PAR and DeCoste Protocols

Before you choose an audio book reader or writing supports, please administer the PAR and/or DeCoste Protocols. Contact your AT Specialist, Laura Baxter, to administer either of these protocols. After working with the student, the PPT will receive an AT report with results and recommendations.

PAR takes data to help determine what type of audio reader offers the biggest boost in comprehension for a learner.

DeCoste Protocol takes data to help determine what types of writing tools are best for the learner.

Written Productivity Data, Including use of Assistive Technology Supports

The intent of the DeCoste Writing Protocol is to examine the effectiveness of writing accommodations that may help a student access the curriculum. The Protocol is not a test of writing, but a protocol to help the team make informed decisions on writing strategies to support instruction in the general education curriculum.

The DeCoste Writing Protocol is not a standardized assessment. Rather than comparing a student’s performance against a norm, the DeCoste Writing Protocol compares the student’s productivity across writing tasks.

Writing accommodations, when used appropriately, help students to better demonstrate what they know. Periodic re-evaluation using the DeCoste Writing Protocol can also confirm whether the student is still in need of accommodation.

The student will participate in several informal writing tasks to give information about his or her writing skills for different writing modes. Data will be gathered and tabulated.

Reading Comprehension Data, Including use of Assistive Technology Supports

The intent of PAR is not to test reading ability or identify reading interventions, but to examine the effectiveness of reading accommodations to help a student access the curriculum. PAR is not a diagnostic reading assessment tool, but a protocol to help teachers make informed decisions on accommodated reading strategies to support instruction in the general education curriculum.

Passages and comprehension questions were professionally developed specifically for PAR. The passages were scored for readability at mid-grade level using Flesh-Kincaid formulas. Grade level passages were written to be similar to materials students encounter in the classroom environment. All of the passages were written by a freelance writer who creates grade-level writing for both basal textbook publishers and supplemental publishers. Comprehension questions were written to be considerate, less complex, in an effort to minimize comprehension errors due to question complexity.

The PAR protocol indicates that the student read-aloud be at his or her own reading level, while human or synthesized/computer readers be at grade level. If grade level is not accessible to the student when heard orally, the evaluator may drop TTS passage grade levels until a successful reading level is reached. This protocol underscores the research mentioned above that indicates a person’s listening level may be significantly higher than their reading level.