Assessing Student Perceptions of Affective Outcomes of Special Education Programs: Instrument Development, Validation, and Comparisons to Regular Education Students

Abstract

The development of the 45-item likert-type response scale Student Survey for assessing the following five affective goals of Connecticut's Common Core of Learning is described: Academic Competence, Social Competence, Social Integration, Involvement in Educational Decision Making, and Consumer Satisfaction. Content validity literature-based and judgmental procedures are described; supportive evidence of construct validity is provided using a sample of 436 special education students (Grades 4, 6, and 8) from eight school districts who were eligible to take the statewide Connecticut Mastery Test. These data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory techniques. Alpha reliabilities for the special education sample ranged from .70 to .91 for the five dimensions. Differences between special education students and a sample of 1,229 regular education students from the same districts are described.