Teachers' Knowledge of Accommodations As a Validity Issue in High-Stakes Testing

Abstract

The purpose of this survey pilot study was to determine how knowledgeable general education and special education teachers are about allowable accommodations on statewide assessment tests and how accommodation choices influence the validity of decisions resulting from this assessment. Overall, only 21% of the respondents reported using the accommodations specified in the statewide testing manual. On the whole, teachers' knowledge of allowable accommodations was low (54.8%) and their knowledge didn't always translate into consistent action: The 4 accommodations teachers listed most often as ones they used for students taking the modified statewide assessment were also the 4 most listed modifications that teachers thought might have allowed an exempted student to participate in the statewide assessment. These initial survey findings support the call for renewed preservice/inservice measurement training to eliminate the differential exclusion and application of accommodations now found in the schools.

Do Proper Accommodation Assignments Make a Difference? Examining the Impact of Improved Decision Making on Scores for English Language Learners

“…Our results suggest that at the individual level, when accommodation decisions are not appropriate to meet the need of the student, test results can misrepresent what the student knows and can do. At the test aggregate level, consistent and recommended accommodation decision making is critical to the validity of score comparisons across schools, programs, districts, and populations of students (Fuchs et al, 2000; Hollenbeck, Tindal, & Almond, 1998; Kopriva, 2000). There has been a strong call for more systematic methods associated with selecting appropriate large‐scale test accommodations for students in special populations (e.g., Abedi et al, 2003; Kopriva & Mislevy, 2001; Thurlow, Elliott, & Ysseldyke, 2003).…”

Five of the Most Frequently Allowed Testing Accommodations in State Policy

“…Although one study found that a similar factor structure resulted for those receiving the dictated response accommodation (Tippets & Michaels, 1997), which would support the idea that the same underlying construct was being measured, another analysis identified less similar-ity between accommodated and unaccommodated test factor structures (J. Results of surveys suggest that many teachers are aware of this accommodation (Gajria, Salend, & Hemrick, 1994;Hollenbeck, Tindal, & Almond, 1998) but may find it somewhat difficult to provide (Jayanthi, Epstein, Polloway, & Bursuck, 1996), leading to less regular use (Gajria et al, 1994). Results of surveys suggest that many teachers are aware of this accommodation (Gajria, Salend, & Hemrick, 1994;Hollenbeck, Tindal, & Almond, 1998) but may find it somewhat difficult to provide (Jayanthi, Epstein, Polloway, & Bursuck, 1996), leading to less regular use (Gajria et al, 1994).…”

Accommodations for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Large‐Scale, Standardized Assessments: Surveying the Landscape and Charting a New Direction

“…Although many SDHH use accommodations, there is a growing awareness that decisions about which accommodations need to take in a number of student-specific characteristics (Cawthon & The Online Research Lab, 2007). Previous research has shown that there are multiple factors that affect what kinds of accommodations students receive on large-scale standardized assessments (e.g., De Stefano, Shriner, & Lloyd, 2001;Elliott, Kratochwill, & Schulte, 1998;Helwig & Tindal, 2003;Hollenbeck, Tindal, & Almond, 1998). When asked to name important factors used in their decisions for SDHH, teachers often noted the subject of the test and student communication mode as a primary consideration (Cawthon & The Online Research Lab, 2007).…”