Elliott, S. N., Kratochwill, T. R., McKevitt, B. C., & Malecki, C. K. (2009). The effects and perceived consequences of testing accommodations on math and science performance assessments . School Psychology Quarterly , 24 (4), 224–239. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018000

Journal Article

Elliott, S. N., Kratochwill, T. R., McKevitt, B. C., & Malecki, C. K. (2009). The effects and perceived consequences of testing accommodations on math and science performance assessments. School Psychology Quarterly, 24(4), 224–239. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018000

Notes

Also available on journal webpage at http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/spq/24/4/224.pdf

Tags

Clarify directions; Educator survey; Elementary; Enlarged print (on paper); Examiner familiarity; Extended time; K-12; Learning disabilities; Math; Multiple accommodations; Multiple content; No disability; Oral delivery; Oral delivery of directions only; Oral delivery, live/in-person; Paraphrasing; Prompting; Science; Specialized setting; Student reads aloud (to self); U.S. context

URL

https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/spq/

Summary

Accommodation

Accommodations included those specified by the IEPs of students with disabilities—which included extended time, read-aloud directions, examiner familiar to student, and re-reading instructions on subtasks, among others, as well as others recommended by teachers additionally for use with the performance tasks—and accommodations recommended for students without disabilities by teachers, also reported in detail. Another "standard package" of accommodations—including read-aloud directions, paraphrase directions, verbal encouragement, and extended time—formed an accommodations condition studied.

Participants

A total of 218 grade 4 students from various districts in Wisconsin (U.S.) participated. Of these participants, 73 had disabilities; most had learning disabilities and the remaining students with a variety of disabilities were combined into one group for the purposes of the study. Additionally, 8 practitioners and professors provided support as expert reviewers of study elements.

Dependent Variable

Scoring on Wisconsin Student Assessment System performance tests on mathematics and science was one of the dependent variables. Another data source was the Assessment Accommodations Checklist (AAC) which was completed by expert reviewers after observing videotapes of the students' test-taking behaviors.

Findings

Results of an alternating treatments design and data analyses yielded that most students receiving accommodations—both those with (78%) and without disabilities (55%)—scored better on the performance tasks. Further, students without disabilities did not score differently in the recommended-accommodations condition or the "standard package" condition. Additionally, expert reviewers rated accommodations both valid and fair for students with and without disabilities. Further, there were slightly higher ratings for those accommodations specified by the IEPs, and consistently low ratings for those accommodations that were apparently not planned in advance.