Should the student be referred to an intervention assistance team?
5. Should the student be referred for multidisciplinary evaluation?

What are the positive effects of pre-referral?

1. Decreased number of students labeled with disability and referred for Special Education
services
2. Decreased cost of funding for Special Education programs
3. Improved instructional outcomes resulting from the pre-referral procedures
4. Reduces the delay between referral and intervention since it will shorten the diagnostic
process
5. Updated student data or information
6. Has a direct benefit to the students with mild disability by increasing their opportunities in
mainstream setting, improving their chances of success with the regular curriculum, and
helping them avoid the ill effects often associated with labeling.

First Step: The Initial Referral

If the student persists to have difficulty even after the pre-referral activities have been
administered, a referral to a multidisciplinary team for formal assessment should be made. This begins the
formal Special Education process. The initial referral may come from sources other than the pre-referral
team. Classroom teachers, parents or guardians, or other professionals may refer a student for assessment.

The referral should include:

1. A clear and exact description of the student's present level of functioning;

2. A summary of the student's learning strengths;
3. The student's unique capability for learning;
4. A list of the student's learning needs arranged according to its priority;
5. A description stating the student's social capabilities;
6. A description of the problem that is interfering with school success; and
7. A summary of the interventions that have been facilitated whether it was successful or not.

Second Step: Team Meeting

It is the responsibility of an administrator to call for a team meeting, arrange for the physical
space of the meeting, set the team agenda, and notify all prospective participants. The team meets with
the main objectives of reviewing the referral, clarifying the problem, and determining the next step in the
process.

56
Third Step: Formal Assessment

If the student's performance remains below than what is expected even when modifications of the
program have been made, the team may refer the student to be assessed to determine if the child has
disability and requires Special Education services. At this time, formal assessment of the student takes
place.

When formal assessment is done, the following standards are considered:

1. A written notice is given to all parents and guardians;

2. Parents must give a written permission to the team allowing them to evaluate their child; and

3. During evaluation:

a. There should be a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional and
developmental information. This includes information given by the parent, that may assist in
determining whether the child has a disability;

b. Do not use any single procedure as the sole criterion for identifying whether a child has a
disability or to determine an educational program suited for the child; and

c. Use technically sound instruments that will properly and accurately assess the relative
contribution of cognitive, behavioral, physical, and developmental factors to the disability of the
child.

Fourth Step: The IEP Development

The IEP Team

When the student is determined eligible for Special Education services, the IEP team meets. Note
that the IEP team may not necessarily be the same as the multidisciplinary team. The meeting aims to
develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

The IEP team is composed of individuals who may directly or indirectly contribute to the
improvement of the child. The group of individuals is comprised of:

1. The parents of the student;

2. One or more Regular Education teacher of the student if the student is participating in
a regular education environment;
3. At least one Special Education teacher;
4. An administrator who has (a) the qualifications to provide or supervise the provision
of Special Education; (b) the knowledge about the general curriculum; and (c) the
knowledge about the availability of resources within the school system;
5. An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results.
The member can also be one of the other members of the TEP team;
6. At the discretion of the parent, others who have knowledge or special expertise
regarding the child, including related services personnel, as appropriate; and 57
7. Where appropriate, the student with the disability.
Assessment Decisions
The following are common questions for teachers to consider during assessment.

1. Does the student have difficulties in school?

2. Is the student geared toward his goals and personal standards?

3. What are the modifications in the teaching methods that are considered to be effective aids if the
student would be able reach his goals and aspirations?

4. Is guidance necessary for different areas to help the child?

5. Will the Special Education program address the needs of the child?

Classroom Assessment and Children with Disabilities

Classroom assessment has a great potential to enhance student learning, especially among
children with disabilities. If the assessment is designed with its appropriate purpose, learning for children
with disability can improve. To identify the purpose of assessment for children with disability is critical
for effective use.

The Ecological Model for Assessment

According to Laten and Katz (1975), the ecological model of assessment examines the interaction
between the child and his environment. The following is sought from the model:

1. Determine who qualifies (eligibility).

Based on assessment decision, this pertains to who will qualify to be categorized of certain disabilities.

2. Determine what to teach (program plan).

After assessment, the IEP team will decide which program suits the needs of the child with disability.

3. Determine how to teach it (instruction).

This is the design through which the members of the IEP team decide on the strategies and methods to be
used in executing the program plan for the child with disability.

4. Determine where to teach it (placement).

Give details on the specific area or place to execute the program plan. This also ensures the appropriate
selection of a conducive learning environment for the learner.

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5. Determine how often to teach it (time).

This entails the time allotment for each program so the child with disability would gain adequate training
that would facilitate learning.

6. Determine who will teach it (support).

Enlist qualified persons to execute the program plan for the child.

7. Determine how well it was taught (evaluation).

After the execution of the program plan, evaluation follows to ensure that the program is properly
executed and if there are necessary adjustments to be done in order to meet the needs of the child with
disability.

Determining What to Teach

The following are the essential characteristics when determining what to teach the child with
disability.

1. Create a top-down plan and indicate what assessment Information is necessary.

2. Define targeted skills within top-down plan.
3. 3.Determine student's Present Level of Performance (PLOP) on targeted skills,
4. Specify how these skills will be assessed.
5. Develop student's IEP goals and objectives that will match the child's PLOP
6. Determine How to Teach.

