Dynamic leaning maps, 03/2013

              A newsletter about the Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate Assessment System
Instructionally Relevant Testlets
March 2013
Testlets: An Overview
• Are made up of an engagement
activity and 3 to 5 test items
	
centered around a learning target
• Reflect classroom instructional
activities
• Are embedded within instructional
activities during the school year
• Are based on Common Core
	
Essential Elements
• Are being designed with
	
accessibility in mind
About Us:
The Dynamic Learning
Maps Alternate Assessment
System Consortium is made
up of 14 states and additional
partner agencies developing the
Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate
Assessment System, a computer-based
assessment for the 1% of
the K-12 public school student
population with significant cognitive
disabilities for whom, even with
accommodations, general state
assessments are not appropriate.
Led by the Center for
Educational Testing and Evaluation
at the University of Kansas, DLM
is funded through a five-year-grant
awarded in late 2010 by the U.S.
Department of Education, Office of
Special Education Programs. The
assessment will be implemented
during the 2014-2015 school year.
The DLM Consortium is one
of two multistate consortia to
receive federal grants to create
a next-generation alternate
assessment linked to Common
Core State Standards in math and
English Language Arts for the 1%
population. DLM member states
are involved during every phase of
DLM-AAS development.
DLM Consortium States
Iowa • Kansas • Michigan
Mississippi • Missouri
New Jersey • North Carolina
Oklahoma • Utah • Vermont
Virginia • Washington
West Virginia • Wisconsin
Teaching and learning are
hard work and the Dynamic
Learning Maps Alternate
Assessment System (DLM-AAS)
is being developed as a tool that
simultaneously supports teacher
instruction and student learning.
It will accomplish both by having
assessment tasks model good
instruction and by being embedded
within teachers’ classroom activities
throughout the school year.
“We are developing the DLM
assessment where supporting
instruction is in the very design
of the assessment, not an
afterthought, so that all children
can meet high standards,” said
Neal Kingston, DLM project director
and co-director of the Center for
Educational Testing and Evaluation,
which leads the DLM Consortium.
Because the DLM assessments
can monitor students’ progress
throughout the year during
teachers’ classroom activities,
assessment becomes embedded
and not just solely part of a high-stakes,
separate activity at the
end of the school year. This gives
teachers the chance to continually
evaluate their students’ learning
and adjust teaching to optimize
students’ progress throughout the
year.
Computer-delivered testlets are
created starting with the Common
Core Essential Elements, specific
statements of the content and skills
that are linked to the Common
Core State Standards grade-level
specific expectations for
students with significant cognitive
disabilities. Essential Elements are
intended to provide links between
Common Core Standards and
grade-specific expectations for
students with significant cognitive
disabilities.
Each testlet, a package of
items centered around a learning
target, include an engagement
activity and between three to five
assessment items. Items may
include performance-based tasks,
technology-enhanced formats that
allow students to order, sort, label,
and match, or multiple choice
scenarios.
The testlets and the DLM
computer-based test delivery
system are being developed
following the principles of Universal
Design, which provide access to
the system to students with the
most diverse learning profiles.
For example, the system will be
programmed to deliver the test
using different response modes,
such as a mouse or a one- or
two-switch selection system, to
accommodate students’ needs.