Talk:Foundations and Assessment of Education/Edition 1/Foundations Table of Contents/Chapter 14/The Scoop From Someone Who Knows



Students: Please write your "Reader Responses" on this page.



Below are links to pages on which you can provide peer reviews for this article.

Remember that each peer review page should contain only one peer review.

Peer Review One

Peer Review Two

Author Reflection
After interviewing Ms. Street about the Virginia Alternate Assessment Program, I was very surprised as to the detail of the program. I have not had much experience working with special education students. It was refreshing to see the time and effort that went into the development of the aligned standards used to evaluate students with severe cognitive disabilities. By having this program it assures that all students in the State of Virginia receive a quality education no matter their disability.

Jtmitchem (talk) 03:53, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

Reader Responses
I thought this was a very intersting and insightful article. Prior to reading it, I had no idea what the VAAP was. I think it's great there are other standards that children with disabilities can reach. The portfolio assesment sounds like a really good idea to me. In this article I would have avoided having a paragraph entitled "disadvantages" and then listing that there were no disadvantages. Ldomm002 (talk) 00:53, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

I enjoyed reading your article and found it to be very interesting. I had not yet heard of the Virginia Alternative Assessment Program and I think it is a great idea for students who are working on academic standards that have been reduced in complexity. The specific criteria that must be met to participate in the VAAP rather than SOL testing are understandable and I do not think they are too strict. I think there is a great benefit to VAAP because it shows the student’s progress over time and improvement in certain areas. Afett001 (talk) 17:57, 24 July 2009 (UTC)

What a great article from a reputatble source. I can completely understand how much hard work goes into preparing and completing an alternative assessment portfolio like the VAAP. While I have not worked with on a VAAP, I have worked on numerous VGLAs which are equally time consuming. My suggestion is to start collecting evidence early. Don't wait! Use a variety of sources for evidence. Worksheets are fine but I like to include photos, videos, audio recordings, and student prepared materials (pictures, etc.). Although students completing a VAAP or VGLA do not take the regular SOL tests, they are responsible for meeting SOL or ASOL requirements. Don't think they are a way out of meeting specific learning requirements. Great job on an informative and enlighting article. Acrow005 (talk) 18:55, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Many future teachers do not understand ho difficult it is to evaluate children that have special needs. Your article was great in that it described the different methods for evaluation and assessment and valued the progress that is evident in the portfolios. I thouroughly enjoyed your interview and applaude all special education teachers that have a lot of documentation for each student and still have the heart to love their job! Jnewh001 (talk) 19:45, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

I didn't even know what VAAP was until I read your article, so it was informative and helpful in learning new teacher concept. It was also very interesting to read about how to use VAAP with special needs children. Hcogg001 (talk) 23:47, 9 August 2009 (UTC)