Assessment concepts and applications

¶ … mechanisms used by teachers of children with special needs formed the basis for this research. The authors sought to gain information on the tools used by teachers in special education to assess students who are severely mentally disabled. This assessment provided the basis for the development of personalized programs for the children. The research was descriptive in nature and provided a set of frequencies and percentages for various assessment measures.

For the purposes of the research, "severe intellectual disability" (SID) was defined as "a condition originating from birth or during the developmental years of a child and that is pervasive in nature." This distinction was necessary to provide the researchers with sufficient delimitation and specificity to capture and assess the phenomenon of interest. The research was conducted in Finland and included all the special education teachers working in Finnish comprehensive schools. The sample frame was determined from the internet in conjunction with the Finnish County Administrative Boards and local school authorities. The sample consisted of information from a total of 66 schools, 93 teachers including 419 students from the age of 6 to 16.

The research determined that 65% of the respondents used some type of assessment method. The methods used were varied, there were 22 different assessment methods reported. The most frequently employed assessment method was the "Psycho-educational profile -- Revised, (PEP-R) and Adolescent and adult psycho-educational profile (AAPEP). These two methods while dominant were originally designed for the testing of children with autism and as such, its validity as a measure of other types of disorders is called into question. Because of, the prevalence of the AAPEP the researcher raised a few concerns as to its suitability and age appropriateness.

The research findings were consistent with the aims of the research. The researchers were initially modest in the aims and consequently, the findings did not require any type of elaborate statistical analysis. The simplicity in the work is one of its least impressive features and does not endear the work to individuals interested in observing and assessing more complex features of the data analysis process.

For this work, the data analysis consisted of frequencies and the accompanying percentages. This again is very simple data analysis and while complete consistent with the research leaves the reader dissatisfied with the level of analysis. It may have been useful for the researcher to engage at a minimum some chi square tests to explore whether the observed frequencies were the product of chance or not. The added level of analysis may have imparted added robustness to the work and produced a more compelling data driven argument.