Proposal: Create four half-time Measurement and Evaluation Specialist positions to support QPA activities in USD 501 including restructuring the regular education system to better accommodate children with special needs and seeking special educational categorical reimbursement for the positions.

Advantages:

1. Promote collaboration between special education and regular education in general and QPA in particular helping to make the educational system as a whole more responsive to the needs of individual students.

2. Build a system for curriculum development, outcomes and assessment embodied in an instructional management system which serves the needs of regular and special education students and teachers.

3. Provide a variety of support services concerning QPA processes including consultation and staff development to both regular and special education staff.

The proposal is to add two FTE school psychology positions to the district. Four school psychologists currently on staff would then each be given a .5 FTE assignment to serve as measurement and evaluation specialists supporting QPA efforts in the district. Assignments would be as follows:

Staff	Part One of Assignment: Traditional School Psychologist (.5 FTE)	Part Two of Assignment: Measurement & Evaluation Specialist Assignment (.5 FTE QPA Support)
Position 1	Standard assignment	Highland Park High School and feeder middle and elementary schools
Position 2	Standard assignment	Topeka High School and feeder middle and elementary schools
Position 3	Standard assignment	Topeka West High School and feeder middle and elementary schools
Position 4	Standard assignment	Central office/district level support especially for Instructional Management System and Curriculum Based Assessment

Role\Responsibilities for the Measurement and Evaluation Role:

QPA Technical support and consultation including

In-service and consultation on restructuring the educational system to better accommodate students with disabilities

Monitoring and supporting inclusion

Serving as a member of the instructional support team

School profile construction

Data collection and interpretation, reporting

Preparation of charts and graphs

Building level achievement monitoring and tracking of progress

Pre-assessment processes

School level evaluation of curriculum and instruction

School improvement plan development and monitoring

Curriculum-based measurement

Outcomes writing and curriculum differentiation/adaptation

Formative and summative evaluation

Overview of the Concept/Vision

School psychologists, particularly those trained in the past decade, have a strong background in assessment, statistics, research techniques, learning processes, curriculum, adaptation of curriculum, and consultation. These are very important skills for implementing QPA and school psychologists are uniquely positioned to play a support role for restructuring the educational system. There is a tremendous need for staff training and technical support in implementing QPA in our schools and changing our manner of "doing business". By grooming four school psychologists to provide a half-time support role for implementing QPA, we can greatly strengthen our efforts to restructure our education system to better meet the educational needs of all children. The goal is to increase the capacity of the educational system to constructively deal with diversity and thereby to promote inclusion.

One of the key areas for involving these school psychologist/measurement and evaluation specialists is in the development and operation of a district instructional management system (IMS). This IMS, which will ultimately be implemented over a wide area network, will be a relational database including outcomes, assessment strategies, instructional resources, instructional methods, and a record of students' status on outcomes and associated indicators. The system will support evaluation of the educational progress of individuals and groups of students. Teachers will be trained to use this system on demand to plan and evaluate the effectiveness of instruction. The IMS will be a means of providing and documenting "pre-assessment activities". It will also be used to monitor the progress of disabled students whether they are in the regular or special education setting.

The IMS will provide a means for structuring, implementing and documenting a differentiated curriculum which will include the "general curriculum", the "adapted curriculum", and the "functional curriculum". Curriculum development, instructional methods and activities, and assessment probes, whether created by regular teachers, special education teachers, or both in collaboration, will become a resource available to all. By promoting a more responsive regular education setting, it is anticipated that the special needs of many children will be met in the regular setting with a reduced need for formal referral/evaluation for special education placement. When such a referral is made, the children will come with a wealth of "pre-assessment" information and will more likely be able to continue in the regular education setting with support services only.