Determining Necessity

The following are the essential modifications to be made to suit the needs of the child with
disability.

1. Instructional modifications - instruction is modified specifically in the General Education

program. During its modification, it changes the terms of goals, expectations, level of
performance, or content.
2. Curricular modifications - As defined by the DepEd, means students under Education follow the
basic curriculum of General Education, but it is modified according to their needs. The
curriculum differs depending on the condition of the child.
3. Equipment modifications - These are modifications done with different equipment necessary
during the teaching-learning process to fit into the disability of the child, so that child would be
able to function in the least restrictive environment

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Determining Where to Teach

The following placement decisions would address the needs of the child with disability.

1. General Physical Education (no support) - The child with disability stays with a group
where full inclusion is done. The child participates in all activities similar to Regular
Education students.
2. General Physical Education (support) - The child participates with a group, provided that
modifications will be done to ensure the child with disability is able to perform tasks
similar to regular education children.
3. Part-time general, part-time pull-out system - The child with disability is pulled out from
regular class schedule to attend to modified instructional programs.
4. Full-time pull-out for Special Education for small group -- The child is pulled out from a
specific program to participate in a small group to mainstream or be included in an
inclusion program.
5. Full-time pull-out Special Education for one-on-one — The child is regularly pulled out
from Regular Education program to have a one-on-one Special Education class usually
with a specialist.

Determining Who Will Teach

The following are the different types of support decisions.

1. Peer from same class

2. Older peer from different class
3. Paid teacher assistant
4. Specialist (PT, OT)

Determining How Often to Teach

The following amount of service is to be considered in giving Special Education program to

children with disability.

1. Consultation, wherein variation of amount of time is done weekly or monthly

2. 30 minutes of direct service
3. 60 minutes of direct service
4. 90 minutes of direct service

Determining How well It Went

The evaluation process with the assessment data would allow the teacher to identify if the student
is making adequate progress toward his goals and objectives. Furthermore, the assessment data establish
information that would allow the teachers to know if the program is effective for the majority of students
with disabilities.

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Basic Means of Assessment

The following are the basic means of assessing a child with disability in the classroom setting.

1. Observation — A means of assessment where viewing or noting a fact or occurrence is made for
some scientific or other special purposes.
2. Analysis of student work — The use of different assessment tools to describe expectations from
students' work and performance.
3. Task Analysis — According to Jonassen, Tessmer, & Hannum (1999), task analysis is a process
of analyzing and articulating the kind of learning that you expect the learners to know how to
perform.

Different Tools for Observation

1. Narrative Report - is the least structured type of observation (Borich, 11999), wherein the
observer simply writes the events in writing.
2. Anecdotal Record - is the description may be of one type of event
3. Ethnographic Record - is the description may be a series of events.
4. Continuous Recording (Narrative Recording) - provides preliminary information to help the
teacher determine if there is a problem that requires further study.

Assessment Standards in Special Education

Normative Groups

Allow the teachers to compare one person's performance to the performance of others. This gives
the score meaning. This will set the standards for measuring the capability of the child with disability. By
comparing the score with a group Of similar others' it is now possible to give meaning to the scores
garnered by the child with disability thus facilitates interpretation to the observed score.

Validity

The extent to which a test measures what its authors or users claim it measures (Salvia et al.,
2010). Quality assessment is essential for teachers to track the progress of their students. One of the
important concerns when performing assessment is to ensure validity. Validity denotes the extent to
which an instrument measures what it is supposed to measure. To ensure validity, test factors should be
considered. Different intervening events should also be noted to get accurate results.

Types of Validity
Content Validity

Content validity is a logical process where connections between the test items and the job-related
tasks are established.

Concurrent Validity

Concurrent validity is a statistical method using correlation, rather than a logical method. 61

Predictive Validity
 Predictive validity is similar to concurrent validity, that is, it measures the relationship between
examinees' performances on the test and their actual status. However, with predictive validity, it is the
relationship of test scores to an examinee's future performance that is estimated.

Face Validity

Face validity is determined by a review of the items and not through the use of statistical analysis.
Face validity is not investigated through formal procedures and is not determined by subject matter
experts.

Reliability

The extent to which it is possible to generalize from an observation of a specific behavior

observed at a specific time by a specific person to observations conducted on similar behaviors, at
different times, or by different observers. (Salvia et al., 2012)

Three types:

1. Item -- similar performance on similar items

2. Stability -- similar performance in the future
3. Inter-observer agreement — similar performance with a different person

Universal Design for Special Education

Universal design is the design of products and environments to be used by all people, to the
greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

Mace's (1977) Seven Principles of the Universal Design

1. Equitable Use. The design is useful and marketable to people with disabilities.
2. Flexibility in Use. The design can accommodate a wide range of individual preferences.
3. Simple and Intuitive Use. The use of the design is easy to understand.
4. Perceptible Information. The design communicates necessary information effectively to the
user.
5. Tolerance for Error. The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of
accidental or unintended actions.
6. Low Physical Effort. The design can be used efficiently and comfortably with a minimum
level of fatigue.
7. Size and Space for Approach and Use. Appropriate size and space is provided for approach,
reach, manipulation, and use.

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