Purpose: This project will develop the SIS-C Supports Planning Process, an associated Teachers
Manual, and an online Fidelity of Implementation System that will enhance the knowledge and skills of teachers
to use the results of a completed Supports Intensity Scale-Childrens Version (SIS-C) assessment to design
supplementary aids and services to promote access to the general education curriculum for students with
intellectual disability (ID). The SISC was the first standardized measure of supports needs of children with ID,
developed with a previous IES Goal 5 Measurement grant (co-PIs: Hughes, Thompson, & Wehmeyer;
2011-2015). Educators need tools and strategies to enhance their knowledge and skills to use SIS-C
assessment data to inform supports planning for students with ID in general education. Setting: Elementary
schools in Kansas and Illinois, some of which participated in data collection for the development of the SIS-C
assessment. Sample: Teacher participants will be special education teachers that provide supports and services
for students with ID. Student participants must have a primary educational classification of ID, consistent with
the norming sample for the SIS-C and will be selected to be representative of the ranges of intellectual
functioning (mild, moderate, severe/profound) for which the SIS-C was normed. Intervention: The SIS-C
Supports Planning Process will enable teachers to develop knowledge and skills to (1) identify a students
support needs by interpreting SIS-C assessment data, (2) problem solve with appropriate stakeholders to
identify specific supplementary aids and services that will enhance learning and participation in the general
education curriculum (3) implement the identified supplementary aids and services, and (4) evaluate the impact
of the supplementary aids and services on learning and participation outcomes, making adjustments as needed.
Research Design and Methods: We will use design research methodology to provide a systematic framework for
the development process. This project will be broken into four phases associated with our four primary research
questions: (1) develop the SIS-C Supports Planning Process (i.e., components, content, mode) through an
iterative process with end-user focus group feedback; (2) refine and improve upon the initial SIS-C Supports
Planning Process and evaluate feasibility and usability using single-case design; (3) extend evaluation of the full
SIS-C Supports Planning Process to examine fidelity of implementation and the measurement of teacher and
student outcomes using a repeated measures MANOVA design; and (4) conduct a pilot study to examine the
impact on teacher and student outcomes using multi-level models. Key Measures: Teacher knowledge and skill
outcomes will be measured using the SIS-C Knowledge, Skills, and Use Survey and data collected on
classroom ecology and teacher behavior using the MS-CISSAR data collection system. Student outcomes
related to access to the general education curriculum will be measured with the Access CISSAR, an add-on
module to the MS-CISSAR. Fidelity of implementation data will be collected by independent observers using the
Online Fidelity of Implementation System. Data Analysis: The four phases of the project will yield unique data on
feasibility, fidelity, and the impact on teacher and student outcomes. Data collected during each phase will be
analyzed using best practices, linked to its associated design and research questions.