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Assessment is a process of collecting information for the purpose of making decisions about individuals. It is this decision-making feature that has led to decades of controversy about assessment in special and inclusive education, especially when school personnel use assessment information to make decisions about students from diverse ethnic, multicultural, and language groups. This entry describes the kinds of decisions school personnel make using assessment information, the most important factors to take into account when using assessment information with diverse populations, and recent promising developments in assessment in special and inclusive education. Throughout this discussion, it is important to remember that special education is a set of services rather than a place, and that students are educated in many settings ranging from the most restrictive set-aside settings (special schools or institutions) to inclusive regular education settings.

Definition

When most people hear the term assessment, they think of testing. Assessment is a much broader process of collecting data for the purpose of making decisions about individuals. A test is only one of several assessment techniques or procedures for obtaining information. During assessment, data from observations, recollections, tests, professional judgments, and record reviews all come into play.

Decisions Made in Educational Settings

Educational assessment decisions address problems. Some decisions involve problem identification (deciding whether there is a problem), whereas others deal with analyzing and solving problems.

The following kinds of decisions are made:

Screening: Are there unrecognized problems?

Progress monitoring: Is the student making adequate progress?

Instructional planning and modification: What can we do to improve instructional outcomes?

Eligibility for special education services: Is the student eligible for special education and related services?

Program evaluation: Are the instructional programs being used effective?

Accountability: Are we achieving desired outcomes?

Important Factors to Consider

Assessment decisions directly affect the lives of parents, students, and educators, and indirectly affect the lives of taxpayers and citizens concerned with helping all children achieve the best outcomes. The following are important factors to consider:

Relevance to Instruction

The primary purposes of assessing students are to enhance their competence and build the capacity of systems to meet their needs. If assessment does not lead to improved instruction, the assessment does not matter. Much assessment in today's schools and communities does not lead to instruction with known positive outcomes.

Acculturation

Assessments involve comparisons. When we use tests to make decisions we assume the student has had the same kinds of background experiences and opportunities as those on whom the test was standardized. Test developers standardize tests on representative populations and it is those populations to whom students are being compared. To the extent that a student differs from those in the norm population for a test, decisions made using the test are biased and invalid. Educators often talk about the cultural loading of a test and are rightfully concerned when a test is loaded with content to which a student has not been exposed.

Native Language or Mode of Communication

U.S. federal law (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA]) requires that students be assessed in their primary language or mode of communication. In addition, although some students may be proficient in Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS), they may not have developed adequate levels of Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). These students should be assessed in their native language or if necessary, nonverbally.

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