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Case Study Summaries

These are real-world situations created to show the applicational value of best practices. Cases include authentic artifacts, video, audio, and questions to engage the user. An online forum is available for students to use to discuss the case with colleagues. Cases are also tied to national standards.

Curriculum Based Assessment/Measurement
Developed by: Reggie Lorimer and Suzette Fisher

Monitoring Mary to Success Printable Version

Mary is a third grade student in Ms. Smith's classroom. Her parents are concerned about Mary's reading accuracy and ask Ms. Smith, a second-year teacher, to help Mary improve. Ms. Smith and Mrs. Baxter, the building reading specialist, successfully explore, intervene, and monitor Mary's progress using Curriculum Based Measurement so that by the end of nine weeks Mary has mastered her targeted skill areas.

What's with all the tally marks Printable Version

Chris is a third grade student who, although able to grasp math concepts on grade level, struggles to learn the basic addition and subtraction facts required to work quickly and efficiently. Her teacher, Mrs. Campbell, helps her learn new strategies and graph her progress using Curriculum Based Measurement. With her visual CBM graph, weekly monitoring checks, and her own motivation, Chris is able to make the progress needed to learn her basic addition and subtraction facts and remain successful in the general math curriculum.

Susie's Struggles Printable Version

Susie is in the third grade and is reading well below her grade level peers. Despite the best efforts of her teachers and parents, she just hasn't made the progress they had all hoped for. With the help of the building problem solving team, her teachers and parents learn new ways to approach Susie's struggles and use Curriculum Based Measurement to help them monitor her progress from general education intervention to special education programming.

Data-Based Decision Making
Developed by: Kyle Nelson and Kirsten Cigler Nelson

Merging P.E. and Special Ed. : Collecting Behavioral Data in a Chaotic Environment Printable Ver sion

Jennifer Hoover is struggling to control Mark, a student with oppositional defiant disorder. While in her P.E. class, he often shouts negative comments and gets off task. Jennifer feels at a loss. With the help of Sam Allen, a special education teacher at the high school, Jennifer is able to collect data that will inform the te am's decision about what to do to help Mark succeed.

Chronicling Kellie: Gathe ring Data to Improve Instruction Printable Ver sion

Dan Schmidt is finding the behavior of Kellie Madison, one of his second grade students, to be incre asingly distracting. He knows that the fact that she struggles with AD/HD and ED play a part, and he asks for help from her special education facilitator, Isabel Ortiz. Together Dan and Isabel journey down the path of collecting d ata in order to make the data based decisions that are best for Kellie.

Performance Based Assessment
List of all case studies

Quality Test Construction
Developed by: Kari Stubbs

Assessing Science: Stars and Galaxies Printable Version

Kendra Malone was a tenured teacher in a suburban district in the Midwest. She was the type of person who had always wanted to be a teacher. Kendra spent her childhood teaching her friends, and when they were unwilling she taught her stuffed animals, all about reading, writing, and arithmetic. She loved teaching and absolutely enjoyed working with the kids. Currently, she was a ninth grade science teacher, and she was in a rut. She enjoyed her profession, but had been immersed in it for such a long period of time, twelve hectic years, that she was reaching burnout. She met with her principal to openly address her concerns. Kendra was not ready to leave education, but had always vowed never to stay beyond her ability to do a good job for herself and the students.

Her principal, Madeline Meyer, was a strong leader. Together they discussed Kendra's struggles, and established a plan for rejuvenating her. Madeline needed someone to become a testing expert, and felt that if Kendra were willing, she would be a wonderful candidate. Together, they researched two statewide conferences on assessment for Kendra to attend. Madeline also placed her on the district assessment committee. The opportunity for professional growth would hopefully be the key to restarting Kendra's lagging passion.

Kendra was able to discover a new passion, and an area of strength and leadership in assessment. Her new knowledge, which first appeared in her own classroom, eventually allowed her to become a facilitator all across the district and ultimately the state.

Assessing Student Vocabulary in a Middle School Literature Course Printable Version

Yvonne Alden was pleased with her transition to teaching in a middle school setting. She had spent the previous seven years at an Elementary School, and it was time for a change. Two of her teaching partners had made the jump a year before, and had pleaded with her to join them. The eighth graders she now taught were so much different than her third grade students, and she was surprised by how much fun she was having. She was currently in the midst of a unit on the Holocaust that she had planned with her language arts/social studies team. She enjoyed the teaching aspect of the unit, but was struggling with how to assess student learning.

