Chapter 1: Introduction to Assessment
Chapter 1 Learning Outcome Quizzes
Learning Outcome 1.1: Define and understand the purpose of assessment.
[Q1]
Which of the following terms would best describe the process in which a special education
teacher conducts reading inventories with their students and uses those data to inform future
instruction?
1. Grading
2. Teaching
M
3. Assessment [correct]
4. Professional development
[Feedback for Answer Choice 1]
EL
While this teacher may in fact use the reading inventory process as some type of formal grade,
this term does not accurately describe the process being conducted.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 2]
AN
Teaching is a complex process and conducting a reading inventory could be a part of the
teaching process; however, this term is much too broad to constitute the correct answer.
[Feedback for Correct Answer 3]
Assessment in special education is a process that involves collecting information about a
student for the purpose of making decisions. In this question, the teacher is collecting data
IE
(reading inventories) and using the data to make decisions about future instruction. This is the
assessment process.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 4]
??
Professional development is a term that often refers to a teacher engaging in some type of
training or formal education process to better their own practice. In this question, the teacher is
using data to support students and improve instruction, not to better their own practice.
??
[Q2]
Qualeya is a special education teacher who is busy looking for patterns in the previous
mathematics performance of a student she is working hard to support. In which of the following
stages of the assessment process is Qualeya presently engaged?
1. Collection
2. Analysis [correct]
3. Evaluation
4. Recommendation
[Feedback for Answer Choice 1]
In the collection process, data is being gathered from many sources. It is the ascertainment of
the data that qualifies as the collection process. This is not the process in which Qualeya is
currently engaged.
1
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,[Feedback for Correct Answer 2]
The analysis stage involves understanding patterns in a child’s educational, social,
developmental, environmental, medical, and emotional history. Since Qualeya is engaged in
reviewing previously collected data in order to determine patterns, it is clear she is engaged in
analysis.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 3]
In the evaluation stage, a child’s strengths and limitations in certain areas are determined.
Qualeya does not yet have enough information to make these types of determinations.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 4]
In the recommendation stage, professionals make suggestions regarding educational
placements. This would be premature for Qualeya given her current place in the assessment
process.
M
[Q3]
Gerald’s parents have just been called in for a meeting with the school psychologist who would
like to discuss the results of Gerald’s psychological evaluation. The school psychologist intends
EL
to inform them that Gerald has a specific learning disability. Which stage of the assessment
process is described in this scenario?
1. Determination [correct]
2. Recommendation
AN
3. Analysis
4. Evaluation
[Feedback for Correct Answer 1]
IE
In the determination stage, the presence of a suspected disability is suggested based on the
knowledge of the criteria that constitute each category. The school psychologist, in this
scenario, is engaged in making a professional determination regarding the presence of a
specific learning disability.
??
[Feedback for Answer Choice 2]
The school psychologist is not seeking to give guidance or make suggestions at this time, so
this is not the recommendation stage of the assessment process.
??
[Feedback for Answer Choice 3]
While the school psychologist certainly engaged in the analysis of data to determine patterns,
the psychologist has enough data to move beyond the analysis stage in the assessment
process.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 4]
The evaluation stage includes the determination of a child’s strengths and limitations in specific
areas, including academic, intellectual, psychological, emotional, perceptual, language,
cognitive, and medical development. Since the psychologist is ready to discuss results with
Gerald’s parents, they are beyond the evaluation stage.
[Q4]
Which of the following best represents a decision area influenced by assessment in special
education?
2
Copyright © 2023, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
,1. Classroom seating arrangements
2. Curricular choices
3. IEP development decisions [correct]
4. Decisions regarding career choices for students
[Feedback for Answer Choice 1]
A teacher who collects good behavioral data may in fact use those data to influence classroom
management systems, but this is not the best answer as it relates to the primary role of special
education assessment.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 2]
Teachers use data to make decisions about teaching, but this is not the best answer with regard
to the specifics of special education assessment.
M
[Feedback for Correct Answer 3]
Information collected in the assessment process can provide detailed information so that an
individualized education program (IEP) may be developed. This is a critical role of special
education assessment.
EL
[Feedback for Answer Choice 4]
Data may help inform transition planning for students embarking on career or college
opportunities, but this is not a primary role of special education assessment.
AN
Learning Outcome 1.2: Distinguish the various landmark court cases and federal legislation
pertaining to special education and individuals with disabilities.
[Q1]
Which of the following landmark court cases played a significant role in the development of
IE
future special education laws as it overthrew the previous “separate but equal” approach to not
only education, but many other societal structures?
1. Plessy v. Ferguson
??
2. PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
3. Brown v. Board of Education [correct]
4. Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia
??
[Feedback for Answer Choice 1]
Plessy v. Ferguson was overthrown by the court case which constitutes the correct answer. The
Plessy decision was responsible for the oppressive “separate but equal” doctrine.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 2]
The PARC case is a critical case for the inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities, but it
is not the case responsible for ending the legality of “separate but equal.”
[Feedback for Correct Answer 3]
The Brown case is a famous civil rights case, particularly when considered along the lines of
race, but the case extended beyond race and established many of the legal underpinnings for
future special education law.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 4]
3
Copyright © 2023, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
, The Mills case focused on the exclusion of students based on district reported financial means
and is an important case in special education history, but it is not the case that overthrew the
“separate but equal” doctrine.
[Q2]
Which of the following landmark court cases set the precedent for the concept of a “free
appropriate public education?”
1. Brown v. Board of Education
2. PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania [correct]
3. Plessy v. Ferguson
4. Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia
[Feedback for Answer Choice 1]
M
The Brown case was instrumental in overturning the separate but equal doctrine, and while
vitally important, it did not directly establish the guarantee of a free appropriate public education.
[Feedback for Correct Answer 2]
EL
The PARC case, which focused on the inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities, was
instrumental in the guarantee of a free appropriate publication for all students.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 3]
AN
The Plessy case is a nineteenth-century case which established the oppressive “separate but
equal” doctrine.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 4]
While the Mills case is a case focused on inclusion, it was not the case that established the
construct of a free appropriate public education.
IE
[Q3]
Which of the following landmark court cases established the precedent that school districts
??
could not deny students access to education on the basis of financial constraint?
1. Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia [correct]
2. Brown v. Board
??
3. Plessy v. Ferguson
4. PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
[Feedback for Correct Answer 1]
The court in Mills mandated that students with disabilities receive special education services
regardless of the school district’s financial capability, stating that: “Insufficient resources may not
be the basis for exclusion” (Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia, 348 Supp. 866, C
D. DC 1972).
[Feedback for Answer Choice 2]
The Brown case is a famous civil rights case which overturned the “separate but equal”
doctrine, but it is not the case which prohibited exclusion based on finances.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 3]
The Plessy case is the case that established the oppressive “separate but equal” doctrine.
4
Copyright © 2023, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 1 Learning Outcome Quizzes
Learning Outcome 1.1: Define and understand the purpose of assessment.
[Q1]
Which of the following terms would best describe the process in which a special education
teacher conducts reading inventories with their students and uses those data to inform future
instruction?
1. Grading
2. Teaching
M
3. Assessment [correct]
4. Professional development
[Feedback for Answer Choice 1]
EL
While this teacher may in fact use the reading inventory process as some type of formal grade,
this term does not accurately describe the process being conducted.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 2]
AN
Teaching is a complex process and conducting a reading inventory could be a part of the
teaching process; however, this term is much too broad to constitute the correct answer.
[Feedback for Correct Answer 3]
Assessment in special education is a process that involves collecting information about a
student for the purpose of making decisions. In this question, the teacher is collecting data
IE
(reading inventories) and using the data to make decisions about future instruction. This is the
assessment process.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 4]
??
Professional development is a term that often refers to a teacher engaging in some type of
training or formal education process to better their own practice. In this question, the teacher is
using data to support students and improve instruction, not to better their own practice.
??
[Q2]
Qualeya is a special education teacher who is busy looking for patterns in the previous
mathematics performance of a student she is working hard to support. In which of the following
stages of the assessment process is Qualeya presently engaged?
1. Collection
2. Analysis [correct]
3. Evaluation
4. Recommendation
[Feedback for Answer Choice 1]
In the collection process, data is being gathered from many sources. It is the ascertainment of
the data that qualifies as the collection process. This is not the process in which Qualeya is
currently engaged.
1
Copyright © 2023, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
,[Feedback for Correct Answer 2]
The analysis stage involves understanding patterns in a child’s educational, social,
developmental, environmental, medical, and emotional history. Since Qualeya is engaged in
reviewing previously collected data in order to determine patterns, it is clear she is engaged in
analysis.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 3]
In the evaluation stage, a child’s strengths and limitations in certain areas are determined.
Qualeya does not yet have enough information to make these types of determinations.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 4]
In the recommendation stage, professionals make suggestions regarding educational
placements. This would be premature for Qualeya given her current place in the assessment
process.
M
[Q3]
Gerald’s parents have just been called in for a meeting with the school psychologist who would
like to discuss the results of Gerald’s psychological evaluation. The school psychologist intends
EL
to inform them that Gerald has a specific learning disability. Which stage of the assessment
process is described in this scenario?
