Literature Review of Aims Testing for Students with Disabilities
Overview-
With the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, teachers became increasingly more accountable for improving the achievement of all students, including those with disabilities. NCLB put more emphasis on standardized testing, which congruently put more stress on teachers because their contracts were threatened if student achievement dropped. In the state of Arizona, Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards, or AIMS, is a norm-referenced/standardized test administered to students in grades 3 through 12. It is also aligned to the Arizona Academic Content Standards. The main purpose of the exam is to determine a student’s proficiency in several areas, including Reading, Mathematics, Writing, and Science. Arizona students must meet or exceed the standards in reading, writing, and mathematics to meet the requirements for high school graduation. All students, with the exception of those who have cognitive impairments, or are intellectually disabled, must take the AIMS test with their grade level peers, regardless of if they are performing on grade level. According to the department of education website for Arizona, of the 1.06 million kids enrolled in the state, 58,262 kids had some kind of specific learning disability between the 2007-2008 school year. This 5.49% accounts for 45.73% of the total special education population.
Stated by the Department of Education in Arizona, there are three forms of the AIMS. First there is AIMS-DPA, which is both a criterion and norm-referenced test administered to students in grades 3 through 8. The questions from this AIMS test are aligned with state standards and questions from the TerraNova test. Second is the AIMS-HS test, which is only a criterion-referenced test aligned with 10th grade state standards. The test is administered to sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have not yet passed the test. Since 2006, any student must pass the AIMS test to receive a diploma and graduate high school. In some
With the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, teachers became increasingly more accountable for improving the achievement of all students, including those with disabilities. NCLB put more emphasis on standardized testing, which congruently put more stress on teachers because their contracts were threatened if student achievement dropped. In the state of Arizona, Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards, or AIMS, is a norm-referenced/standardized test administered to students in grades 3 through 12. It is also aligned to the Arizona Academic Content Standards. The main purpose of the exam is to determine a student’s proficiency in several areas, including Reading, Mathematics, Writing, and Science. Arizona students must meet or exceed the standards in reading, writing, and mathematics to meet the requirements for high school graduation. All students, with the exception of those who have cognitive impairments, or are intellectually disabled, must take the AIMS test with their grade level peers, regardless of if they are performing on grade level. According to the department of education website for Arizona, of the 1.06 million kids enrolled in the state, 58,262 kids had some kind of specific learning disability between the 2007-2008 school year. This 5.49% accounts for 45.73% of the total special education population.
Stated by the Department of Education in Arizona, there are three forms of the AIMS. First there is AIMS-DPA, which is both a criterion and norm-referenced test administered to students in grades 3 through 8. The questions from this AIMS test are aligned with state standards and questions from the TerraNova test. Second is the AIMS-HS test, which is only a criterion-referenced test aligned with 10th grade state standards. The test is administered to sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have not yet passed the test. Since 2006, any student must pass the AIMS test to receive a diploma and graduate high school. In some
References: Arizona Department of Education. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.azed.gov/wp-content/uploads/PDF/DR11.pdf Driscoll, J. L., (2012). An examination of the achievement gap between special education students and their non-disabled peers. Northern Arizona University. Fusarelli, L. D., (2004). The potential impact of the no child left behind act on equity and diversity in american education. Educational Policy. Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 71-94. Jorgenson, O. (1999). Arizona AIMS for success: Graduation standards put learning, and diplomas, on the line. The Clearing House. Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 23-24. Kettler, R., Elliott, S., Beddow, P., Compton, E., McGrath, D., Kaase, K., et al., (2010). What do alternative assessments of alternative academic achievement standards measure? A multitrait-multimethod analysis. Exceptional Children. Vol. 76, No. 5, pp. 457-474. Turnbull III, H. R., (2005). Individuals with disabilities education act reauthorization: Accountability and personal responsibility. Remedial and Special Education. Vol. 26, No. 6, pp. 320-326. U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (2007). Alignment of IDEA and NCLB. Retrieved from http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,dynamic,TopicalBrief,3 Williams, L. E., (2008). Special education teachers’ perceptions of arizona’s alternative assessment. Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and School Psychology. Arizona State University.