Study Guide

Field 129: Mild-Moderate Disabilities 
Sample Constructed-Response Assignment

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The following materials contain:

• Test directions for the constructed-response assignment
• A sample constructed-response assignment
• An example of a strong and weak response to the assignment, and a rationale for each
• The performance characteristics and scoring scale

Test Directions for the Constructed-Response Assignment

This section of the test consists of one constructed-response assignment. You are to prepare a written response of approximately 300–600 300 to 600  words on the assigned topic. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response to the assignment.

Read the assignment carefully before you begin to write. Think about how you will organize your response.

As a whole, your response must demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge and skills of the field. In your response to the assignment, you are expected to demonstrate the depth of your understanding of the content area through your ability to apply your knowledge and skills rather than merely to recite factual information.

Your response to the assignment will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

 start bold PURPOSE: end bold  the extent to which the response achieves the purpose of the assignment
 start bold SUBJECT MATTER KNOWLEDGE: end bold  accuracy and appropriateness in the application of subject matter knowledge
 start bold SUPPORT: end bold  quality and relevance of supporting details
 start bold RATIONALE: end bold  soundness of argument and degree of understanding of the subject matter

The constructed-response assignment is intended to assess subject matter knowledge and skills, not writing ability. However, your response must be communicated clearly enough to permit valid judgment of the scoring criteria. Your response should be written for an audience of educators in this field. The final version of your response should conform to the conventions of edited American English. Your written response must be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work.

Be sure to write about the assigned topic. You may not use any reference materials during the test. Remember to review what you have written and make any changes you think will improve your response.

Sample Constructed-Response Assignment

Subarea Vsubarea roman numeral 5 
Case Study—Analysis of Data to Identify and Effectively Address Student Needs

 start bold Use the information in the exhibits to complete the assignment that follows. end bold 

Using the student profile and exhibits provided, write a response in which you analyze a student's areas of need. In your response:

• identify one area of academic need Mary has related to communication, language, or literacy development;
• describe one research- or evidence-based instructional strategy you would use to address the area of academic need you identified and how you would implement that strategy;
• explain why the instructional strategy you described would be appropriate in meeting the area of academic need you identified and how you would monitor Mary's progress in relation to that need;
• identify one additional area of need Mary has related to social/personal, adaptive skills or behavior;
• describe one research- or evidence-based strategy you would use to address the additional area of need you identified and how you would implement that strategy; and
• explain why the strategy you described would be appropriate in meeting the additional area of need you identified and how you would monitor Mary's progress in relation to that need.

Be specific in your response, citing evidence from the student profile and exhibits as appropriate. Your response should be approximately 300–600 300 to 600  words.

 start bold Exhibit 1: Student Profile end bold 

Mary is a 12-year-old fifth grader with an intellectual disability. A comprehensive evaluation when Mary was in prekindergarten determined that she was eligible for special education services. Her full-scale IQ has been assessed at 68. Mary receives direct instruction and support in reading and mathematical skills from her special education teacher for two hours a day in the resource room. She receives instruction in the general education classroom in science, social studies, and nonacademic classes for the remainder of the school day. Mary receives related services from a speech-language pathologist (SLP) twice a week to support the development of her oral language skills.

Mary has many friends in her class. She readily socializes with peers during lunch and in other nonacademic settings. Mary is very interested in cooking and helps prepare meals at home. She also attends a beginners' tae kwon do class once a week. At school, Mary tends to wait for the teacher or a peer to help her before she begins an assignment or task. She has difficulty keeping up with supplies and materials. Mary has a school–home communication journal that she has misplaced twice in the past month.

Mary is able to say the days of the week and recognize the names of most of the days by sight. She has a visual schedule on her desk to help her remember that science is before lunch, social studies is after lunch, and physical education is at the end of the day. Mary can understand and follow two-step directions related to familiar tasks with minimal supervision. On occasion, Mary will cry if she becomes frustrated. This happens most often when she cannot remember something or communicate her ideas clearly.

Mary's Individualized Education Program (IEP I E P ) team is reviewing current data for Mary as part of her annual IEP I E P  review.

 

 start bold Exhibit 2: Student Assessment end bold 

Wechsler Individual Achievement Test^® registered trademark —Third Edition (WIAT^® registered symbol —III roman numeral 3 )

Composite	Standard  Score	Percentile  Rank	Description
Reading Comprehension	52	0.1% 0.1 percent	Profound
Spelling	46	<0.1% less than 0.1 percent	Profound
Essay Composition	35	<0.1% less than 0.1 percent	Profound
Listening Comprehension	68	2% 2 percent	Impaired
Oral Expression	59	0.3% 0.3 percent	Profound

 

Adaptive Behavior Evaluation Scale^® registered —R2: 4– to 12 
(ABES^® registered trademark symbol —R2: 4– to 12)

