Arab Educational Information Network

Educational evaluation in general and evaluating students’ achievement in particular have recently witnessed rapid developments, and have encountered unprecedented challenges and perceivable drastic changes. This revolutionary shift includes, among others, development in assessment methods, tools and techniques on the one hand, and alteration in the frames of reference used to interpret assessment results on the other hand. The current study contributes in solving the problem of mildly disabled students who are integrated in mainstream classes though suggesting an evaluation model in Arabic that suits the needs of that particular group of students. The study was restricted to a sample of primary fifth grade students with mild disabilities including visually and hearing impaired students who are integrated in Egypt mainstream public schools. To design the model, Arabic teaching standards and indicators suitable for each disability group in the primary fifth grade were referred to in the light of recent developments. First, a questionnaire was designed to investigate the current status quo of evaluating disabled students who are integrated in mainstream schools. Furthermore Arabic test specification tables were developed for every disability group in the light of the current changes. An achievement test was then designed to assess Arabic achievement of fifth graders belonging to each disability group (visual impaired- hearing impaired) who are integrated in mainstream schools. The sample of study included 26 primary fifth grade students representing two classes selected from five public schools. This sample was reached after deleting students who did not participate regularly in the study, as well as those who did not take any of the study tools. Results of the study indicate that the suggested model could effectively reflect the evaluation standards specified for the specific groups of disabled students included in the current study. It was also concluded that the suggested model assisted in improving students’ Arabic performance. (Published abstract)