1. Melissa Gholson, Ed.D. June 28, 2017
Accessibility, Accommodations and Assessment: Innovation, Strategies, Data Systems and Research
June 28, 2017

2. Fairness, Bias Validity and Test Design
Fairness and accessibility should be part of test design and is integrated throughout all development stages.
Developing theories of action that include a lens of fairness as part of the planning and evaluation (both short & long term).
Cycling perspectives of accessibility and fairness as part of validity evidence and in all activities.
States often do not participate in the development stages and the follow-up evaluation once an assessment is implemented.

3. Purpose & System Design
A Systems
Perspective
Research, Evaluation and Data Governance
Accountability & Peer Review
Requirements
Policies & Participation Guidelines
WVEIS
Data Systems & Processes
IEP, 504, LEP and SAT Plans
Monitoring & Data Process: WVS 326
WV has a strong commitment to improving outcomes and for providing access for all learners. A model of our system and the way we have built and review our system is shown here. We have committed to a continuous improvement model have attended to accessibility and issues of fairness as part of our state system.

4. Policies & Peer Review Participation Guidelines
WV builds technical adequacy by a strong adherence to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing as well as identifying supporting practices that meet or exceed educational peer review for state assessment systems. Our Participation Guidelines has a strong research base and we review annually with a strong stakeholder guidance to meet the needs of a variety of students with a diversity of access needs.
Participation Guidelines

5. OELA Grant
WV participates in grants in order to support a continuous improvement process. Describe this grant and how it supports our focus on the instruction-assessment connection.

6. Enhanced Assessment Grants
Diamond Project-Closing the Accessibility Gap: Making Data-Informed Decisions for All Students is an EAG that will allow WV to identify what educators need to inform supports and accommodations decisions, including professional development and collaboration. This grant provides accommodations data for analysis so that our state does not bear the burden of cost as well supporting our research process and how we can always improve our system.
These projects provide opportunity: :
Opportunity to collaborate and support a commitment to access for all students.
Opportunity to focus on improving decision-making at the individual student level.
Opportunity to evaluate perceptions from the field.
Opportunity to improve our processes and tools to better support the field.
ALTELLA- The goal of the ALTELLA project is to develop a strong foundation to build an alternate assessment of English Language Proficiency for ELLS with SCD. This grant assists WV in making informed decisions about how to design assessments based on best practices.

7. Accommodations
In West Virginia, protecting the privacy of student data is a very serious matter. In fact, there are multiple protections in place that outline the roles and responsibilities of educational staff across the state. In addition to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) - the federal law that all State Education Agencies, districts, and schools must follow—West Virginia has three other formal layers of protection for students. In March of 2014 the Student Data Accessibility, Transparency and Accountability Act (also called the Student DATA Act, introduced as HB 4316) was passed, which outlines rules and responsibilities of the WVDE, districts and schools with regard to managing student data and privacy. The WV Board of Education Policy 4350 also outlines our responsibilities, and the WVDE Data Access and Management Guidance describes the standard operating procedures followed with regard to protecting student data.
An SLDS is a state-level data system that maintains educationally related information about students over time. The West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS), which has been used since 1990, is West Virginia's SLDS. With more than two decades of experience with WVEIS, West Virginia has been one of the leaders in the nation in developing and maintaining an SLDS. WVEIS keeps track of students' education records from the time they enter school in the state through their graduation (or a move out of state). Regardless of where in the state a student enrolls, their information is maintained in WVEIS. ZoomWV is taking the information already stored in WVEIS and making it available — in a secure way — for better educational decision making.
West Virginia's new tool for organizing and reporting educational information about public schools in the Mountain State. ZoomWV uses our underlying State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS), also known as WVEIS, to serve as the state's single source for high-quality, accurate, and accessible educational information.

8. Data System Supports Accommodations 14 Application
An SLDS is a state-level data system that maintains educationally related information about students over time. The West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS), which has been used since 1990, is West Virginia's SLDS. With more than two decades of experience with WVEIS, West Virginia has been one of the leaders in the nation in developing and maintaining an SLDS. WVEIS keeps track of students' education records from the time they enter school in the state through their graduation (or a move out of state). Regardless of where in the state a student enrolls, their information is maintained in WVEIS. ZoomWV is taking the information already stored in WVEIS and making it available — in a secure way — for better educational decision making.
Here is how to access ACCM.14 in WOW. The slides demonstrate the application for reviewing accessibility and having the capacity to request students individually, by class, school or accommodation type for both general and alternate assessment. This display includes sorting of the various plan types for programmatic support. This application has now become part of our WVEIS data system.
Accommodations
14 Application
Identify data fields available within your system.

9. State Assessment Accommodations Data
Paper Reports
Live Data in Zoom
Another improvement made last year was in the area of accommodations reports. Old reports were delivered in PDF batches to districts. District reports and access to accessibility provision data is now available in Zoom WV private data site and includes a variety of search features and comparisons.

10. ZOOM WVe: Data Analysis Tools
ZoomWV is West Virginia's new tool for organizing and reporting educational information about public schools in the Mountain State. ZoomWV uses our underlying State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS), also known as WVEIS, to serve as the state's single source for high-quality, accurate, and accessible educational information.
Maintaining data privacy for suppression of low n counts or cell sizes on the public vs private site.

11. Using the Data
TTS including Passages
Read Aloud Including Passages

12. Other Uses

13. Future Directions
Electronic capture within a test platform during the assessment for the provision of accommodations. This would replace our WVS 326 monitoring form and we would have a complete electronic system.
Emphasis on supports and accommodations for instruction-assessment connection.
Future capture of all aspects of accommodations provision (practice, diagnostic and interims) for each student.
Automatic electronic assignment to test administrator at the beginning of the test administration for monitoring provision of use during and evaluation of need and impact.
Better data quality.
Assures instructional practice of tools and supports and documents use and effectiveness.
What is my dream? A totally electronic process would be possible fi we can provide monitoring of the provision online during test administration by test administrators for each student by having our WVS 326 plan online during test administration including practice tests, interims and summative testing.