Cawthon, S., Leppo, R., Carr, T., & Kopriva, R. (2013). Toward accessible assessments: the promises and limitations of test item adaptions for students with disabilities and English language learners . Educational Assessment , 18 (2), 73–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2013.789294

3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students who are identified as English language learners from a southern state in the U.S.

Findings suggest that the adapted items impact different student groups (e.g., students with learning disabilities, students who are deaf or hard of hearing, ELs, control group) in different ways.The standard assessment items were relatively difficult for all students. The control group performed similarly on both standard and adapted items. Overall, students who were deaf and hard of hearing, scored higher on the adapted items than English learners and students with learning disabilities. However, at some grade levels, the mean percentage of items correct for ELs was higher on the standard items compared to the adapted items and in other cases performance was higher on the adapted items. Results suggest that without more data to support or question expert judgments about the effectiveness of adaptations, there are no guarantees that adapted items in and of themselves will result in performances that can be defensibly interpreted.