FAQs about the ROCC

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Why use the ROCC?

The ROCC helps to create a shared understanding around 10 key domains of communication. You can use the ROCC to track progress of your client, student or person across time, or you can use it to compare the scores for different scenarios (e.g. with current system v’s potential with proposed system). 

You can also use the ROCC to collate data for all of your students or clients, or for groups you can create yourself. (e.g. class groups, caseload groups, sites, ages, etc).  

The ROCC creates a visual representation and therefore a shared reference (like a ‘roadmap’) to discuss goals and strategies that will support communication development for those who have communication challenges. The descriptors within the rubric can be used to assist educators or providers to create goals and objectives for achievable next steps along the continuum towards communicative competence. 

How does the ROCC work?

The ROCC is an online tool. You can use the paper version (PDF download available upon subscription) to score if needed but you will need the online component to generate graphs and compare or collate your data. It’s also MUCH easier and quicker to score online. Your assessment then creates a profile graph for an individual and you can save and print the assessment report or just save the profile graph as an image file and insert it into any of your own documentation.

Once a school or organisation enters assessments for their participants, they can begin to collate that data and view comparative and summarising graphs that show trends across specific groups or all assessments. This information gives valuable information to inform goal setting, strategic planning, training, funding, and more. The data can inform the subscribing organisation about the information that they are most interested in collecting eg. comparison across age ranges, types of communication systems, class groups, or whole school/organisation data across time

How does the ROCC fit in with other assessments that I’ve been using?  

Just fine. The ROCC was developed to be used as a long term individual profile or as an organisational, whole school or classroom approach to achieving outcomes for communication. It does not replace more specific and targeted individual communication assessments that may better focus support at an individualised level. 

Subscribing to the ROCC – How do I get a login?

Currently the ROCC is set up for a school or organisation to purchase a subscription. Costs are based on the number of individuals you will be scoring. The ‘data manager’ for an organisation will purchase the subscription and can then invite others to join and assign roles:

• (Joint) Data Manager – The purpose of this role is to manage the overall structure and user access for the Organisation. A joint data manager can be appointed if more than one person is sharing the role. It is advised not to have too many data managers per organisation or things can get confusing. 
  • Assessment Approver – The key aspect of this role is to review draft assessments (created by others) for approval for the data to be used in reports and graphs. This user can also use the Graphs And Reports functions. A User can only be assigned the Assessment Approver Role if they are ROCC Trained.
  • User – This role is for any user to enter assessments. Assessments entered by Users will be marked as draft until approved by an Assessment Approver. 

A Data Manager  will invite you to their organisation using your email address. Once you receive the invite you can create your own password to login. 

More information is available about users and setting up your organisation from the Help file available with your subscription. 

Is it possible to have on offer an individual child subscription, to pay per assessment for small schools or education support units that only have 6-10 kids? Or for Private practices that only have a small number of kids using AAC? 

The base cost for a ROCC subscription provides access to the detailed descriptors in each domain and the overall assessment tool.  With this purchase, subscribers receive the manual and printable assessment forms which are copyright documents. The base subscription also includes 50 free participants. For larger practices, schools and organisations, the subscription cost is based on the number of participants (ie. individuals that will be assessed using the ROCC). 

What does it mean by ’50 participants’ in the subscription? (ie: are we able to use the ROCC for 50 students?)

Yes, the participant numbers are the number of students/clients for whom you can score and collate data. Subscriptions run for 12 months from the date of subscription and you can add more students along the way if your numbers grow. You can also mark a participant who is no longer at your school or practice as ‘inactive’ meaning that they will no longer be included in your participant count. Assessments cannot be entered for ‘inactive’ participants, nor can you generate profile graphs or include them in collated data so it’s important to have a subscription for the correct number of active participants so that you can include them all in your data graphs.

Is it possible for a SP, parent and a teacher to score the child at the same time and to enter their data separately, and then compare the graphs?

Yes, just give a name to the Assessment Set that indicates each one. Eg. If the school are subscribed to the ROCC, then the teacher would use the Assessment Set that is being used for their school for that period “Term 3, 2020”. This will ensure that the teachers assessment will be included in the whole school data that is based around that Assessment Set.  Then the SP and parent could score with a different Assessment Set that will show up in the Participant Assessment Graph. You could name them something like “Term 3, 2020 SP” and “Term 3,2020 parent”. If the SP and parent are not able to have login access to the school’s subscription, then they could complete the scoring on paper and the teacher can enter their scores online. 

For more information on Assessment Sets and Graphs, see the Help file available with your subscription 

How is the student information kept confidential?  

The information entered on the ROCC is encrypted and we also suggest that participants are recorded as a code rather than their full name. No other identifying information is collected (eg. We do not require date of birth, address, or any other information). It is assumed that a subscriber will administer the ROCC then copy the data graphs onto their own student/client record system. The data is stored on an Australian server and subject to Australian data protection laws. Only those who are invited by the subscriber  to use the ROCC will have access to that data. The Data Manager will be able to manage users by inviting or deactivating them.

Do you think the ROCC  will be a more valuable tool for our range of kids than the Pragmatic Profile or even the Communication Matrix, both of which are cost free?

The Communication Matrix and Pragmatics Profile are great tools. They are much more specific tools for looking at a person’s range of communication functions which correlates to Domain 7 on the ROCC, and to some extent Domain 6 – Complexity of Language. 

The ROCC is different in that it covers a more diverse range of factors that contribute to communication competence, and can help to identify areas that may be impacting on successful communication outside of their language level and pragmatic functions. For example, whether or not the student has access to a comprehensive system, intelligibility of their message, success of initiation, their understanding of the system as their voice, socialisation and strategic competence.

It is still relevant to use both of these assessments, along with others that provide more detailed information, when it seems most appropriate to delve further into these areas. The idea is that the ROCC provides a big picture to help us figure out which areas we might need to focus on and if needed, gain more detailed assessment. This really helps to prioritise access to therapy providers and also to prevent assessment just for the sake of it, but to make more informed decisions as to which information we need to support the individual toward more autonomous and competent communication.  

ROCC Company Information: 

Company Name: Sticky Notes Pty Ltd

ABN = 54 630 418 585

Website: www.roccassessment.com.au

 If you have other questions after this training, please email us at rocc@roccassessment.com.au and we’ll do our best to answer them.