Special Education MA (Low Incidence Disabilities And Autism)
Goal
Mastery Of Council For Exceptional Children (CEC) Knowledge And Skills
Mastery of CEC knowledge and Skills of Special Educator
Objective
Comprehensive Exams
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
Scoring Rubric
Faculty-developed rubric scored by two independent faculty members following standards of CEC and the Behavior Analysis Certification Board Task List.
Criterion
Passing Rates
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
Finding For Pass Rate Comprehensive Examinations
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."
Action
Comprehensive Examinations In LIDA
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
Candidates will a research paper conforming to APA style
Objective
Research Proposal
Candidates will develop a high-quality research proposal in SPED 6314.
Indicator
Faculty Developed Rubric
The research proposal will be scored by instructors of SPED 6314.
Criterion
Passing Rate On The Rubric
80% of the candidates will score 80% or better on the rubric (attached) to evaluate the research proposal in SPED 6314.
Finding
Research Proposal In SPED 6314
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.
Action
Research Proposal In SPED 6314
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.