At a Glance
Admiral Peary Area Vocation Technical School (APAVTS) students with IEPs are offered a range of support services to help prepare for the NOCTI assessments. These ongoing services are aligned to meet the specific learning needs of students.
Description
At APAVTS, the difference in performance on the NOCTI and NIMS assessments between students with IEPs and those without IEPs is smaller than it is at many other secondary Perkins fiscal agents. Throughout their time at APAVTS, instructors and instructional assistants provide various levels of additional support to help students perform well on these assessments. Much of the support focuses on how to best students learn and retain material or how to help them complete classroom and program assessments to fully demonstrate their understanding of concepts. In terms of learning and retaining material, students with IEPs receive remediation support in a one-on-one or small group setting. In this environment, they review concepts that may require clarification and additional teaching. To encourage IEP students to take their time in learning and absorbing information, they are provided assistance and extended time when they complete hands-on and written assignments.
To help students complete assessments, instructors provide them with tests that include modifications such as the removal of distractors within the test content, the provision of word banks, and the grouping of matching items. These modifications help students focus on the content being evaluated and provide a more positive testing atmosphere that reduces frustration and anxiety. With a goal to provide students with IEPs an opportunity to maximize their learning and assessment performance, these assessment supports may be provided for classroom assessments and for the NOCTI exams.
For the NOCTI tests, many of these modifications and accommodations are implemented for students with IEPs. Adhering to all regulations and permissible practices for proctoring the NOCTI test, students with IEPs may be provided extended time on the writing portion of the NOCTI exam, text-to-speech capabilities (with headphones), and a smaller testing session. Students may have the questions read aloud so that they can focus on demonstrating their skill and content knowledge rather than on decoding words. The various modifications and accommodations allow the students time to think through questions and answers and to avoid the frustration of seeing other students finish their test more quickly than they do.
Overall, the dedicated administration, faculty and staff at APAVTS work together to help all students reach their full potential.
Contact
Admiral Peary Area Vocational Technical School
http://www.admiralpeary.tec.pa.us/
Jacquie Wurm, Guidance Counselor
jwurm@ap.tec.pa.us