Michael Drummond Davies

Transitions from school for young adults with intellectual disability: Parental perspectives on “life as an adjustment”

Abstract Background Few studies have investigated transition programs and outcomes for young adults with disabilities as viewed from the parent perspective. The current Australian study provided a voice for parents to report on the experiences of and outcomes for young adults following their recent transition from school into post-school life. Method A mailed survey gathered statewide data from parents (N = 218) whose family member had completed schooling at a secondary or special school. The majority of those participating were parents of adults with intellectual disability and high support needs. Results Findings detail school preparation for employment, community activities, and daily living; parent and student involvement in transition goal-setting; and post-school outcomes for young adults and their families. Conclusions Parental reflections on family adjustment and life satisfaction for the young adult since leaving school highlight the lack of post-school options and the impact of these circumstances on the whole family.

Testing a multi-stage screening system: Predicting performance on Australia's national achievement test using teachers' ratings of academic and social behaviors

This study addresses the predictive validity of results from a screening system of academic enablers, with a sample of Australian elementary school students, when the criterion variable is end-of-year achievement. The investigation included (a) comparing the predictive validity of a brief criterion-referenced nomination system with more comprehensive behavior ratings, and (b) determining the optimal combination of scores to gather from this system for identifying academic difficulties. Students (n = 360) were rated using both the Performance Screening Guides (PSGs; Elliott & Gresham, 2007) and the Rating Scales (Gresham & Elliott, 2008) of the Social Skills Improvement System. The PSGs were highly sensitive (0.95) predictors of below minimum standard performance on the national test. The Rating Scales, including the brief academic competence scale in particular, added predictive value in most domains. The discussion addresses implications of these findings for school psychologists and other educators interested in the role of social behaviors as academic enablers and predictors of academic achievement.

Benchmarking Teacher Practice in Queensland Transition Programs for Youth With Intellectual Disability and Autism

Extensive work has been done in North America to examine practices recommended to facilitate postschool transitions for youth with disabilities. Few studies in Australia, however, have investigated these practices. This study drew on the Taxonomy for Transition Programming developed by Kohler to benchmark practice at government and nongovernment schools throughout Queensland, Australia. A statewide survey was used to gather data from teachers and other influential staff (N = 104). Participants were asked to (a) indicate their level of agreement that each practice was a program quality indicator and (b) report on the current use of that practice in school programs. Transition practices in the areas of Family–School Relationships, Student Development, and student-focused planning were strongly endorsed and frequently implemented. Lower levels of endorsement and implementation, however, were signaled in the areas of Interagency Collaboration and Program Structure. Recommendations for reform at the school, systems, and interagency levels are provided.

National test performance of young Australian children with additional educational needs

While the national testing of Australian school students is now well-entrenched, the educational outcomes of students with additional needs in this country are unknown. Students with a disability may be exempted from national testing and, in the absence of consistent standards for test accommodations and alternative tests, Australian educational authorities continue to be unaccountable for these students. Using secondary data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, it is estimated that 12.3% of study children had additional educational needs (predominantly learning disabilities, emotional and behavioural disabilities and autism) that required specialist services. More than a third of students with additional needs did not participate in national testing. Those students with additional needs who did participate performed at a significantly lower level in comparison to students without additional needs. Further, students with additional needs in public schools were much more likely to have poorer academic outcomes than their counterparts in the Catholic and Independent education sectors.

Australian Policies to Support Inclusive Assessments

Australia has recently adopted a National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) that involves assessment of students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. While Australian legislation and policies are designed to support inclusive assessments for all, it is evident that in practice this is not the case. This chapter provides information about Australian legislation and ensuing policies, how they interact with national achievement testing in Australia, and proposes recommendations for the development of a more effective and inclusive assessment regime for Australian students.

Documenting support needs and adjustment gaps for students with disabilities: teacher practices in Australian classrooms and on national tests

ABSTRACT Accommodations or adjustments for students with disabilities (SWDs) who need them are required in Australian education law and policy for classroom instruction and assessment, and external educational accountability tests. Drawing upon the structure of the Assessment Accommodations Checklist and more than a decade of accessibility research, the Checklist of Learning and Assessment Adjustments for Students (CLAAS) was developed to help teachers select and document adjustments that support SWDs and students with additional needs in classroom instruction and assessment, and external tests. The CLAAS was trialled with 21 primary school teachers documenting adjustments for 89 students with diverse needs. Teachers indicated that the CLAAS provided a comprehensive list of adjustments, was useful for recording adjustments across classroom instruction and assessment, and external tests, and provided guidance about potential adjustments for SWDs or with additional learning needs. The documented adjustments also indicated some considerable gaps between supports provided in classrooms compared with the Australian educational accountability tests. Findings also provided initial evidence for the reliability and validity of use of the CLAAS for its intended purposes. The CLAAS is a promising tool for helping both researchers and teachers systematically document and provide equitable and inclusive adjustments for SWDs and additional learning needs given their needs for classroom learning, assessment and external testing and examination requirements.

