Test accommodations are often given to students with disabilities as one means of removing construct-irrelevant barriers to proper measurement of their knowledge, skills, and abilities. However, the practice is controversial. This article reviews numerous studies that focused on the effects of accommodations on test performance. Consistent conclusions were not found across studies because of the wide variety of accommodations, the various ways in which they were implemented, and the heterogeneity of students to whom they were given. But two consistent findings emerged: Extended time tended to improve the performance of all students, although students with disabilities tended to exhibit relatively greater score gains; and oral accommodations on math tests were associated with increased test performance for some students with disabilities.
The purpose of this study was to use differential item functioning (DIF) and latent mixture model analyses to explore factors that explain performance differences on a large-scale mathematics assessment between examinees allowed to use a calculator or who were afforded item presentation accommodations versus those who did not receive the same accommodations. Data from a state accountability assessment of mathematics for students in Grade 8 were analyzed. More than 73,000 students participated, of which 12,268 were students with disabilities (SWD) receiving test accommodations. DIF analyses detected performance differences between examinees without accommodations and those who used a calculator or those where the item presentation was altered. Latent performance class analyses revealed that performance differences were associated with item difficulty and abilty in addition to accommodation status. Results support validity studies that use mixture models that can consider context variables related to item type, academic skills, and accommodations.
This article describes an innovative assessment tool designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a food safety skills curriculum for learners receiving special education services. As schools respond to the increased demand for training students with special needs about food safety, the need for effective curricula and tools is also increasing. A Food Safety Education for High School and Transition Special Needs Students curriculum served as the basis upon which our assessment tool was developed. The project was a collaborative effort by food safety and education professionals in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. This USDA-funded initiative emerged from teacher-generated data that identified critical gaps in food safety knowledge and skills among students with disabilities (SWD) receiving special education services. As an adjunct to this curriculum, a Food Safety Practices Assessment Tool was developed to: 1) conduct observations of students as they demonstrate food safety practices, and 2) use this information to design classroom-based learning activities that are aligned with students' Individual Education Plans (IEP). Pilot data suggest that the tool is valid and reliable for use in a kitchen-based setting. This is the first known tool of its kind to test food safety skills of individuals with special needs in a real-world environment. Further testing is needed to determine the usefulness of the tool for broader audiences.
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