Albert H. Brigance had a place deep in his heart for his special education students. When he began his career as a school psychologist in the 1970s, he noticed that assessment tools tended to undervalue his students’ unique development trajectories and instead emphasized what they didn’t know and couldn’t do. Al wanted to change the conversation.
He envisioned an expansion of existing assessments for developmental and academic skills to suit special ed—in-depth skill sequences that would reveal what students did know and could do. Al’s idea became a best-selling reality, and BRIGANCE Special Education was born.
Our special education products consist of assessment inventories and instructional materials that focus on a broad array of skills and behaviors in key developmental, academic, and transitional domains. They assist professionals with writing accurate, comprehensive, and meaningful IEPs and developing the skills that students need to thrive.
Criterion-referenced assessment measures a student’s performance on a specified set of skills over time. Educators use criterion-referenced assessment when progress is to be evaluated solely by comparing a student’s own present and past performance. It is commonly used when normative, or standardized, scores are not necessary.
The Inventory of Early Development III (IED III), intended for use with students functioning at a developmental age from birth through age 7, consists of more than 100 assessments that cover a broad array of skills and behaviors to offer a comprehensive picture of a student’s skill mastery. With assessments in the key domains of Physical Development, Language Development, Literacy, Mathematics and Science, Daily Living, and Social-Emotional Development, the IED III is aligned to state and national standards, including the College and Career Readiness Standards, as well as IDEA requirements for a comprehensive and accurate assessment.
Designed to help special educators meet the IDEA requirement for transition services, the Transition Skills Inventory 2 (TSI 2) and Transition Skills Activities 2 (TSA 2) provide a comprehensive set of tools to support each student in identifying and developing the skills they need to thrive as adults in their personal lives, workplaces, and communities.
The Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills II (CIBS II) includes two volumes—one for Reading/English Language Arts (ELA) and one for Mathematics—and consists of nearly 400 criterion-referenced assessments and grade-level placement tests intended for students in Grades K–9. The Reading/ELA content includes fluency assessments, and the Mathematics content is based on focal points from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Assessments align to many state and national standards, including the College and Career Readiness Standards. The CIBS II supports educators in pinpointing present level of performance and present level of academic achievement and functional performance, providing ongoing assessment, monitoring progress, and writing measurable objectives for IEPs. Examiners use one CIBS II Record Book per student.
Norm-referenced, or standardized, assessment measures a student’s performance on a specific set of skills relative to that of same-age or same-grade students. Such assessments have been standardized and validated on a normative sample. Educators use standardized assessment when they need to derive normative scores, such as composite scores, percentile ranks, and age equivalents.
The Inventory of Early Development III (IED III) Standardized, intended for use with children chronological ages birth through age 7, consists of 55 norm-referenced assessments that allow educators to compare a child’s performance to that of same-age children in a nationally representative sample to provide normative scores such as standard scores, percentile ranks, and age equivalents for children of these ages. Assessments cover a broad array of skills and behaviors in these key early learning and development domains:
Educators commonly use these normative scores, when indicated, to endorse a child’s eligibility for services.
The Inventory of Early Development III (IED III) Standardization and Validation Manual gives the history and a technical explanation of the IED III Standardized. It includes information about test administration procedures, interpretation of results, standardization methodology, and the reliability and validity of the measure. Score conversion instructions, tables, and worksheets for the derivation of normed scores are found in the Appendices.
Curriculum Associates is continuing to sell the Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills II (CIBS II) Standardized Record Book. (Examiners use one CIBS II Standardized Record Book per student for recording assessment results.)
As of Dec. 31, 2020, the CIBS II Standardized examiner's manual is no longer available.
To find out about assessments available for Spanish-speaking students, please call Customer Service at (800) 225-0248.
Al's World was inspired by Albert “Al” Brigance, and also by you, because we recognize the difficulty and importance of the work that you do every day. We hope Al's World makes you smile!
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