Dembitzer, L., & Kettler, R. J. (2023). Universally designed accommodations on a reading comprehension test: What do they accomplish ? Assessment for Effective Intervention , 49 (1), 18–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/15345084231170317

The practice of providing “universal test accommodations” was investigated. The researchers analyzed the impact of providing two accommodations as universal features for all students: (a) oral delivery of reading passages and test items via text-to-speech question and passage read aloud and (b) 50% more time.

A total of 131 students with and without disabilities in grade 12, from three high schools in New Jersey (U.S.) participated. The student participants were identified as having functional impairments in reading fluency (n=44), being at risk of having functional impairments in reading (n=2), or not having any functional impairments in reading (n=83). Researchers did not use disability categories when identifying participants. Demographic information was reported.

The testing platform was evaluated for accessibility using the TAMI-ARM (Beddow et al., 2009). Participants were screened for reading difficulties using a researcher-developed measure adapted from 12th grade–level passages from Bader Reading and Language Inventory, Fifth Edition (Bader, 2005). Participants completed a reading comprehension test administered in two forms, under two conditions (accommodated and non-accommodated). Each form included two passages—one expository and one story text— and 26 multiple-choice questions that were adapted from the NAEP public item bank. Participants also completed a researcher-created survey to collect student perceptions of the usefulness of the features and their overall experiences.

Researchers found that the provided accommodations mitigated student access issues related to reading fluency and allowed students to access items on the target skill of reading comprehension. Researchers reported that when the text-to-speech and extended time accommodations were offered universally, students with functional reading impairments accessed and used the accommodations significantly more frequently than students without functional reading impairments. In general, students had positive perceptions of the availability of the accommodations, though many chose not to use them.