HLP 5: Interpreting and Communicating Assessment with Stakeholders

By Colleen Cestari and Caitlynn Young

Definition

Effectively communicating data about a student to all involved parties who are a part of the student’s IEP team.

Data

  • The data can be collected through assessments, classroom work, and observing a student in their classroom environment, as well as their home life
  • Data can include academic results, as well as information on behavioral observations and concerns
  • Can be collected by any stakeholder
Four types of data
It is important to keep different types of data on all students. They include class work, assessments, visual reporting and family reports. 

Stakeholders

  • The “stakeholders” are those who are involved in the child’s academic success and daily well-being.
  • Can include general education teachers, legal guardians, psychologists, special education teachers, family members and anyone else who comes in contact with the student on a regular basis.
  • These stakeholders make up the child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) team.

Expected Outcomes

  • Have all parties fully understand where the child is at (behaviorally and intellectually) and what is expected of them
  • Developing an understanding of each assessment and what each assessment is testing
  • Giving a clear understanding to families about special education terms and hopeful outcomes
  • Being able to develop goals and objectives based on the assessment data and the child’s abilities while also explaining how you hope to achieve those goals

How to implement in a school setting?

  • IEP meetings or any team meeting with all involved parties
  • Emails/phones calls with the families or teachers often
  • “Red folders” given to general education teachers at the beginning of the year, which provide a brief overview about the students and their goals and objectives

Steps for Implementation

  1. Do assessments on the child
  2. Summarize and review all data making it clear and precise for others to read
  3. Review data and form goals and objectives for the student (rough draft)
  4. Call a meeting to discuss findings and goals and objectives
  5. Meet with team to talk about findings
  6. Make a plan to achieve goals and objectives based off of assessments

Tips for Families About SPED 

  • Definitions of terms for IEP meetings
  • A link to the rights of the family and a simplistic definition and expectations of families from this list
  • Explaining the role family members have in their child’s educational success and how they can help their child in SPED (Special Education)
  • Definition of special education and explanation of the difference between a resource environment and a self contained classroom
  • SPED Tip Sheet (Google document)

Tips on Virtual Learning 

  • Provide links or listings of websites that work well for web-based education
  • How meetings and family-teacher contact are changing
  • Discuss with families the best way to share assessment data/contact them
  • Virtual Tips – Parents (Google document)
  • Virtual Tips – Teachers (Google document)

References

Blackwell, W. H. & Stockall, N. (2019). RISC: Four steps for interpreting and communicating high-stakes assessment results. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 51(4), 265-275. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0040059919826027 

Towles-Reeves, E., Kleinert, H., & Muhomba, M. (2009). Alternate assessment: Have we learned anything new? Exceptional Children, 75(2), 233-252. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F001440290907500206 

McLeskey, J., Maheady, L., Billingsley, B., Brownell, M., & Lewis, T. (2019). High-leverage practices for inclusive classrooms. Routledge.

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