Accommodation Decisions:

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Accommodation Decisions Policy, Training, and
Monitoring as Critical Aspects of an Objective
Approach
Martha L. Thurlow National Center on Educational
Outcomes www.nceo.info
CCSSO National Conference on Student
Assessment Orlando, FL June 17, 2008
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The challenges in selecting assessment
accommodations are many they include

• Use of evidence to judge the effectiveness and
  validity of accommodations
• Appropriate policy setting, with strong
  rationales about the validity of accommodations
  when experimental studies have not been conducted
  or cannot be conducted
• Training of decision makers
• Monitoring of what actually happens to ensure
  that there is validity

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Summaries of Published Evidence

• Summaries available since 1999 (with spotty
  reviews before that)
• Tindal Fuchs summary in 1999
• NCEO summaries of 1999-2001 2002-2004 2005-2006
• Sireci, Scarpati, Li summary of 2005 (in Review
  of Educational Research)
• The evidence basis for accommodations is very
  important yet, does not answer all the policy
  questions.

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Number of Accommodations Studies

Years Number of Studies Average Per Year
1990 through 1992 11 3.7
1993 through 1995 18 6.0
1996 through 1998 29 9.7
1999 through 2001 46 15.3
2002 through 2004 49 16.3
2005 through 2006 32 16.0
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Research Methods Research Methods Research Methods
Number of Studies Number of Studies
Method 2002-2004 2005-2006
Experimental or Quasi-experimental 21 (43) 18 (56)
Review of extant data 17 (35) 6 (19)
Survey/Interview 7 (14) 5 (16)
Meta-analysis 2 (4) 0 (0)
IEP intervention 1 (2) 0 (0)
Product evaluation 1 (2) 0 (0)
Other (i.e., case studies, observation) 0 (0) 3 (9)
From Johnstone, Altman, Thurlow, Thompson
(2006). From Zenisky Sireci (2007).
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What is Studied?

• Extended time, oral administration are most often
  studies (followed by computer administration)
• Studying multiple accommodations at one time has
  fallen dramatically
• The most frequently allowed accommodations (large
  print, individual, small group, magnification,
  braille) are studied less often accommodations
  used by small numbers of students are rarely
  studied

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Policy Setting Requires More Than Research
Evidence

• Research evidence may focus on different
  standards from those of the state, or be based on
  different selection criteria for students using
  the accommodation
• States may find that conducting research is very
  difficult to do given all the complexities that
  arise when doing this research

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Steps States Need to Take

• Examine data on use of accommodations
• Develop good policies, documenting the rationale
  for each accommodation
• Provide guidance for human suppliers of
  accommodations
• Provide training of teachers and decision makers
• Monitor on test days, and examine relation to
  decisions and instruction

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Examine Data Multiple Ways

• By category of disability
• By grade or school level
• By type of accommodation or specific
  accommodations of interest
• By other factors that may be important
• Ethnicity
• Socioeconomic status

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From NCEO analysis of APR data Thurlow et al.,
2008
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From NCEO analysis of APR data Thurlow et al.,
2008
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Policy Setting
Think about the need for changes each
year. States with Read Aloud Question Changes in
Policy comparing 2003 to 2005 and 2007
Number of States No changes since 2003 19 One
change since 2003 19 Two changes since 2003 12
From NCEO Data Viewer at http//data.nceo.info
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Constrain the Number of Students Using Certain
Accommodations
Examples from States

• Massachusetts
• Texas

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Massachusetts Read Aloud
Test Administrator Reads Aloud ELA Comprehension Test The test administrator reads the ELA Reading Comprehension test to a student. Note Reading aloud the ELA Composition writing prompt, or the Mathematics, Science and Technology/Engineering, and/or History and Social Science tests is standard accommodation 16. The decision to use nonstandard accommodation 26 must be made separately from the decision to use standard accommodation 16. The student has a specific disability that severely limits or prevents him or her from decoding text, or from comprehending decoded text, even after varied and repeated attempts to teach the student to do so. The student must be a virtual non-reader, not simply reading below grade level. The student has access to printed materials only through a reader, and/or is provided with spoken text on audiotape, CD, video, or other electronic format during routine instruction, except while the student is actually being taught to decode. The accommodation is documented in the students IEP or 504 plan, after the team has considered the conditions listed above and in Section C of this Chapter in determining whether the student is eligible for this accommodation.
Special Instructions All passages and test items must be read word-for-word, exactly as written. The test administrator may not provide assistance to the student regarding the meanings of words, intent of any test item, or responses to test items. The test administrator must read in a neutral tone, without emphasis on any terms, passages, or response options, and with no detectable changes in inflection. The test can be read aloud in one of the following ways, which must be specified in the IEP or 504 plan Test administrator reads entire test session (passages and test items) word-for-word exactly as written. OR Test administrator reads selected words, phrases, or sentences as directed by the student. The student points to the word, phrase, or sentence that he or she needs read aloud. Special Instructions All passages and test items must be read word-for-word, exactly as written. The test administrator may not provide assistance to the student regarding the meanings of words, intent of any test item, or responses to test items. The test administrator must read in a neutral tone, without emphasis on any terms, passages, or response options, and with no detectable changes in inflection. The test can be read aloud in one of the following ways, which must be specified in the IEP or 504 plan Test administrator reads entire test session (passages and test items) word-for-word exactly as written. OR Test administrator reads selected words, phrases, or sentences as directed by the student. The student points to the word, phrase, or sentence that he or she needs read aloud.
If the test is read aloud, it must be administered in a separate setting, either individually or to a small group (2-5 students). When reading aloud to a small group of students, follow the procedures outlined in the appendix. Reading aloud the ELA Reading Comprehension test to a student is nonstandard accommodation 26. Reading aloud other MCAS tests to a student is standard accommodation 16. If the test is read aloud, it must be administered in a separate setting, either individually or to a small group (2-5 students). When reading aloud to a small group of students, follow the procedures outlined in the appendix. Reading aloud the ELA Reading Comprehension test to a student is nonstandard accommodation 26. Reading aloud other MCAS tests to a student is standard accommodation 16.
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Texas Bundled Accommodations
Eligibility for Dyslexia Bundled Accommodations
A student who meets the following criteria is
eligible to receive the three bundled
accommodations on English or Spanish TAKS,
including TAKS (Accommodated), reading tests at
grades 36, or English TAKS, including TAKS
(Accommodated), reading tests at grades 7 and 8.
A student not receiving special education
services must be identified with dyslexia. A
student receiving special education services must
either be identified with dyslexia or have a
severe reading disability that exhibits the
characteristics of dyslexia, causing the student
to lack word-identification skills and to have
difficulty reading words in isolation. The
student must routinely receive accommodations in
classroom instruction and testing that address
the difficulties he or she has reading words in
isolation. Authority for Decision For a
student with dyslexia not receiving special
education services who meets both criteria above,
the decision to provide the bundled
accommodations must be made either by the
students placement committee as required by
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or
by the committee of knowledgeable persons as
outlined in The Dyslexia Handbook. In both of
these cases, the committees decision must be
documented in writing in accordance with district
policies and procedures.
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Figure 2. States with Written Guidelines for
Access Assistants in 2003 and 2005
Number of States
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Monitoring Accommodations

• Do decisions made by the IEP team get carried out
  on the day of testing?
• Do accommodations used during testing reflect
  to the extent appropriate accommodations that
  are used during instruction?
• Do accommodations get recorded properly on
  assessment forms?
• Etc!