Australian Students with Disabilities Accessing NAPLAN: Lessons from a decade of inclusive assessment in the United States

Australian legislation and educational policies may espouse, but not yet fully enact, inclusive assessments for all. In relation to the National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), for example, almost 5% of students are either exempt or withdrawn. The achievement levels of these students, many of whom have disabilities, are not being accurately benchmarked. In contrast, the United States, for more than a decade, has been developing and applying a range of strategies in an effort to provide assessment for all students. Lessons from these experiences are summarised, and three key strategies are provided, to assist the Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and associated testing authorities in promoting the development and implementation of a more effective and inclusive assessment regime for all Australian students.

Inclusive Assessment and Accountability: Policy to evidence-based practices

In a world of increasing accountability in education, large-scale assessments have become more common as various states and countries attempt to measure educational outcomes. All too often, however, students with disabilities are not provided with the opportunity to fully participate in these assessments, nor meaningfully access much of the curriculum content upon which these assessments are based. This lack of full access and participation occurs despite proclamations of assessment for all, and policy statements that affirm inclusion of students with disabilities in large-scale assessment. Practitioners and teachers of students with disabilities often seem polarised when considering the issue of inclusion of students with disabilities in large-scale assessment. On the one hand, some educationalists suggest that large-scale assessment is not valid for most students, but when it comes to students with disabilities, such tests are clearly inappropriate. On the other hand, many educationalists are rightly concerned that, if students with disabilities are exempted from large-scale assessments, they are further marginalised. If assessment and benchmarking are not even attempted, then many worry that the needs of these students are not considered. They are not included in the discussion about resourcing schools where needs are greater, and their needs do not even enter the thinking of many educational reformers leading systemic change. Much can be learnt by reviewing the research, innovative practices, and policies that emanate from those settings where inclusive assessment is demonstrated. The United States has for more than a decade been driven by legislative-based policies to develop large-scale assessment practices that include all students in Grades 3 to 8 and 10. The majority of papers in this Special Issue therefore come from US researchers, despite the fact that researchers from across the world were invited and encouraged to submit papers. However, several papers promote the application of this research across national boundaries. Elliott, Davies, and Kettler outline the situation in Australia, which for the last three years has conducted a National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) to attempt to assess all Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. While this national assessment program is laudable in espousing the goal to assess all students, almost 5% of students are either exempt or withdrawn. It is suggested that many of these students have disabilities, and without benchmarking, such students are not being properly accounted for, despite the need for closer scrutiny of the achievement and

Recognising the “forgotten man”: Fathers’ experiences in caring for a young child with autism spectrum disorder

ABSTRACT Background Despite decades of research on family adaptation in relation to caring for a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the wellbeing of fathers remains poorly understood. Method The present study sought to investigate experiences of fathers of young children with ASD aged between 2½ and 6 years attending an ASD-specific early intervention centre. Eighteen fathers initially completed a mailed questionnaire and 8 of these fathers were then interviewed by telephone. The questionnaire included standardised measures assessing constructs of the double ABCX model of family adaptation. The interview used open-ended questions to understand the experiences of fathers’ involvement in caring, sources of support, and coping strategies. Results Fathers experienced elevated levels of parental stress and elevated depressive symptoms. Interviews deepened understanding of fathers’ personal experiences of each component of the double ABCX model. Conclusions Findings from this study provide further insight into the fathering role and demonstrate the utility of the double ABCX model as a framework for exploring their experiences. The need for further research to explore practical implications to better support fathers is discussed.

Using the SSIS assessments with Australian students: A comparative analysis of test psychometrics to the US normative sample

The Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS; Gresham & Elliott, 2008) is a multiple stage, broadband system for assessing and intervening with children in preschool through 12th grade originally normed in the USA. Two of the assessment components of this system were analysed: (a) the Performance Screening Guides (PSGs); and (b) the Rating Scales (RSs). Australian teachers in Ipswich (N = 15) and South Brisbane (N = 30) rated their elementary school students with the SSIS. This study’s objective was to compare the psychometric properties of an Australian sample of students to the US-based normative sample to determine the transferability of the measure among English speaking populations. Internal consistency reliability was good for both samples across both measures. Correlations between PSGs and RSs domains were similar within the two countries. Conditional probability analyses indicated the PSGs work as the first stage of a multiple gating procedure. Overall, the psychometric data, based on a sample of Australian students, demonstrated similar results to the large US-based normative sample, suggesting that the reliability of scores and the validity of ensuing inferences for the SSIS measures are generalizable for child assessment purposes.