school-continuous-assessment-cycle
When a need is identified by a parent/guardian and/or staff and it is determined that the student requires program support and/or accommodation, the classroom teacher will assist in the identification of appropriate instructional strategies and interventions, rooted in assessment, which may ameliorate the student’s learning need at the classroom level.
If the student's learning needs require, the teacher may seek assistance from the school support team which in Dufferin-Peel CDSB includes school administration, special education teacher,
psychology staff,
speech language pathology staff,
child and youth worker and
social work staff. Assessments initiated by the school support team scaffold on the teacher’s assessment and provide individualized in-school interventions.
It may recommend a further scaffolded link to other out-of-school support resources such as medical, occupational or physiotheraphy interventions along with available
community agencies. These out-of-school support resources may articulate a supporting framework in other needs specific interventions and/or instructional strategies.
Then a process of on-going monitoring of learning is initiated to evaluate the efficacy of the accommodations and program strategies which is anticipated to result in improved student achievement.
This continuum is referred to as the continuous assessment process in the Ministry document Education for All. As part of a teaching, learning and assessment cycle, the learner can enter the continuous assessment cycle at a number of initiation points. If the student’s learning needs require the on-going involvement and or intervention of Special Education personnel- the student’s program may be articulated through the initiation of an
Individual Education Plan (IEP).
If, along the continuum, the learner is deemed to meet the criteria of one or a combination of the twelve Ministry of Education Category and Definition of Exceptionality – the student may be offered the option of being identified as an exceptional student according to those criteria through the
Identification, Placement, Review Committee (IPRC) process. IEP and IPRC are examples of multiple acronyms that exist in Special Education.