Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Analysis of Current Characteristics of State Reading Assessments Christopher Johnstone National Center on Educational Outcomes University of Minnesota

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Methods Document review of state reading assessments to determine themes found in state test blueprints and test specifications Reviewed 38 states that published blueprints or test specifications on the World Wide Web for Grades 4 and 8.

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Test specifications and blueprints Terms often used interchangeably Test specifications outline: – statistical specifications (the weight of each test item, the number of items, and the difficulty level) – content specifications (describes content to be covered), and – item specifications Blueprints contain outline: –desired test objectives, topics, or tasks –subtopics to be covered (within major performance standards) –rank order of topics by importance.

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Results Results were organized into two major themes: –the purpose of the test (the constructs or standards assessed) –the breakdown of the tests (the number of items, the type of items, and the number of items dedicated to each construct or standard).

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Constructs assessed Foundational skills (including vocabulary, word identification, word analysis, word structure, and fluency) Comprehension (including general understanding, main idea, comprehension strategies, literal comprehension, comprehension of literary and informational text) Analyze and interpret text (including analysis of text, interpretation of text, extending meaning of text, and critical literacy)

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Purpose (Construct)Grade 4 % __Grade 8 % Foundational skills Vocabulary3737 Word identification2416 Word analysis1313 Fluency88 Comprehension Reading comprehension5558 Comprehension: literary text2626 Comprehension: expository text2129 Analysis and interpretation Analysis and interpretation (general)2626 Analysis: literary text2932 Analysis: expository text2424 Percentage of States with Constructs

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Mean Percent of Items by Construct (across states)

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Grade 4 item types (mean percentage of items)

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Grade 8 item types (mean percentage of items)

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment General Conclusions Comprehension constructs are found most frequently across states. Within states, comprehension and analysis constructs are tested, on average, with twice as many items as foundational constructs. On average, there are 8-9 times as many multiple choice items as constructed response (timing of items was not found in data)

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Implications for students with disabilities Accommodations that address disability- specific issues related to foundational skills, comprehension, and analysis. Issues related to multiple choice tests. Elements of assessment that improve accessibility but do not change constructs assessed.

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment NARAP Research Read aloud accommodation research (related to comprehension constructs) (Cahalan et al., 2006) Multiple choice test studies: Distractor analysis and distractor experimental studies (Abedi et al., 2006). Discrepancy and accessibility surveys (Moen et al., 2006).

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Research Results Results will be used to inform general principles of accessible assessment (to be developed collaboratively between PARA and DARA). Results will also be used to inform the development of testlets or sample items to be used in experimental research.