Educational Assessment and Planning

Assessment and planning are the essential groundwork in the education of students with multiple disabilities. Assessment means evaluating the child's abilities and needs; planning means selecting an educational approach and goals that suit the student. This section offers a wealth of information about these critical first steps.

Tool Kit on Teaching and Assessing Students with Disabilities
U.S. Office of Special Education Programs
Aimed at families and educators, the "Tool Kit brings together the most current and accurate information … designed to improve instruction, assessment, and accountability for students with disabilities."

Collaborative Assessment for Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired, Including those with Additional Disabilities
Pennsylvania Training & Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN)
"Collaborative Assessment is designed to help school psychologists, … teachers, and allied professionals to understand the impact of visual impairment on the assessment process…." Written by the assessment team at the California School for the Blind, this PowerPoint is accompanied by a transcript of the training session.

Classroom Observation

Alternate Assessment

Assessment of Deafblind Children
Oregon Health & Science University
Validation studies conducted on assessment instruments specific to children with deafblindness are summarized, with recommendations and planning checklist.

Education and Alternate Assessment for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Implications for Educators
Education Policy Analysis Archives
Mary Zatta and Diane Pullin describe the impact of "alternate assessment as part of standards-based education reform." They review state efforts to implement alternate assessments for students with significant cognitive disabilities, with a focus on Massachusetts' solution.

Web-based Organizations and Internet Resources

Alternate Assessments for Students with Disabilities
National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)
The NCEO website provides information about alternate assessment, including state policies, publications and other resources, and a section on alternate assessments for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

Psychological Assessment

PHASES: Psychologists Helping to Assess Students Educational Strengths
National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB)
Harvey Mar and Karen Goehl present the PHASES Project, an approach to the assessment of students with deafblindness that emphasizes evaluation in natural contexts and situations.

Psychological Evaluation of Children who are Deaf-Blind: An Overview with Recommendations for Practice
National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB)
Harvey Mar provides an overview of psychological evaluation of children who are deafblind. He defines several assessment approaches, answers common questions, and advises psychologists on preparing for the assessment.

Biobehavioral States

Assessment of Individuals who are Deafblind and Have Multiple Disabilities
National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB)
Catherine Nelson and Jan van Dijk list cues for identifying and understanding a child's communication and behavior.

Biobehavioral States: When Are They Ready to Learn
Deafblind Intervention Strategies for the Home (DISH)
This article introduces two ways to classify states of awareness in "individuals with profound disabilities."

BioBehavioral States
Hunter College
In this 11-page document, Sam Morgan describes biobehavioral states and explains why they are important when working with students with profound disabilities.

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