title: Measuring schools' efforts to partner with parents of children served under IDEA: scaling and standard setting for accountability reporting.
abstract: Indicator 8 of the State Performance Plan (SPP), developed under the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004, Public Law 108-446) requires states to collect data and report findings related to schools' facilitation of parent involvement. The Schools' Efforts to Partner with Parents Scale (SEPPS) was developed to provide states with a means to address this new reporting requirement. Items suggested by stakeholder groups were piloted with a nationally representative sample of 2,634 parents of students with disabilities ages 5-21 in six states. Rasch scaling was used to calibrate a meaningful and invariant item hierarchy. The 78 calibrated items had measurement reliabilities ranging from .94-.97. Using data from the pilot study, stakeholders established a recommended performance standard set at a meaningful point in the item hierarchy. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the need for rigorous metrics within state accountability systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Teaching and Learning, University of Miami, P. O. Box 248065, Coral Gables, FL 33146-2040, USA. elbaum@miami.edu
authors.forename: Batya
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Elbaum
authors.forename: William P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: W Allan
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Coulter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003625:Data Collection; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004493:Education / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D037141:Mandatory Programs; D010290:Parents; D012574:Schools; D012941:Social Responsibility; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult