Mick, L. B. (1989). Measurement effects of modifications in minimum competency test formats for exceptional students . Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development , 22 (1), 31–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481756.1990.12022909

Journal Article

Mick, L. B. (1989). Measurement effects of modifications in minimum competency test formats for exceptional students. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 22(1), 31–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481756.1990.12022909

Tags

Enlarged print (on paper); High school; Intellectual disabilities; Layout/organization of test items; Learning disabilities; Mark answer in test booklet; Multiple accommodations; Multiple content; Reading

Summary

Accommodation

An unmodified test was compared to a modified test which had: enlarged print (14 point), unjustified lines, and mark responses in booklet (not on bubble sheet).

Participants

The study included 85 secondary students in special education: 36 with learning disabilities (29 boys and 7 girls ages 15-0 to 17-5 and IQs of 75-109); 40 with intellectual disabilities (26 boys and 19 girls ages 15-1 to 18-8 and IQs of 42-84).

Dependent Variable

The dependent measure was the Virginia Minimum Competency Test: IOX Basic Skill Reading Secondary level: Understanding Safety Warnings, Completing Forms and Applications, Using Common Reference Forms, Determining Main Ideas, and Using Documents to take Action.

Findings

Students with learning disabilities (LD) and intellectual disabilities (ID) performed significantly better on the unmodified test than on the modified test: 17 students with LD passed the unmodified version and 13 passed the modified version, and 2 students with ID passed the unmodified version and 2 passed the modified version.