ADEPT for Speech-Language Therapists

Following statewide implementation of South Carolina's ADEPT system in 1998, it became apparent that the performance standards for classroom teachers did not appropriately reflect what school-based speech-language therapists were expected to know and to be able to do. As a result, a statewide work group, comprised of representatives from school districts, institutions of higher education, and the State Department of Education, was formed to develop appropriate performance expectations for speech-language therapists. Following an extensive field review of these performance dimensions, a formal evaluation model was developed, disseminated for field review, and subsequently piloted during the 2001-02 school year. During the summer of 2002, the members of the work group met with the participants in the pilot project to review the results of the study and to develop recommendations for revising the evaluation model.

The ADEPT performance dimensions for speech-language therapists were approved by the State Board of Education in June 2003. The complete guidelines and materials for implementing the formal evaluation model appear in the following sections.

Training

Prior to evaluating speech-language therapists, all evaluators must successfully complete training in both the district's approved formal evaluation model and the special area model. The following materials are available to assist districts in conducting the special area evaluator training and in providing an orientation for speech-language therapists:

Materials

The following materials are needed to conduct ADEPT formal evaluations of speech-language therapists:

ADEPT Performance Standards for Speech Language Therapists (127Kb PDF)

Guidelines. This twelve-page PDF document (53Kb DOC) includes the following information:

  • Purpose and Intended Use
  • Performance Dimensions
  • Evaluation Teams
  • Orientation
  • Required Sources of Evidence and Timelines for Data Collection
  • Documentation
  • Evaluation Judgments and Conferences
  • ADEPT for Speech-Language Therapists: Formal Evaluation At-A-Glance
  • Criteria for Entry Into Programs of Special Education for Students With Disabilities

Documentation. This eleven-page Microsoft Word document (173Kb DOC) includes sample key considerations for each performance dimension and provides an electronic template that allows

  • individual evaluators to record their evidence and
  • the evaluation team to write the consensus report.

Interview Form. This three-page Microsoft Word document (61Kb DOC) includes the instructions and the interview questions necessary to collect evidence for Performance Dimensions 3 and 4.

Reflection on Speech-Language Therapy Session. This one-page Microsoft Word document, (95Kb DOC) designed to be used as an electronic template, contains three critical elements on which the speech-language therapist is asked to reflect following each observation, as explained in the guidelines. This reflection, which requires the speech-language therapist to examine both practice and specific components related to student achievement, is part of the evidence that is examined under Performance Dimension 7.

Professional Performance Description. This one-page Microsoft Word document, (39Kb DOC) designed to be used as an electronic template, is to be completed by the building administrator (and other supervisors, as appropriate) near the end of each semester of evaluation as part of the data collection process for Performance Dimension 10.

Professional Self-Report. This one-page Microsoft Word document, (38Kb DOC) designed to be used as an electronic template, is to be completed by the speech-language therapist, as described in the guidelines, as part of the data collection process for Performance Dimension 10

Evaluation Summary. This one-page Microsoft Word document (81Kb DOC) is to be completed by the evaluation team following the preliminary and final consensus meetings.


Last Updated: 10/17/2011