While much has been written about AAC assessment, guidelines for professionals have focused almost exclusively on how to evaluate students for speech-generating devices (SGDs), which typically occur every 3-5 years. Unfortunately, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and other professionals have little guidance regarding the kinds of assessments that students participate in on a more frequent basis, such as tests and quizzes for progress monitoring. To maximize learning outcomes, both therapists and educators administer a range of formal and informal assessments and use those data to adjust their instruction and intervention. In many situations, students who use AAC are routinely tested in ways that set them up for failure. In this presentation, we discuss the issues that AAC users have in demonstrating their true abilities in these types of assessments and explore the SLP’s role in helping teams adjust their evaluation practices to obtain data that more accurately reflects what students truly know.
Educators routinely test academic knowledge in ways that require a linguistic response, even with students who do not yet have solid skills in expressing themselves with AAC. Additionally, many of these students underperform because of their limited test-taking skills.
What should educational teams do to improve the assessment of students who are still learning to use their AAC systems? One approach is to develop and implement a set of Fair Testing Practices (FTPs). FTPs are a set of guidelines on how to test an individual student so that teams are getting information on their knowledge and skills, not confounded by disability-related issues like fatigue, inattention, or difficulties with seating/positioning.
For students who are learning to communicate with AAC, teams can develop specific FTPs which acknowledge that learners are often less than competent with the AAC tools that they are using to demonstrate their knowledge, putting them at a great disadvantage and making it highly unlikely that they will be able to demonstrate all of what they know.
Developing FTPs is best done as a team effort with input from the AAC user, family, therapists, educators, and any other key stakeholders who have something to contribute. This presentation provides a framework of key topics and guiding questions that teams can use in establishing the contours of assessments that lead to more meaningful outcomes for students who use AAC.
Topics include:
1. Getting the Team Onboard with FTPs
2. Address Issues and Concerns in Modifying Assessment Procedures
3. Preparation for the Assessment
4. Modes of Responding in Tests/Assessments
5. The Testing Environment
6. Test Materials
7. Test Administration Procedures
8. Communication & Documentation
When students don’t cope well with the assessment process or struggle to use their communication tools to participate in the assessment, their knowledge and skills are not being tested in a fair and equitable way. This uncovers only a subset of their knowledge when they are required to use processes they still struggle with to demonstrate their capabilities. School-based SLPs can play an important role in guiding teams toward improved assessment practices for students who use AAC through the implementation of FTPs.
References
Kasari, C., Brady, N., Lord, C., & Tager-Flusberg, H. (2013). Assessing the minimally verbal school-aged child with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 6(6), 479–493. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1334
Proctor, L., & Zangari, C. (2009). Language assessment in students with AAC needs, pp. 47-69. In G. Soto & C. Zangari (Eds.) Practically Speaking: Language, Literacy, and Academic Development for Students with AAC Needs. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Tager-Flusberg, H., & Kasari, C. (2013). Minimally verbal school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder: The neglected end of the spectrum. Autism Research, 6(6), 468–478.
