Assessment and Instructional Decision-Making Practices of Preschool Teachers of Handicapped Children

Abstract

Assessment and instructional decision-making practices were documented for a national sample of teachers serving handicapped preschool children. All had been nominated as “good” teachers. Surveys of 60 teachers and in-depth interviews of an additional 10 revealed that evaluation and monitoring procedures are not used systematically or regularly. Behavioral observations were the most widely used single source of information for making instructional decisions. Teacher self-reports indicated that criterion-referenced measures provided the information used most often in developing IEPs and in monitoring student progress, while progress on previous IEP objectives was used most often in changing IEPs. This sample of teachers of handicapped preschool children did not regularly or systematically engage in direct and continuous monitoring of pupil progress.