Step 2: Determining and Prioritizing the Skills to Be Assessed in a Variety of Settings
The second step in the process is twofold: (a) to identify the student's, the family's, and the IEP team's questions and priorities and (b) to identify a variety of settings that provide real-world situations within which to answer these questions. The first step of this process involves having each team member complete a series of checklists related to employment, independent living, and community participation skills within the context of the vision. After each person has completed the checklists, the evaluator tallies all of the responses and compiles a list of the specific skills in the order that they were most frequently selected as a priority. For example, if “respecting the rights of others” was checked off as a priority most frequently, it would be at the top of the list. Using the data gathered from the checklists, the evaluator then identifies various settings and situations within the person's community that will provide real-world opportunities to assess the goodness of fit between the student and each setting's obvious and subtle rules and expectations. The closer these situations are to the everyday activities and locations the individual is likely to experience both immediately and in the future, the more accurate the information is likely to be (Lohrmann-O'Rourke & Browder, 1998).
Step 3: Familiarize the Student With the Evaluator and Setting(s)
The third step in the process is simply to familiarize the person with the evaluator(s) and to provide a general introduction to the settings in which he/she will be spending time. This is an important step, particularly if the student and the person or persons conducting the assessment do not know each other. There is no hard and fast rule for establishing rapport and for minimizing student apprehensions, although we have found that visiting the student in his/her home or in familiar places, in the company of those who the student knows and trusts, is typically effective. In addition, helping the student to understand what the assessment is and why it is being done not only fosters trust but also helps alleviate feelings of confusion, enabling the student to perform to at fullest capacity the assessment activities. In some cases, it may be necessary to have someone the student knows well, and vice versa, accompany the evaluator throughout all phases of the CBCA process if that person's presence helps put the student at ease. Someone who is already familiar with the student may also be in a position to help the evaluator in avoiding situations that might cause the student to feel uncomfortable or precipitate certain behavioral responses that one might want to avoid (e.g., tantrums). They may also be aware of specific strategies that are effective in deescalating a situation once it has already occurred.
The general introduction to the settings includes preassessment visits to familiarize the student with the various locations that will be included in the overall assessment. During this phase, no performance expectations are placed on the individual; she/he is simply introduced to the settings and informed that she/he will be returning soon to spend more time there. Subsequent to this and within a few days or sooner, the individual and evaluator(s) return to the setting(s) so that the fourth step in the process can begin.
Step 4: Gathering Baseline Data on Current Levels of Functioning
During this step, baseline information is gathered, related to the individual's current level of functioning in the selected settings (Ogletree, 1995). Consistent with Vygotski's (1962) zone of proximal development, the idea here is to determine what tasks the person can perform independently to the highest degree before needing assistance. This provides the evaluator with a clear understanding of the learning gaps and where specific instruction needs to occur. For example, the task of getting ready for work involves a multitude of steps, including brushing one's teeth. If a student is assigned this particular task, is able to perform all of the various steps except for brushing his/her teeth, assistance might need to be provided proceeding the completion of all of the steps leading up to brushing teeth.
The day begins by providing the student with an agenda that outlines the planned activities. Presenting the student with an overview of the activities that are planned for the day helps to demystify the assessment process and alleviate any unnecessary worrying that might occur when expectations are not clear. The student is given the opportunity to select the order in which the activities will unfold. By allowing this, the evaluator will gain a sense of the student's preferences, but more important, it gives the student a sense of control and ownership in the assessment process. The agenda is revisited at the end of each activity to review what has been completed, affording the student a sense of accomplishment while preparing him/her for what will happen next and how much more is left to complete.
Each of the activities in this fourth step involves a series of three actions: (a) the evaluator describes the performance expectations to the student, (b) the student proceeds to perform the activity, and (c) the evaluator observes the extent to which she/he meets these expectations independently. The description may include verbal explanations, written information, and/or a combination of mime or gestures. Direct demonstrations are generally not included during this phase because the idea is to see how much the person can do with only minimal guidance or instructions.
Step 5: Increase Instruction to Determine Proximal Instruction
If it becomes clear the person cannot fulfill the expected performance independently, the fifth step of the assessment process begins as the evaluator gradually introduces increasing levels of assistance until the person accomplishes the expected performance (Strain, Sainto, & Maheady, 1984). Initially, no assistance is offered, but if the individual cannot perform the task independently, the evaluator may give the student general and specific cues (e.g., hints, suggestions, demonstrations, and, if necessary, physical assistance) to try helping him/her complete the task, along with creating modest environmental modifications that may be helpful as well (e.g., asking the waiter or waitress if there are menus which include pictures of the items on the menu so the student can make a choice if she/he has limited reading/comprehension skills). During this phase, the student may be evaluated on the same task a few times both to ensure accuracy pertaining to the level of support she/he requires for accomplishing the task(s) and/or to see if the person performs with less support when given subsequent opportunities to do so or after various environmental modifications–accommodations have been implemented.
This process of (a) creating a vision, (b) raising questions and establishing priorities, (c) familiarizing the person with the evaluator and the situations in which the assessment will occur, (d) creating an itinerary of the settings that will be part of the assessment and identifying the expected performance in each situation, and (e) gradually increasing the levels of assistance until the person completes the expected performance constitutes the five basic steps of the CBCA. The CBCA has two unique features. The first is that it provides an opportunity for an individual who currently possesses some independent living and community integration skills to exhibit those skills in typical community settings. Second, this form of assessment also identifies the person's specific training needs within real-world contexts, which can then be translated directly into appropriate IEP transition goals and objectives. By using this approach, one can ascertain the skills the person already possesses as well as those she/he still needs to either develop or strengthen, discover skills that few realized she/he had, and ascertain the levels of support that will be needed for that person to succeed in similar situations in the future.