Direct Measures
Students will be assessed over the course of their 18 hour endorsement classes. Competency indicators will consist of required projects from each class. Selected projects will be assessed using the evaluation method listed in the course syllabus. Data will be collected from all students each semester the class is taught.
Seven program objectives were identified based on state endorsement requirements which were in turn developed to meet national standards set forth by the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Assessment tasks and rubrics were developed to demonstrate those standards. A precise assessment cycle for these objectives cannot be specified because it is dependent on departmentally determined class rotations. A minimum of at least one class is usually offered each semester, fall, spring, and summer.
The assessment tasks are incorporated into the regular gifted endorsement class requirements. Students will complete the various assessment tasks in the process of completing each required course in the endorsement. The class instructor will be responsible for evaluating each assessment task according to the assessment guidelines included in the course syllabus. At the end of each class, a Special Education Graduate Program team will evaluate all of the assessment task results using the Graduate Special Education: Gifted Program Rubric. This team will consist of the gifted education specialist and no less than two other graduate special education faculty. If the minimum number of graduate special education faculty is not available, the required number of team members will be drawn from the departmental Graduate Committee. Each semester, the members of the special education faculty will review the results of the assessment of the program objectives and recommend program changes.
Objective
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Participants
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Evaluators
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1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
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All students
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Program Graduate Team using Graduate Special Education: Gifted Program Rubric
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Indirect Measures
The Alumni Survey will be administered electronically to all Master’s and endorsement students within a year of the completion of their endorsement or Master’s program, whichever comes last. The schedule of administration will depend on the individual student’s completion of the program.
The Critical Friends Survey will be administered electronically to the supervisors of all Master’s and endorsement students within one year of the completion of their programs in gifted education.
A link to an electronic version of the Alumni Survey will be emailed to each recent graduate of the endorsement or Master’s program on a weekly basis for one month or until the survey has been completed.
A link to an electronic version of the Critical Friends Survey will be emailed to supervisors of all Master’s and endorsement students after the completion of their program in gifted education. The link will be emailed on a weekly basis for one month or until the survey has been completed.
Results will be tallied and evaluated in conjunction with the direct measures. They will also be compared to determine if there is a significant difference between students completing the endorsement alone and those who also complete the Master’s degree in Special Education: Gifted. Results will be used to strengthen the endorsement classes and in advisement if applicable.
Survey instruments will be administered that assess each of the seven program objectives and the alumni's perceptions of their accomplishment of these program objectives using a Likert-type scale
Objective
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Participants
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Evaluators
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1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
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Some alumni using Special Education: Gifted Specialization Alumni Survey
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Program Graduate Team
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Local school administrators, teachers, members of professional groups, and other advisor groups, a group we collectively refer to as our "critical friends," will also be administered a similar Likert-type survey.
Objective
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Participants
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Evaluators
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1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
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Some critical friends using Special Education: Gifted Specialization Critical Friends Survey
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Program Graduate Team
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