Skill Area	Standard  Score	Percentile  Rank	Classification
Communication	79	8% 8 percent	Borderline
Functional Academics	66	1% 1 percent	Extremely Low
Self-Direction	68	2% 2 percent	Extremely Low
Leisure	79	8% 8 percent	Borderline
Social	70	3% 3 percent	Extremely Low
Community Use	77	6% 6 percent	Borderline
Home Living	79	8% 8 percent	Borderline
Health and Safety	68	2% 2 percent	Extremely Low
Self-Care	77	6% 6 percent	Borderline
blank

This is a secondary table

Composite	Standard  Score	Percentile  Rank	Classification
Conceptual Domain Composite	66	1% 1 percent	Extremely Low
Social Domain Composite	77	6% 6 percent	Borderline
Practical Domain Composite	79	8% 8 percent	Borderline
General Adaptive Composite	70	3% 3 percent	Extremely Low

 

 start bold Exhibit 3: Anecdotal Information end bold 

 start bold Comments from Mary's General Education Teacher end bold 

Mary is well liked by her peers, who are happy to help her if she needs it. She can perform previously learned tasks, such as clean-up routines, with minimal supervision. She often misplaces things, so we are developing specific routines for managing her belongings such as her backpack and journal. Mary has made progress in working in a group. She still has difficulty sharing materials.

Mary likes to work on the computer. She can independently access the two applications she uses to practice basic reading and mathematical skills and a drawing application that is a reward for keeping track of her journal. She uses the mouse effectively.

The special education teacher and I work closely to differentiate Mary's assignments and tasks to facilitate her participation and learning. She has difficulty initiating independent tasks. If someone is not immediately available to assist her in getting started, she will get up and go talk to a classmate in another part of the classroom. This behavior may occur two to three times a day during independent work periods.

 

 start bold Comments from Mary's Special Education Teacher end bold 

Mary has mastered several early reading skills. She can decode simple one-syllable words and read a short paragraph written at a first-grade level. Mary has difficulty comprehending what she has read and cannot answer inferential questions. She can usually identify the main character or event in a story or the topic of an informational text. If someone reads a text aloud to her, her comprehension is somewhat better. She likes to listen to stories with repetitive text and will occasionally repeat some of the text as she listens. Mary is also learning how to read and follow a simple recipe with visual cues.

Mary receives direct instruction in reading with two other students who have similar needs. After introducing an activity and modeling how to perform it, the other two students will begin to work. However, Mary will often say, "I don't know how" or "It's too hard." Once I help her get started, she will usually complete the activity accurately with only occasional guidance.

Mary can use scissors to cut straight lines and likes to use colorful markers to draw. She is making progress in improving the legibility of her handwriting. Mary can copy a list of five words from the board with accuracy, but she often skips words if asked to copy a complete sentence.

 

 start bold Comments from Mary's Parents end bold 

Mary has several friends in the neighborhood. Most of them are two or three years younger than she is, but they share an interest in tae kwon do and drawing. Mary's tae kwon do teacher, Mr. Adan, is good at maintaining her attention and he is careful to provide her with only one or two directions at a time. Mary says Mr. Adan is her "favorite person in the world."

Mary knows how to perform several household tasks and one of her responsibilities is to take the clean dishes from the dishwasher, stack plates and bowls, and put away utensils in a drawer with dividers for knives, forks, and spoons. Recently Mary has begun waiting for a family member to help her get started with this task or for someone to perform it for her. Earlier this week Mary was asked to empty the dishwasher. A few minutes later, we saw her playing in her room. When asked about the dishes, she said her sister was doing it for her because she could not remember where to put the forks.

Mary can dress herself and usually picks clothes that are appropriate for the weather. She takes care of her personal hygiene with the exception of washing her hair, which she refuses to do and resists having someone else do it for her. She also has favorite pants and shirts that she wants to wear for days at a time, even when they become soiled, and will go through the laundry hamper to find them. It takes consistent effort on our part to convince her to wear clean clothes.

 

 start bold Exhibit 4: SLP Report end bold 

Speech-Language Pathologist Report

start bold Student Name: end bold  Mary	start bold Age: end bold  12 years, 2 months	start bold Grade: end bold  Fifth
start bold Date: end bold  11/30	start bold Speech-Language Pathologist: end bold  Ms. Martin
Mary is a 12-year-old female who received her most recent speech and language evaluation at age 10. Her teacher(s) and parents reported that her speech can be difficult to understand at times. It was also noted that Mary has fluency difficulties that manifest in long pauses when she is trying to decode a word and when she has difficulty thinking of the word she wants to use in conversation. Mary was identified with an intellectual disability in prekindergarten, at which time a comprehensive evaluation was conducted and she was determined eligible to receive special education services. Mary's current placement is in a general education classroom 67 percent of the school day. Mary receives speech and language services twice a week to help refine her articulation. We have also been working on improving Mary's fluency in conversation.    —Ms. Martin, Speech-Language Pathologist

Speech-Language Pathologist Report

start bold student name colon mary

start bold Age colon end bold 12 years, 2 months

start bold Grade colon end bold Fifth

start bold Date colon end bold 11/30

start bold Speech-Language Pathologist colon end bold Ms. Martin

Mary is a 12-year-old female who received her most recent speech and language evaluation at age 10. Her teacher(s) and parents reported that her speech can be difficult to understand at times. It was also noted that Mary has fluency difficulties that manifest in long pauses when she is trying to decode a word and when she has difficulty thinking of the word she wants to use in conversation.

Mary was identified with an intellectual disability in prekindergarten, at which time a comprehensive evaluation was conducted and she was determined eligible to receive special education services. Mary's current placement is in a general education classroom 67 percent of the school day.

Mary receives speech and language services twice a week to help refine her articulation. We have also been working on improving Mary's fluency in conversation.

—Ms. Martin, Speech-Language Pathologist

Sample Strong Response to the Constructed-Response Assignment

 start bold Please note: The sample response provided below is for review purposes only and should not be used in a response on an operational exam. Use of the exact words and phrases presented in this sample response will result in a score of "U" (Unscorable) due to lack of original work. end bold 

Rationale for the Sample Strong Response

Please note that the response is evaluated based upon the four performance characteristics of Purpose, Subject Matter Knowledge, Support and Rationale. Please also note how the score point descriptions are based upon how the examinee attends to the performance characteristics. You should be very familiar with the CEOE performance characteristics and score scale and refer to them when reviewing this rationale.

The response fulfills the purpose of the assignment by responding adequately to all parts of the prompt. The writer identified one academic need related to communication, language, or literacy development (i.e., comprehension); described a research-based instructional strategy to address the academic need (i.e., graphic organizers); explained why the strategy would be appropriate in meeting the area of academic need and how the teacher would monitor Mary's progress (i.e., teacher observation, data from graphic organizers). The writer also identified one additional area of need (i.e., initiating tasks independently); described an evidence-based instructional strategy (i.e., visual work system) and explained its appropriateness, and provided a strategy for monitoring progress. The response reflects accurate subject matter in the identification of Mary's needs, descriptions of appropriate instructional strategies, and detailed rationales explaining the benefits of the strategies. The writer supports the response with relevant examples. Overall, the writer demonstrates a clear understanding of how to interpret data to identify Mary's needs, describe appropriate strategies to address her needs, and explain the effectiveness of the strategies.

Sample Weak Response to the Constructed-Response Assignment

Rationale for the Sample Weak Response

Please note that the response is evaluated based upon the four performance characteristics of Purpose, Subject Matter Knowledge, Support and Rationale. Please also note how the score point descriptions are based upon how the examinee attends to the performance characteristics. You should be very familiar with the CEOE performance characteristics and score scale and refer to them when reviewing this rationale.

The purpose of the assignment is only partially achieved. The writer neglected to include an explanation about the appropriateness of each strategy. The response demonstrates a limited understanding about using data to identify needs, describe appropriate instructional strategies, and explain the effectiveness of the strategies. The instructional strategy to address Mary's academic need (i.e., computer programs) is not instructional. It is for additional practice. The response provides few relevant examples. The writer demonstrates a poor understanding of Mary's needs, of how to describe instructional strategies to address her needs, and of why they are appropriate. Overall, this response reflects a limited understanding of mild/moderate disabilities.

Performance Characteristics

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the constructed-response assignment.

Characteristics that guide the scoring of responses

Purpose	The extent to which the response achieves the purpose of the assignment
Subject Matter Knowledge	The accuracy and appropriateness in the application of subject matter knowledge
Support	The quality and relevance of supporting details
Rationale	The soundness of argument and degree of understanding of the subject matter

Scoring Scale

Scores will be assigned to each response to the constructed-response assignment according to the following scoring scale.

Score Scale with description for each score point.

Score Point	Score Point Description
4	start bold The "4" response reflects a thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. end bold  The purpose of the assignment is fully achieved. There is a substantial, accurate, and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge. The supporting evidence is sound; there are high-quality, relevant examples. The response reflects an ably reasoned, comprehensive understanding of the topic.
3	start bold The "3" response reflects a general knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. end bold  The purpose of the assignment is largely achieved. There is a generally accurate and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge. The supporting evidence generally supports the discussion; there are some relevant examples. The response reflects a general understanding of the topic.
2	start bold The "2" response reflects a partial knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. end bold  The purpose of the assignment is partially achieved. There is a limited, possibly inaccurate or inappropriate application of subject matter knowledge. The supporting evidence is limited; there are few relevant examples. The response reflects a limited, poorly reasoned understanding of the topic.
1	start bold The "1" response reflects little or no knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. end bold  The purpose of the assignment is not achieved. There is little or no appropriate or accurate application of subject matter knowledge. The supporting evidence, if present, is weak; there are few or no relevant examples. The response reflects little or no reasoning about or understanding of the topic.
U	The response is unscorable because it is illegible, not written to the assigned topic, written in a language other than English, or lacking a sufficient amount of original work to score.
B	There is no response to the assignment.

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