Students with disabilities are required to take the same standardized assessments as children without disabilities. In many cases, taking the test at the same time and place as the other students would not result in an accurate assessment of the disabled student’s Abilities. Their disability may make it difficult to take the test at the same time into the same manner as the other students. Children who fall into this category are allowed to take an alternative assessment that takes into account their disabilities. The question is whether the tests provide an accurate and fair assessment of academic performance. The following will explore literature regarding alternate assessments. It will utilize an Internet search of state websites and online academic journals for its assessment. The keywords, “student disabilities assessment” were used for this search.
The Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) mandates that all students, regardless of disability participate in statewide assessments in the areas of reading and mathematics (Minnesota Department of Education, 2013). Many states have developed manuals for accommodations for students with disabilities. The decision on how a student will participate in a statewide testing is made by their individual education program (IEP) team.
Evidence-based research focuses on the types of accommodations that can be made for various students. The types of accommodations allow can include in modification of the test administration procedures, or a modification of the test content (Koretz & Barton, 2003). According to these researchers, one of the more common modifications is giving the student to test from an earlier grade level. It is also possible to delete some items from the test. Modifying the test is less common than modify the way it is administered. Some accommodations that fall into this category include allowing the student to break the test period into shorter intervals with more breaks. Some students may have a facilitator read the tests to them, or they may take the test in Braille or large type. In some cases, the student may dictate their answers to a person who writes them down for them.
Low until this time, assessments for students with disabilities remained unstandardized and IEP teams were aloud a wide range a potential accommodations, but there was no way to know if the modifications the testing procedures resulted it acceptable validity and reliability. Due to the requirement for public accountability a student performance, standard accommodations for certain disability categories are currently being devised. There is a greater movement towards making certain that the curriculum that students with disabilities are importing is in alignment with a standardized curriculum being offered to nondisabled students (2007, October).
One of the difficulties in assessing children with disabilities is determining whether the accommodation skews the test results. Current research focuses on finding standard sets of accommodations that did not alter the validity and reliability of the test. A wide variety of accommodations are now being used by schools. Fletcher, Francis, & Morris, et al, (2005) Found that models based on four parties to assessment achieve different discrepancies in reliability. But four approaches to assessment were aptitude-achievement, low achievement, intra-individual differences, and response to intervention (RTI). The study found that methods that incorporate RTI are more reliable than those using the other approaches. Literature review reveals When a significant gap in finding reliable methods of assessment for children with disabilities. What are the key considerations is the degree with which individual differences affect the reliability of the test method.
The following case study examines the appropriateness of accommodations for a sixth grade student. Liz was diagnosed was cerebral palsy at birth. She can walk with braces for some time but her motor impairments make it difficult to understand her handwriting. She has a speech impairment that makes it difficult to understand her. While in class, she uses computer for her work. Her IEP team has decided this would be the most appropriate accommodation for taking the state achievement tests. Due to her learning disabilities, the team has also decided to give her more time to take the test two allow her time due process and respond appropriately.
This accommodation is appropriate because it does not change the content of the test. She will take the same cast as her classmates. One advantage of this accommodation is that it takes advantage of one of her strengths, which is the ability to use the keyboard to respond, and the accommodations are the minimal necessary to address her special needs. Giving her ex the time is appropriate, as she demonstrates slow responses due to her specific learning disability. This is an example of a combinations can be used that address the specific needs of the student, but did not alter the content of the test.
One of the key difficulties in designing accommodations were standardized tests is for students that require alteration of the content of the test. There is a question as to whether they are being tested all the same material as their peers. This research found that the best approach is the accommodation that has the least impact on the content of the test. The literature reveals a trend towards studying the effects of accommodations on the outcome of statewide testing. The amount of evidence-based research of accommodations will improve in the future, leading to better educational outcomes for students with disabilities.