1. Determination [correct]
2. Recommendation
AN
3. Analysis
4. Evaluation
[Feedback for Correct Answer 1]
IE
In the determination stage, the presence of a suspected disability is suggested based on the
knowledge of the criteria that constitute each category. The school psychologist, in this
scenario, is engaged in making a professional determination regarding the presence of a
specific learning disability.
??
[Feedback for Answer Choice 2]
The school psychologist is not seeking to give guidance or make suggestions at this time, so
this is not the recommendation stage of the assessment process.
??
[Feedback for Answer Choice 3]
While the school psychologist certainly engaged in the analysis of data to determine patterns,
the psychologist has enough data to move beyond the analysis stage in the assessment
process.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 4]
The evaluation stage includes the determination of a child’s strengths and limitations in specific
areas, including academic, intellectual, psychological, emotional, perceptual, language,
cognitive, and medical development. Since the psychologist is ready to discuss results with
Gerald’s parents, they are beyond the evaluation stage.
[Q4]
Which of the following best represents a decision area influenced by assessment in special
education?
2
Copyright © 2023, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
,1. Classroom seating arrangements
2. Curricular choices
3. IEP development decisions [correct]
4. Decisions regarding career choices for students
[Feedback for Answer Choice 1]
A teacher who collects good behavioral data may in fact use those data to influence classroom
management systems, but this is not the best answer as it relates to the primary role of special
education assessment.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 2]
Teachers use data to make decisions about teaching, but this is not the best answer with regard
to the specifics of special education assessment.
M
[Feedback for Correct Answer 3]
Information collected in the assessment process can provide detailed information so that an
individualized education program (IEP) may be developed. This is a critical role of special
education assessment.
EL
[Feedback for Answer Choice 4]
Data may help inform transition planning for students embarking on career or college
opportunities, but this is not a primary role of special education assessment.
AN
Learning Outcome 1.2: Distinguish the various landmark court cases and federal legislation
pertaining to special education and individuals with disabilities.
[Q1]
Which of the following landmark court cases played a significant role in the development of
IE
future special education laws as it overthrew the previous “separate but equal” approach to not
only education, but many other societal structures?
1. Plessy v. Ferguson
??
2. PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
3. Brown v. Board of Education [correct]
4. Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia
??
[Feedback for Answer Choice 1]
Plessy v. Ferguson was overthrown by the court case which constitutes the correct answer. The
Plessy decision was responsible for the oppressive “separate but equal” doctrine.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 2]
The PARC case is a critical case for the inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities, but it
is not the case responsible for ending the legality of “separate but equal.”
[Feedback for Correct Answer 3]
The Brown case is a famous civil rights case, particularly when considered along the lines of
race, but the case extended beyond race and established many of the legal underpinnings for
future special education law.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 4]
3
Copyright © 2023, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
, The Mills case focused on the exclusion of students based on district reported financial means
and is an important case in special education history, but it is not the case that overthrew the
“separate but equal” doctrine.
[Q2]
Which of the following landmark court cases set the precedent for the concept of a “free
appropriate public education?”
1. Brown v. Board of Education
2. PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania [correct]
3. Plessy v. Ferguson
4. Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia
[Feedback for Answer Choice 1]
M
The Brown case was instrumental in overturning the separate but equal doctrine, and while
vitally important, it did not directly establish the guarantee of a free appropriate public education.
[Feedback for Correct Answer 2]
EL
The PARC case, which focused on the inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities, was
instrumental in the guarantee of a free appropriate publication for all students.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 3]
AN
The Plessy case is a nineteenth-century case which established the oppressive “separate but
equal” doctrine.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 4]
While the Mills case is a case focused on inclusion, it was not the case that established the
construct of a free appropriate public education.
IE
[Q3]
Which of the following landmark court cases established the precedent that school districts
??
could not deny students access to education on the basis of financial constraint?
1. Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia [correct]
2. Brown v. Board
??
3. Plessy v. Ferguson
4. PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
[Feedback for Correct Answer 1]
The court in Mills mandated that students with disabilities receive special education services
regardless of the school district’s financial capability, stating that: “Insufficient resources may not
be the basis for exclusion” (Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia, 348 Supp. 866, C
D. DC 1972).
[Feedback for Answer Choice 2]
The Brown case is a famous civil rights case which overturned the “separate but equal”
doctrine, but it is not the case which prohibited exclusion based on finances.
[Feedback for Answer Choice 3]
The Plessy case is the case that established the oppressive “separate but equal” doctrine.
4
Copyright © 2023, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
