SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
Spacer
Assessment : 2011 - 2012 : Educational Programs :
Special Education MA (Low Incidence Disabilities and Autism)
Special Education MA (Low Incidence Disabilities and Autism)
2 Goals 2 Objectives 2 Indicators 2 Criteria 2 Findings 2 Actions
| GOAL: Mastery Of Council For Exceptional Children (CEC) Knowledge And Skills |
| Objective |
|
||||
|
Candidates will demonstrate mastery of knowledge and skills on comprehensive examinations referenced to the standards set forth by the Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC) Knowledge and Skills for special education teachers. |
| Indicator |
|
|||
|
Faculty-developed rubric scored by two independent faculty members following standards of CEC and the Behavior Analysis Certification Board Task List. |
| Criterion |
|
|||
|
80% of candidates will score 80% or better on the rubric (see attached). Particular areas of emphasis include data analysis and improvement, behavioral support plan development, and application of ethical principles. |
| Finding |
|
|||
|
Comprehensive Examinations in the Low Incidence Disabilities and Autism (LIDA) program are administered in the Spring semester. Seven candidates took the LIDA Comprehensive Examinations. 100% of the candidates passed the exam with an average score of 83.7%. The range of scoring was 80 - 90% across candidates. This level of performance exceeded the established criterion of 80%. This level of performance is satisfactory. The domain of "Research Design" is a target for improvement. Candidates are performing well in the domain of "Functional Behavioral Assessment" and "Intervention Planning." |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
|
|||
|
Increased emphasis will be placed on Research Design in coursework , mainly SPED 6306- Single Subject Design in Research. Since all candidates passed the LIDA comprehensive examinations, the criterion for passing rates will be raised from 80% to 90%. |
| GOAL: Production Of Reports On Scholarly Research |
| Objective |
|
||||
| Candidates will develop a high-quality research proposal in SPED 6314. |
| Indicator |
|
|||
| The research proposal will be scored by instructors of SPED 6314. |
| Criterion |
|
|||
|
80% of the candidates will score 80% or better on the rubric (attached) to evaluate the research proposal in SPED 6314. |
| Finding |
|
|||
|
Candidates submit a research proposal at the end of the semester as a culmination of course knowledge and skill. The proposals are scored in an attached rubric that looks at competency domains such as "Providing Background Information”, "Literature Review", and "Description of Procedure." Candidates' performance (n = 9) on the 100 point rubric averaged 78%. Range of performance was 75 - 82%. The lowest domain of candidate performance was in the area of clarity of written description of the procedure. Candidates performed strongly on providing background information on subject selection, identification of target skill, etc. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
|
|||
|
Candidates will receive increased emphasis on written description of procedures - clarity and conciseness - in the early portion of the course. Candidates will be afforded opportunities to submit drafts of the proposal prior to the final submission at the end of the course. The accuracy criterion of 80% of candidates was not obtained - 78% was the average performance. Thus, 80% will remain the criterion level of accuracy for the research proposal. |
| Closing the Loop |
|
The two objectives for the Low Incidence Disabilities and Autism (LIDA) program involve performance on Comprehensive Examinations and the quality of the Research Proposal submitted in SPED 6314. Improvement of candidate performance will take place through increased emphasis on identifying research designs connected to the process of professional writing and publishing. Further emphasis on candidates knowledge and application of research procedures will take place in SPED 6303 - Measurement and Assessment of Behavior and SPED 6306 - Single Subject Design in Research. Professional Standards for Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) will continue to be analyzed for those critical domains involving research design and proposal creation. Elements of CEC Knowledge and Skills and the BCBA Task List are being addressed in coursework and quizzes in the LIDA program.
|