Assessment was the biggest obstacle she had encountered as a result of her building transition. She was a natural when it came to planning and delivering instruction, as well as interacting with kids. Testing was a completely different topic. She realized the middle school importance of preparing tests, giving tests, grading tests, reviewing tests. It went on and on. The focus at the elementary level had been on instruction and less formal evaluation tools such as teacher observation, checklists, and hands-on projects. Middle school hinged on a whole new view. Intertwining that new world view with the students, especially those with special needs, was a definite challenge.

Pre-Algebra Printable Version

Mona Delatore is a first year teacher in a suburban school district. At the mid-way point in the school year, Mona has felt successful in her classroom of diverse learners. Although she cares a great deal for all of her students, Mona is particularly concerned about one of her special needs students, Brianna. Mona's current challenge was to develop a strong test for the end of her Pre-Algebra, Chapter One test. She was hoping to create a test that was beneficial and valid for all of her students. Mona knew she would need to think back to her own learning in college and look to the experience of other teachers in her building to create the kind of test she wanted.

Assessment Accommodations
Developed by: J. Bell and L. Lee

Jared: Laborer to College Student Printable Version
Jared is a 7th grade student with a severe learning disability. Despite years in special education classes, he is unable to read even simple text. Frustration and embarrassment have taken their toll on his self-esteem. Jared's father tells him his only prospect for employment after high school is a job requiring him to use his hands. He really doesn't want to be a farmer or work in construction, but after years of failure, Jared believes this is his only option for the future. Although he doesn't know it, 7th grade will change the course of his life. His teachers have been working to accommodate for his reading and writing difficulties rather than continuing to try to remediate them. Through technology just acquired by the school district, the way Jared learns and tests will never look the same.

When General Education Teachers Take Charge of Students with Disabilities in an Inclusive Classroom: One Teacher�s Story Printable Version
On the first day of school, Heather Strong, a third grade general education teacher, was introduced to her new student, John, a boy with physical disabilities. Since his arrival was a surprise, she immediately sought out more information. After reading his Individual Education Plan (IEP), she was in a panic! His IEP called for testing accommodations that she had never used and assistive technology that was completely unfamiliar to her. When she consulted with the special education teacher in her school, Ms. Strong was told that assistive technology was strongly discouraged here at Johnson School. The special education teacher was quick to remind Ms. Strong that this student had moved into the school from another district. The special educator suggested calling a meeting to rewrite the IEP, removing the assistive technology and adjusting the testing accommodations. Heather realized that she needed more information before making such drastic changes to an IEP, so she set up a consultation with the district�s assistive technology specialist.

Helping Sally Visualize a Successful ACT Score Printable Version
Jerald Abney is the teacher for students with Visual Impairments (VI) in a small, rural school district. He works with Sally Matthews, an 11th grader, who has been visually impaired from birth. Sally is a bright student who has managed to keep up with her peers in spite of her struggles with inaccessible learning and testing materials. Sally plans to retake the ACT this year to improve her scores and hopefully qualify for academic scholarships. In addition, she must complete statewide high stakes testing and exit exams for the school. Both Jerald and Sally are exploring effective accommodations for Sally so that she can demonstrate her knowledge and potential for higher education.

Grading
Developed by: Kyle Nelson and Kirsten Cigler Nelson

Keeping the Spirit, Changing the Expectations Printable Version

Lisa Mitchell, a high school student with motor skill difficulties, enrolled in an art class, and her teacher, Rebecca Gonzalez, is unsure how to accommodate Lisa. By modifying some of her assignments and rethinking her grading strategies, Rebecca is able to provide Lisa with an enriching experience.

Re-thinking Grading: Self-reflection in a Social Studies Classroom Printable Version

Jacob Kim could not sit still and focus. His teacher, Drew Patrick, rethinks his view of what grades mean to make modifications that might have a positive effect on Jacob. By being open to change, Drew is able to help Jacob be more successful in Social Studies.

Working Through Pre-Conceived Notions: Helping a Child Succeed Printable Version

Jenna O�Brien had been diagnosed with a severe disability in math. Her teacher, Max Robinson, felt he had tried everything to motivate her. After talking to her special education facilitator, they agreed that some modifications in grading might provide just the motivation Jenna needed to raise her math grade.