Modern approaches to assessing personal learning outcomes in students with disabilities

Abstract

Requirements to personal learning outcomes outlined in the Federal Adapted Education Program for Students with Disabilities show a clear need for developing relevant scientific and methodological support, in particular tools for assessing the current state and individual dynamics of achieving specified outcomes by students of each nosological category. The purpose of this study is to determine general and specific approaches to the assessment of personal outcomes (including the development of the sphere of life competence) in children with disabilities, considering the specifics of their nosological category; and to substantiate the requirements to the diagnostic tools used to assess the individual dynamics of achieving personal outcomes by students with disabilities in primary and basic general education. For that, we studied Russian and foreign scientific research dealing with the personal outcomes of mastering an educational program and existing approaches to their assessment; analyzed the sections of the Federal Adapted Education Program for Students with Disabilities which regulate general and specific requirements to personal outcomes of students with disabilities, including in the area of life competence; and summarized and systematized the practical experience of assessing the achievement of personal outcomes of mastering the educational program (72 educational organizations from 18 Russian regions). We also defined general and specific approaches to the assessment of personal outcomes in students with disabilities of different nosological categories; offered a range of formats for diagnostic tools (expert assessment method, monitoring sheets, observation of the child’s behavior in a simulated setting, test tasks, etc.); and developed indicators to assess the maturity of life competence skills, identify the individual dynamics of the student’s progress in social and personal development and clarify the current issues of psychological and pedagogical assistance depending on it. Also discussed is the involvement of the family of a child with disabilities in the development of the child’s sphere of life competence and the assessment of how the child achieves his or her personal learning outcomes. As a future prospect, the study can be used to develop diagnostic kits for assessing the individual dynamics of achieving personal outcomes by students with disabilities of all nosological categories considering their individual typological specificity and special education needs.