Should I Just Decide Where I Think They Are At? Exploring The Literacy And Numeracy Assessment Landscape Of Deaf And Hearing-Impaired Students In New Zealand.

摘要

This study surveyed Teachers of the Deaf in New Zealand who worked with a year 4 or year 8 student in 2006. The aim was to establish which assessments these teachers used and the extent to which the assessments influenced the IEP process and the teacher’s daily practice. The question was raised as to which assessments might provide reliable valid data to track the development of deaf and hearing-impaired students in New Zealand. The key findings from the study included that Teachers of the Deaf use assessments commonly used in deaf education more often than classroom assessments, but do make significant use of running records as well. There were differences between the two Deaf Education Centres use of assessment, and also disparity in the ways teachers arrive at assessment decisions such as allocating a curriculum level to a learning area. There was variance between the assessments used by a Teacher of the Deaf working in a satellite classroom, and the assessments completed by itinerant Resource Teachers of the Deaf. There appeared to be deaf students on Resource Teacher of the Deaf caseloads who were not assessed in mathematics by either the class teacher or the Teacher of the Deaf and the level of support by Teachers of the Deaf in mathematics is low. From within the complex picture of the assessment landscape for deaf students there are a number of signposts for future direction suggested by this study. These are: the need for a national assessment policy for deaf students; the need for data to be gathered nationally about the achievement of deaf students; sustained professional development around Teacher of the Deaf, common classroom assessments and national assessment tools; a closer look at the marking guidelines for Formal Retells and the need for student self-assessment practices to be further encouraged.