The American Institutes for Research (AIR), in collaboration with Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City, developed the student, parent, and educator versions of the AIR Self-Determination Scale with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. The AIR Self-Determination Scale:
The AIR Self-Determination Scale measures two broad self-determination components:
The AIR Self-Determination Scale is available for you to use free of charge by downloading the manual and each scale through the links below. Alternatively, the AIR Self-Determination Scale is available free of charge through our TAGG website.
Dr. Michael Wehmeyer and his colleagues developed and normed the ARC Self-Determination Scale to:
After students complete the assessment, the ARC Self-Determination Scale yields a total self-determination score and four sub-domain scores:
The Scale administrator will need to use the ARC Procedural Guidelines to convert raw scores into norm-sample percentile scores and the percentage of positive responses.
Dr. Michael Wehmeyer provided permission to make the ARC Self-Determination Scale available for no charge. Users may download and use the ARC Self-Determination Scale without further permission. Users may not modify the scale or redistribute the scale without additional permission from the copyright holder (Dr. Michael Wehmeyer).
The Casey Life Skills (CLS) Assessments are free, youth-centered self-reporting instruments that give youth and their supportive adults the opportunity to assess youth's strengths and areas for growth. The CLS are not tests but are meant to be a conversation starter to empower young people to set their own goals, identify resources that will be helpful, and work collaboratively with supportive adults to develop and strengthen their skills.
The Research Team at Casey Family Programs provided permission to make the Casey Life Skills Toolkit available to download free of charge.
The ChoiceMaker Self-Determination Assessment is a curriculum-referenced tool that measures students' self-determination skills and progress in the ChoiceMaker Self-Determination Curriculum. Educators of students with mild-to-moderate disabilities can assess these students' self-determination skills and opportunities at school to exercise these skills across three areas: (a) choosing educational, vocational, and personal goals, (b) students' involvement in their IEP meetings, and (c) students' attainment of IEP goals, including developing a plan, implementing the plan, self-evaluation of plan progress, and adjusting any of the plan parts.
The ChoiceMaker Self-Determination Assessment requires educators to complete a 5-point Likert scale response for each of the 62 items across the student skills and opportunities at school sections. The raw scores for each of the choosing goals, IEP involvement, and goal attainment domains are tabulated, graphed, and compared to the total points available to find the percent positive for each domain. Using a ChoiceMaker Curriculum goal and objective matrix, educators circle each assessment item with a score of 0, 1, or 2 to develop a pool of potential instructional goals and objectives.
The ChoiceMaker Self-Determination Assessment has been validated using over 300 students with learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and behavior problems from four states. A test-retest study suggests the reliability of the assessment results across time.
Of the available self-determination assessments, the ChoiceMaker Self-Determination Assessment is the only curriculum-referenced assessment.
The TAGG is an online transition assessment for secondary-aged youth with disabilities, their families, and professionals. TAGG items are derived from research-identified student behaviors associated with positive post high school employment and education outcomes. The TAGG provides a norm-based graphic profile, present level of performance statement, lists of strengths and needs, and suggested IEP annual transition goals. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the TAGG produces valid and reliable results.
More information can be found on the TAGG page and the TAGG website.
