Assessment
 

Fair assessment, one of the components of the Pennsylvania Standards Aligned System, includes mutiple forms of assessment.   Assessments are designed to determine the student's abilities and needs in relevant aspects of the curriculum and instruction. Educators need this essential tool to guide day-to-day instruction. Thevariety of assessments may range from classroom assessment practices all the way to district and statewide assessment programs.

Formative assessment, suchas periodic and frequent  progress monitoring provides valuable information on teaching effectiveness, and is the basis for informed instructional decisionsStudents who are deafblind should be assessed across a variety of settings, times, and situations.

Benchmark assessment, designed to provide feedback to both the teacher and the student about how the student is progressing towards demonstrating proficiency on grade level standards, may be conducted using district-wide assessment.

Summative assessment, also admininistered as a district-wide or state-wide assessment, provides a summary of student performance at the end of a period. 

Diagnostic assessment, used less frequently, can identify specific areas of strengthes and needs for a student.

Assessments that provide information about a student's strengths and abilities as well as their needs translate into strategies and recommendations that teachers and families can use. Some important assessment information resources for students who are deafblind are summarized below.

Assessing Communication and Learning in Young Children who are Deafblind or who have Multiple Disabilities is a comprehensive guide to assessment and intervention planning. 

The Assessment of Deafblind Access to Manual Language Systems (ADAMLS) is a resource for educational teams responsible for developing appropriate adaptations and strategies for children who are deafblind and who are candidates for learning manual language systems. Includes strategies for organizing the assessment process, assessment questions with considerations for adaptations, and summary results. 

The Functional Assessment of Sensory Status in Children who are Deafblind (FASSCDB)  provides a framework to integrate information about how the student learns and communicates into the student's written educational plan. Individualizing the educational program includes addressing the student's unique way of learning about his or her world. There are three parts to the FASSCDB, including a review of formal evaluations, a phase of observation and discussion, and a summary profile

Choosing Outcomes and Accommodations for Children (COACH)  is an assessment and planning tool designed to identify the content of a student's educational program and strategies for implementing this program in general education settings and activities. It is targeted to students with significant disabilities, including deafblindness. The age range is from preschool through school age. COACH is divided into two major parts: Determining a Student's Educational Program, and Strategies and Processes to Implement a COACH-Generated Educational Program. COACH manuals are available from PaTTAN's Short Term Loan program and from local IUs.