SPED 551 01: Advanced Assessment in Special Education

My name is Tamara Hoffer, but you can call me Tammy.  I am the instructor for this course and this is my eighth year teaching full time in the Special Education Master's Program at UND.  Prior to coming to UND, I was a high school Special Education teacher in western North Dakota for nine years, worked in Advertising and Marketing for several years, and as a Business Education teacher for a few years right out of college.  During those nine years in Special Education, I served students with emotional/behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, and autism spectrum disorder. In addition to teaching, I coached high school basketball and track.  I love helping students to develop their gifts and talents, learn strategies for skills acquisition, improve their social skills, and be healthy.  I am passionate about supporting teacher education candidates in developing their own talents in teaching and acquiring skills to support students of all abilities.  In fact, I will finish my PhD in Teacher Education and Leadership this summer.  

1. The student will demonstrate an understanding of the purposes of assessment and a variety of assessment procedures and techniques including observation, interview, ongoing evaluation, curriculum-based evaluation, criterion-referenced evaluation, and norm-referenced assessment.
2. The student will demonstrate the ability to use assessment information in making instructional decisions that facilitate effective teaching and meet students’ individual needs.
3. The student will demonstrate the ability to prepare and implement an individualized assessment plan including selection of appropriate procedures, tests, and evaluation measures; interpreting assessment results; and making recommendations for instruction.
4. The student will demonstrate an understanding of the legal provisions, regulations, and guidelines regarding unbiased and non-discriminatory assessment.

Burns, P. C., Roe, B. (2010). Informal Reading Inventory: Preprimer to Twelfth Grade. United States: Cengage Learning. (8th Edition) Required  **Do not order the e-book**

ISBN: 0495808946 

In order to succeed in this course, at a minimum, you should be able to:

• Navigate in and use basic Blackboard functions
• Download and open electronic documents
• Create, save, and upload/attach electronic documents
• Send, receive, and manage email
• Navigate in and use basic Voice Thread functions (this software is located in the Bb course site)
• Use video recording software, save to MP4, and upload to YouTube or Voice Thread in Blackboard

Access and Log in Information

This course was developed and will be facilitated utilizing Blackboard. To get started with the course, please go to: http://blackboard.UND.edu and log in with your NDUS.Identifier, Username and Password. If you do not know your NDUS Identifier or have forgotten your password, please visit Your NDUS Account page on the UIT website.

Course Overview

The course content is organized into weekly asynchronous lesson modules and can be found in the "Weekly Lessons" tab in the left menu bar in the Blackboard course site. Each weekly lesson module is released by 12:00 noon central time on Tuesdays and contain learning outcomes, lesson To-Do lists with overview videos, reading assignments, lesson lecture videos, instructional resources selected to enhance the learning experience, assignment expectation overview videos, and assignment criteria documents. Discussions, quizzes, assignments, and projects will be used to assess your comprehension and application of those materials.  *Please follow the course schedule for assignment due dates.

Resources

Many services are available to UND students such as writing assistance from the UND Writing Center, free online tutoring from Smarthinking, and more. Visit the Student Resources page for more information. Students also have access to the UND Student Resource Site via Blackboard. It is recommended that you become familiar with the tools and tutorials within the site to better equip you in navigating the course.

Course Requirements/Expectations

1. The student will review the syllabus and course schedule posted in Blackboard.
2. The student will access and follow all course instructions found in the weekly lesson modules of the Blackboard course.
3. The student will participate in any discussion boards or activities required.
4. The student will complete and submit assignments, projects, quizzes, etc. by the due dates on the course schedule and as required and described the assignment criteria documents and/or the assignment overview videos provided in Blackboard and on the course schedule. We will use Central Standard Time for due dates and times.
5. The student will participate fully and in a timely manner to get the benefit of learning from instructor and/or peers.

6. Skill awareness and skill knowledge will be acquired through assigned readings.  It is imperative that you read through all materials in the course so you are not only aware but knowledgeable about assessment skills/strategies delineated in the assigned readings.  Those of you who are self-regulated learners will more than likely perform well in this class, but for those who invest minimal time and effort will experience disequilibrium and frustration since material covered in reading assignments will not be retaught in weekly lesson modules.  If you submit a question to me and it is apparent that you have not read through the required materials, you will be redirected to do so.

Instructor Responsibilities and Feedback

• The instructor will provide feedback on assignments within one week of assignment due dates.
• The instructor will be available during appointed Office Hours to answer questions, provide feedback, and offer advice.

Announcements

Announcements will be posted in Blackboard on a regular basis. Be sure to check the class announcements regularly as they will contain important information about class assignments and other class matters. *All announcements will also be sent to your UND email.

Email

If you need to contact me directly, check the Faculty tab in Blackboard or the syllabus for my contact information. Because I teach several courses each semester, please include which course you are enrolled in the subject line of your email. 

I check email Monday thru Friday, 8:00 to 5:00 p.m. central time and will respond back to you within 24 hours during the weekdays (M-F). I do not check emails on weekends or UND scheduled holidays, so if you email during those times, I will respond to your email on the next scheduled school day.  *See UND academic calendar for all holidays. 

Course Etiquette

When participating in class (online or in person) it is important to interact with your peers in an appropriate manner. Always use professional language (no netspeak) in your postings and emails. Please be respectful of your classmates at all times even if you disagree with their ideas.

