Project Description: WestEd is providing both a formative and summative evaluation of the federal GSEG grant, “Beyond Access for Assessment Accommodations” that is held by the New Hampshire Department of Education and the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disabilities (UNH-IOD).
Through this project, UNH-IOD is further developing materials for and then conducting a pilot implementation of its comprehensive program of data gathering, technical assistance, and professional development for IEP teams as well as district and state department of education staff with the primary goals of: building capacity of the local IEP teams to promote access of students with special needs to curriculum, and enhance knowledge and use of accommodations and modifications as well as lesson planning designed to increase student participation, and increase use of appropriate methods of state testing; building the capacity of state department of education staff to support and enhance the understanding of the BAAA processes among district staff; and building the capacity of district-level special education staff to support school-level BAAA processes.
Evaluators facilitated a multi-constituency group including state DOE staff, project leaders, technical assistance providers working with the project, and special education teachers and students in developing a shared understanding of the project resources, contextual factors, strategies and structures, and intended short- and long-term goals through collaborative development of a logic model that represents the project’s theory of action.
Evaluators are providing an ongoing formative evaluation based on periodic interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires with project leaders, technical assistance providers, IEP team participants, and district and state staff with responsibilities for special education. Evaluators will collaborate with UNH-IOD to incorporate data being collected through the BAAA process as part of the summative evaluation that will focus primarily on changes in plans for accommodations and modifications, and appropriate state testing of students with special needs.
WestEd staff involved with this project:
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