Accommodations in testing: Law, policy and practice Diana Pullin, J.D., Ph.D. Boston College

What are the public policy goals for current education reform initiatives? For educating students with disabilities? (The problem of standardization versus individualization) What are the consequences of including students with disabilities in general education reform initiatives? What are the legal requirements concerning students with disabilities and education reform initiatives?

What are the legal requirements concerning participation of students with disabilities in state and national education reform initiatives?

Sources of law (federal): IDEA Section 504 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) Civil rights provisions protecting racial and language minorities Federal constitutional provisions (nondiscrimination and opportunity to learn)

Sources of law (state): State laws on special education Nondiscrimination on basis of disability State education reform laws Civil rights provisions protecting racial and language minorities State constitutional provisions (right to adequate education in some states)

IEP considerations under IDEA: …evaluations for progress in general curriculum …team membership includes general curriculum expertise and regular classroom teacher …describe participation in general curriculum and how to make progress …describe assessment participation

What about 504 students?

IEP or 504 team decides participation, individual accommodations and modifications but… State decides rules for making assessments valid, reliable, consistent with professional and technical standards

Defining and documenting disability Determining participation in accountability testing … general testing … testing with accommodations … alternate testing … no testing?

The nondiscrimination requirements of federal (and some state) laws eligibility for nondiscrimination protections “reasonable accommodations”

What is “reasonable”? The principal of “leveling the playing field” The principal of “undue burden”

Accommodated assessments Determining reasonable accommodations * Consider the classification and its consequences … for the individual … for the accountability system

Accommodated assessments Determining reasonable accommodations * Consider the impact on test validity * Consider the impact on test reliability

What are the appropriate ways to utilize accommodated assessments in public accountability systems?

Fair warning: An appropriate accommodation is not universal. . . . . . an accommodation in a classroom,state or local test may not mean the same treatment for other types of standardized K-12 tests, like admissions tests or AP tests.

References: American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, National Council on Measurement in Education (AERA/APA/NCME) (1999). Standards on educational and psychological testing. Washington, D.C.: American Educational Research Association. Pullin, D. (2005). When one size does not fit all-The special challenges of accountability testing for students with disabilities. Uses and Misuses of Data for Educational Accountability and Improvement (E. Haertel and J. Herman, eds.). Annual Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. 104:2, pp 199-222). Thurlow, M., Elliott, J., and Ysseldyke, J. (2003). Testing students with disabilities: Practical strategies for complying with district and state requirements (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press. U.S. Department of Education (2005, May 10). Flexibility for states raising achievement for students with disabilities.