In recent years there has been a boom in standardized testing in American schools. Students are being assessed in reading, math, science, social studies for state and school district standards used to demonstrate compliance with No Child Left Behind, along with NCLB tests. Students also receive graduation tests, tests to advance in school progression (ie, a student must pass this test before advancing to the next grade level).
With the increasing number of tests being given to students where the results weigh heavily on the school, school districts, or individual student performance, where do students with disabilities fit in this mix? Where are especially the students with assistive technology or augmentative communication? Federal law requires states and school districts to include students with disabilities in large-scale assessments and to report their scores publicly, in a disaggregated way, as a way to determine how well schools are serving these students. This is a system responsibility issue. However, federal law does not say whether states or school districts must impose high-stakes consequences for individual students with disabilities who fail large-scale tests. In other words, while federal law mandates participation in large-scale testing and the public reporting of disaggregated scores, it is up to states to decide whether large-scale testing will result in high-risk individual consequences and, if so, for which students (Heubert, 2002).
Accommodations can be granted to students with disabilities without losing the standardization of the test. An accommodation is considered any change to the standard test format to assess an individual’s abilities, rather than their
disabilities Although allowable accommodations vary, they generally fall into one of four categories:
o Presentation (eg, instructions/questions read aloud, large print).
o Response (eg, use of a scribe).
o Environment (small groups or individual tests, study cubicle).
o Time/schedule (extended time, extra breaks; Wahburn-Moses, 2003)
IDEA requires the IEP team to document any accommodations in the student’s Individualized Education Plan. As Washburn-Moses (2003) put it: “The IEP team
must focus on the student’s individual strengths, weaknesses, and learning characteristics, and refrain from basing its decision on the student’s disability
current level or location. Team members should consider only those accommodations the student uses during classroom instruction and testing, rather than introducing new accommodations specifically for use on the state test (Thurlow et al.). is extremely
It is important to document in the IEP the team’s decision regarding accommodations, as well as the rationale for that decision.”
Dunne (2002), stated in an Education World article, “In Wisconsin, students with disabilities are allowed to make test accommodations so that more people can take the test. Accommodations include more time to take a test, the using a scribe to write the answers, and using a reader to read the directions and questions aloud Those types of accommodations will allow about 85 percent of students with disabilities to participate in the State Assessment System of Wisconsin, according to a study authored by Eva M. Kubinski at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Research in Education.
For those students who cannot be assessed, even with accommodations, the state developed an alternate performance indicator linked to state standards for schools to use to assess the 2 percent of Wisconsin students with severe disabilities or limited proficiency from English, Kubinski wrote in his article. “
What does this mean for students with assistive technology or AAC? According to the research found, having an assistive technology device would allow an IEP team to determine if accommodations were needed on standardized tests. Each student is as unique as their assistive technology device and therefore it can be said that each student will present different circumstances when it comes to assessment in the school environment. Under IDEA, as noted above, the IEP team must determine what accommodations need to be made for the student to be successful on the test. These accommodations must be written into the student’s IEP.
Since students using AT/AAC vary greatly and many have underlying issues as to why they have AAC devices, such as other confusing disabilities. It is important that the IEP determine whether the device the student uses to communicate will be part of the standardized testing accommodation or if it is not required. It will be important to determine that and then prepare the student to know whether or not she will be able to use the device during the test. This is especially important if the device cannot be used during the test, since this is the voice of the students.
IEP teams must work to find the best accommodations for the student to be successful, there are several ways to do this, including Dynamic Assessment of Evidence.
Accommodations (DATA), which helps teachers determine which students
benefit from which accommodation.
Based on the information provided, it can be concluded that each student case will be very different, but in general, each student who qualifies for special education, including those who use assistive technology or augmentative communication devices, may qualify for special accommodations of standardized tests that allow those students to complete the tests with reasonable scores.
References
Dunne, D. (2000). Are high-stakes exams punishing some students? Weekly Education 34(1) 32-35.
Heubert, JP (2002). Disability, race, and high-risk testing of students. NVC. 4(1) 38-45.
Sindelar, T., Hager, R. & Smith, D. (2003). High-risk assessment standards for students with disabilities. Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc.
Washburn-Moses, L. (2003). What every special educator should know about high-stakes testing. Teaching Exceptional Children 35(4) 12-15.
