[Pibe-division] The National Reading Media Assessment

[Judi Piscitello]

The National Reading Media Assessment: A Future of Literacy for Blind and Visually Impaired Children
In October 2008 and January 2009, a group of teachers of blind and visually impaired students, university professors, parents, and researchers gathered at the National Center for the Blind in Baltimore, Maryland, to begin work on a new assessment that paves the way for the achievement of literacy.  They began to develop an accurate, easy-to-use tool that will clearly identify the reading medium or media of blind and visually-impaired children.  This tool will determine whether each child who is assessed should be taught Braille, print, or both.  
After studying and comparing existing assessments, the following areas of need were identified:  High expectations, standardization, specificity, realization of the importance of future need, and time efficiency for the evaluator.  
The National Reading Media Assessment will address these needs by integrating the following central concepts: 
1.  Expectations for literacy will be the same as they are for sighted peers. 
2.  Assessment conditions will be standardized.
3.  The assessment will answer the specific question of which reading medium should be taught.  
4.  The assessment will take future need into account.
5.  The assessment will make the assessment process less time-consuming and more concise for TVIs.  
 In July, we completed the first pilot test, and are now engaged in the second stage of field testing.  We are looking for TVIs to assess blind, visually impaired, and sighted children in each of the following categories: Pre-reader/Pre-K, grades K-12, and children of all ages with cognitive disabilities.  If you are a teacher of blind and visually impaired students and would like to participate as an evaluator, please contact: 
Jessica Bachicha, Project Coordinator 
Department of Affiliate Action 
National Federation of the Blind at Jernigan Place
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
Tel: (410) 659-9314 ext. 2529 
E-mail: jbachicha at nfb.org 
A joint project: Department of Affiliate Action, National Federation of the Blind, and the Professional Development & Research Institute on Blindness, Louisiana Tech University
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