Research-driven solutions to support every learner

The Accessibility for Technology-Enhanced Assessments (ATEA) project identified how to validly and accurately include students with vision and/or motor disabilities on computerized assessments, including assessments given on laptop computers and touch-screen tablets. It also identified alternate methods of access to innovative and interactive test items for these students. The Kansas Department of Education led the grant activities, and state departments of education in Michigan, Missouri, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin also participated. Visit the archived ATEA Assessments website for more information on the ATEA project, its results, and for a catalog of item types accessible to students with vision and/or motor disabilities.

The Enhanced Learning Maps (ELM) project was a four-year project funded by the United States Department of Education to rethink formative assessment with our partner teachers in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Wisconsin. The project built on years of academic research into how to best use assessment for enhancing student achievement. ELM participating teachers received access to a library of specially made instructional materials to be used in conjunction with the project’s proprietary learning map software, which visually depicts for teachers the many learning targets students must successively reach in pursuit of full understanding of academic standards. These tools collectively allowed teachers to use formative assessment to learn how to best personalize their instruction to meet each individual student’s needs. The project sought to serve as a shining example of properly implemented assessment for learning. Visit the archived Enhanced Learning Maps project website for more information on the ELM project, its results, and documentation about the project.

I-SMART (Innovations in Science Map, Assessment, and Report Technologies) was a four-year research project that sought to bring rigorous science assessments to students with significant cognitive disabilities and other struggling learners. I-SMART’s goal was to narrow the gap between the Next Generation Science Standards and existing learning models in order to increase science achievement. Visit the archived I-SMART project website for more information on informational videos about innovations from the project, learning maps, and various publications about the project.

The Shared Writing Instructional Model (SWIM) (site opens in a new window) is a four-year project funded by the Office of Special Education programs (OSEP) focused on developing, implementing, and evaluating a model of writing instruction for students with disabilities in grade K-5. The SWIM system supports student progress toward achieving grade-level expectations, attainment of appropriately ambitious instructional goals, and the development of additional self-regulation skills. The SWIM project also supports teachers through an online dashboard that integrates learning map models, instructional resources, and assessments into a single interface, as well as coaching supports for implementation of the model.