The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' attitudes towards the New Jersey's Alternate Proficiency Assessment (APA) for students with severe disabilities. A total of 25 special education teachers, who had experiences in the APA portfolio implementation, participate in this study. A survey including 25 questions on a five point Likert scale was provided to all participating teachers as well as an interview for six teachers to obtain their feedback in depth. Surveyed teachers reported that they were trained to prepare for their students' portfolios as required by the state. However, many concerns were raised by the teachers in regards to the time spent in preparing for each student's portfolio as well as limited benefit to their instructional improvement. The follow-up interview provided detailed comments that were consistent with the survey results. The implications on improving the APA process have been discussed to support teachers in implementing the alternate assessment.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' attitudes towards the New Jersey's Alternate Proficiency Assessment (APA) for students with severe disabilities. A total of 25 special education teachers, who had experiences in the APA portfolio implementation, participate in this study. A survey including 25 questions on a five point Likert scale was provided to all participating teachers as well as an interview for six teachers to obtain their feedback in depth. Surveyed teachers reported that they were trained to prepare for their students' portfolios as required by the state. However, many concerns were raised by the teachers in regards to the time spent in preparing for each student's portfolio as well as limited benefit to their instructional improvement. The follow-up interview provided detailed comments that were consistent with the survey results. The implications on improving the APA process have been discussed to support teachers in implementing the alternate assessment.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Cranin, Rachel L."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in Special Education","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Xin, Joy"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2008,"date_issued":"2008-05-08T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2008-05-08T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:27Z","subjects":["Achievement tests--New Jersey; Students with disabilities--New Jersey","Special Education and Teaching"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/691","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Xin, Joy"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Cranin, Rachel L."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-03-21T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in Special Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Achievement tests--New Jersey; Students with disabilities--New Jersey","Special Education and Teaching"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/691"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' attitudes towards the New Jersey's Alternate Proficiency Assessment (APA) for students with severe disabilities. A total of 25 special education teachers, who had experiences in the APA portfolio implementation, participate in this study. A survey including 25 questions on a five point Likert scale was provided to all participating teachers as well as an interview for six teachers to obtain their feedback in depth. Surveyed teachers reported that they were trained to prepare for their students' portfolios as required by the state. However, many concerns were raised by the teachers in regards to the time spent in preparing for each student's portfolio as well as limited benefit to their instructional improvement. The follow-up interview provided detailed comments that were consistent with the survey results. The implications on improving the APA process have been discussed to support teachers in implementing the alternate assessment.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Teachers' attitudes towards the New Jersey's Alternate Proficiency Assessment for students with severe disabilities"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Xin, Joy"],"dc:creator":["Cranin, Rachel L."],"dc:date.available":["2016-03-21T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' attitudes towards the New Jersey's Alternate Proficiency Assessment (APA) for students with severe disabilities. A total of 25 special education teachers, who had experiences in the APA portfolio implementation, participate in this study. A survey including 25 questions on a five point Likert scale was provided to all participating teachers as well as an interview for six teachers to obtain their feedback in depth. Surveyed teachers reported that they were trained to prepare for their students' portfolios as required by the state. However, many concerns were raised by the teachers in regards to the time spent in preparing for each student's portfolio as well as limited benefit to their instructional improvement. The follow-up interview provided detailed comments that were consistent with the survey results. The implications on improving the APA process have been discussed to support teachers in implementing the alternate assessment.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/691"],"dc:subject":["Achievement tests--New Jersey; Students with disabilities--New Jersey","Special Education and Teaching"],"dc:title":["Teachers' attitudes towards the New Jersey's Alternate Proficiency Assessment for students with severe disabilities"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in Special Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:27Z"}