This article presents an approach to informal assessment of written expression which allows the teacher to determine (a) the skills acquired and correctly used by the student, (b) the skills needing remediation, and (c) the skills to be introduced. A Checklist of Written Expression Skills is provided as an aid in this informal assessment procedure. Results of the assessment are directly related to the instructional objectives and annual goals in the student's IEP. Written expression and informal assessment are defined and development of the language system is discussed. Data required by the teacher prior to informal assessment are described as (a) the broad spectrum of written expression skills, (b) requirements of the specific writing task being assessed, and (c) student characteristics related to the student's language system.
Modified Assessment Techniques (MATs) are nonstandardized diagnostic activities used with standardized tests and other assessment tools and techniques. The reason for using MATs is'to get clinical information not available through standardized procedures. The clinical procedures used are determined by the type of information needed. For example, Subtest 5A of the Word Comprehension-Antonyms of the Hbodcock Reading Mastery TestsRevised (Woodcock, 1987) asks the student to read a list of words aloud and give the opposite meaning. When words are unknown, you can use MATs to determine if the student's level of cognitive processing makhes the level of word recognition by saying the stimulus words and asking for opposites without requiring the student to read-but only after administering the test according to standardized instructions. You can then compare this information with other indices of cognitive processing for a more complete diag nostic picture of the student. A similar procedure can be used for the synonyms and analogies subtests, as well as others. A variety of MATs are possible. Modifications can be made in terms of modality, language, complexity, space, time, and possibly others. For example, modifying modality from visuaVmotor to auditoryhocal can be accomplished by asking the student "What is one plus three?" instead of having the student write the answer to "1 + 3 = -" on a piece of paper. Some options are outlined for your consideration.
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