Writing Performance Level Descriptors and Setting Performance Standards for Assessments of Modified Achievement Standards: The Role of Innovation and Importance of Following Conventional Practice.

Alternate assessments of modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) must be designed, developed, implemented, and validated following the same rigorous principles and procedures used for other assessments. However, the uniqueness and unfamiliarity of the target population for these assessments requires innovative thinking, especially in regard to writing relevant performance level descriptors (PLDs) and setting appropriate achievement standards. In this article we discuss considerations for (a) likely designs of AA-MAS; (b) the writing of PLDs that are relevant to the target examinee population for these assessments; and (c) standard setting methods that would be appropriate for these assessment designs, as well as special considerations relevant to those standard setting methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]