Assignment                                               Final Grade

1. Quizzes (3 @ 33.3 pts each)                                          100 Points
2. WJ-IV Performance Assessment                                  100 Points
3. Assessment Case Study                                               300 Points
4. Expert Interview                                                              50 Points

                  Total: 550 Points

Final Grade Scale

> 92% A

84-91% B

76-83% C

68-75% D

< 68% F

*Rounding rules apply.  (.5% rounds up to whole percentage, <.5% rounds down to whole percentage).

Assignment Policy

A course schedule of due dates for each assignment or activity will be posted in Blackboard. All assignments must be submitted in Word or PDF formats.  *If you are using google docs or other platforms, you must convert them to Word or PDF formats before submitting to Blackboard.  Assignment submitted in an unreadable format will earn 0 points in the grade book. Resubmission of these assignments will earn late points per the late policy below.

Late Work

Modules are released on Tuesdays and due the following Tuesday by 11:59 p.m. central time.  Assignments must be submitted on or before the due dates that are provided in the course schedule to receive full credit.  Special Education is a technical field for which meeting deadlines is imperative for compliance; thus, you must demonstrate this skill with assignments. 

• Late assignments will be deducted 10% of the total points possible for each school day the assignment is late unless an extension was granted by the instructor prior to the assignment due date.  Example:  if an assignment is turned in 3 school days late, 30% of the total points will be deducted from the score that would have been earned after it has been graded.  Assignments that are past due 10 or more days will earn 0 points in the grade book unless an extension was granted by the instructor prior to the assignment due date. 
• Assignments are only considered on time when all components are submitted in their complete form and as directed in the assignment criteria.
• You are only allowed one when submitting your assignments. Make sure you are reviewing the rubric and assignment criteria to assure all assignment components are included in your submission. If a second submission is needed, 10% of the total possible points will be deducted from your earned score. **Emailed assignments ARE NOT accepted.  ALL assignments MUST be submitted to Blackboard.
• If you need to request an extension on an assignment, simply communicate with me at least 24 hours in advance. You may be granted an extension, but only for extenuating circumstances. Having a full-time job, a family, and doing graduate work can be overwhelming, so it is important to review the weekly lesson To-Do list and overview videos on Tuesdays when when they are made available.  Making this a weekly habit will help you to manage your time to complete your course assignments by the scheduled due dates.
• If an extension is granted for an extenuating circumstance, it is per assignment NOT for all assignments. 

Class Participation

Insert your expectations regarding class participation. An example is provided below.

Students are required to login regularly to the Blackboard course site and complete assignments by the due dates listed in the course schedule. Students are also required to participate in all class activities such as discussion boards. 

Incompletes

It is expected that students will complete all requirements for a course during the time frame of the course. For reasons beyond a student’s control, and upon request by the student or on behalf of the student, an incomplete grade may be assigned by the instructor when there is reasonable certainty the student will successfully complete the course without retaking it. The mark “I,” Incomplete, will be assigned only to the student who has been in attendance and has done satisfactory work up to a time within four weeks of the close of the semester, including the examination period, and whose work is incomplete for reasons satisfactory to his or her instructor. More information regarding UND’s Incomplete policy can be found on The Grading System webpage.

Resolution of Problems

Should a problem occur, you should speak to your instructor first. If the problem is not resolved, meet with Patricia Mahar, SPED Program Director. If the problem continues to be unresolved, go to the department chair, and next to the college dean. Should the problem persist, you have the right to go to the provost next, and then to the president.

Copyright Notice

All course materials in this course were developed for the University of North Dakota Special Education Program.  Use of these materials are limited to student use in their personal practices.  Templates provided are for personal use in your practice only and no part may bo sold as your own creation (such as for platforms like Teachers Pay Teachers). When sharing any of the course materials with other educators, please ensure that all headers/footers remain intact and include proper credit to the creators (i.e., Tamara Hoffer, University of North Dakota, SPED Faculty, or alumni student names on exemplar models).

Policies for Students in Educator Preparation Programs

Dispositions:  The Council of Accreditation for Educator Preparation (CAEP) requires the university to monitor the academic progress and dispositions of every student enrolled in a program leading to an education license or credential.  Dispositions refer to a student’s actions and behaviors in terms of professionalism, ethics and human relations. Should a concern arise about a student’s progress or dispositions, faculty, instructors and/or cooperating teachers may request a one-on-one meeting with the teacher candidate or advanced student to discuss areas of strength or concerns.  Written documentation of this conference may be included in the student’s permanent file.  Specific procedures are delineated on the form, Professional Dispositions for UND Teacher Education. 

Essential Abilities Requirements: Essential abilities are academic performance requirements that refer to those physical, cognitive, and behavioral abilities required for satisfactory completion of all aspects of the educator preparation curriculum and the development of personal attributes required for professional licensure. The candidate must possess or be able to gain these abilities with or without reasonable accommodation. The essential abilities required by the curriculum are reflected by competencies in the following areas: communication, intellectual, behavioral, social, motor, and sensory (Handbook for Teacher Education).

Reasonable accommodations will be afforded to education candidates with disabilities as required under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.  Students who can no longer perform the essential functions of education candidates must report that to the Associate Dean of Student Services and Assessment and suggest any accommodations that they think will enable them to perform as education candidates.  The Associate Dean will then determine if the suggested accommodations are reasonable or if there are any other reasonable accommodations that can be made.  If accommodations cannot be made, the student may not be able to complete their educational program.