Fletcher, J. M., Francis, D. J., Boudousquie, A., Copeland, K., Young, V., Kalinowski, S., & Vaughn, S. (2006). Effects of accommodations on high-stakes testing for students with reading disabilities . Exceptional Children , 72 (2), 136–150. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440290607200201

This study was designed to test the interaction hypothesis which proposes that valid test accommodations—oral delivery (read-aloud, live and in-person) of proper nouns and comprehension stems—benefit only those with disabilities.

The participants (n=182) were 3rd graders who were dyslexic (50%) or average readers (50%) in the same classrooms from six school districts in southeast Texas (U.S.).

The participants were randomly assigned to take the same version of the Texas reading accountability assessment under accommodated and standard administrations. The accommodated administration was given in 2 sessions with oral reading of proper nouns and comprehension stems.

Only students with decoding problems benefited from the accommodations, showing a significant increase in average performance and a seven-fold increase in the odds of passing the test. These results supported the interaction hypothesis, showing that accommodations designed for a clearly defined academic disability can enhance performance on a high-stakes assessment. Limitations of the study were reported, and future research possibilities were suggested.