This session describes a four-year, US Dept of Education-funded collaborative project—I-SMART—which is leveraging UDL principles to develop (1) rigorous science assessments for students not meeting grade-level standards, including those with significant cognitive disabilities and (2) an innovative, flexible score reporting dashboard to help teachers adjust their instruction based on assessment results. Assessments were co-designed with students to provide rich, interactive, and engaging scenarios that allow flexible means for students to understand what is being asked of them and choose means for responding. The teacher dashboard was co-designed with teachers to provide multiple means for engagement, representation, and action & expression, as well as scaffold them on more difficult processes, such as interpreting dynamic learning maps. Prototypes of the assessments and the teacher dashboard are demonstrated, and preliminary research findings are shared.

Session Video Recording
Interactive Notes Document

This fast paced and fun video provides useful recommendations for classroom teachers on how to design and evaluate assessments to best evaluate students' knowledge and skill. It covers the topics of:

• Using assessments to find out where students are and how they learn best
• Designing assessments to support learning and help students become more aware of their own learning needs
• Understanding "construct relevant" and "construct irrelevant" design elements of assessments
• Understanding and avoiding construct "irrelevant" design features of assessments that may create barriers
• Evaluating individual items of an assessment that may be problematic and getting in the way of understanding the student's knowledge

Select the "Video" tab to access and play the video.