Center for Disabilities Studies : School Age Initiatives : Delaware Alternate Portfolio Assessment
ACCESS has replaced DAPA - Information will be posted in the near future
Delaware Alternate Portfolio Assessment (DAPA)
Website
The alternate assessment project provides administrative support, professional development, and technical assistance for the Delaware Alternate Portfolio Assessment (DAPA). DAPA is Delaware’s assessment for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. As required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), all students must be included in an assessment program when one is implemented by a state or school district.
The Center for Disabilities Studies, in partnership with the Delaware Department of Education and a group of education and family stakeholders, developed the DAPA to meet these requirements. In the State of Delaware, students participating in the DAPA are assessed in the same grades and content areas as their peers based on the standards adopted by the state.
Each year, approximately 1,200 students with the most significant cognitive disabilities are assessed using the DAPA. Serving as a snapshot of their school instruction, the portfolio documents student performance of skills selected from the state standards. The assessment process includes an examination of how the student is:
- accessing the general education curriculum;
- increasing self-determination skills;
- generalizing skills in a variety of settings; and
- interacting with typical peers.
In addition to the management of the DAPA, the alternate assessment project conducts research activities around access to the general education curriculum for students with significant cognitive disabilities and national trends in alternate assessment.
For more information
Debby Boyer
302-831-3503
dboyer@udel.edu
