Crawford, L., & Tindal, G. (2004). Effects of a read-aloud modification on a standardized reading test . Exceptionality , 12 (2), 89–106. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327035ex1202_3

The accommodation studied was actually termed a "modification"—read-aloud, as presented through video, on a reading comprehension test.

A total of 338 students in grades 4 and 5 participated, from schools across two states: North Carolina and Oregon (U.S.). Of these participants, 76 students—22% of the sample—were identified with disabilities, chiefly learning disabilities (n=35), but also included students with intellectual disabilities, speech/language disabilities, emotional/behavioral disabilities, hearing impairments, other health impairments, and multiple disabilities. Data on sex and ethnicity, as well as grade level, were also reported.

Reading comprehension as measured by a standardized reading test (state assessment released items) formed the dependent variable. Additionally, teachers rated students' reading proficiency according to a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 being least proficient.

All participants performed better in the read-aloud through video presentation condition, with most students with disabilities benefiting more than students without disabilities. Moreover, a differential boost occurred for most students with disabilities: 33% had a 5-point score improvement in the video presentation condition, and only 5% of students with disabilities had a decrease in score in this experimental condition. In contrast, only 13% of students without disabilities had a similar 5-point increase, and about 2% had a similar score decrease. Additionally, a crosswise analysis of teachers' judgments of student proficiency against actual scores yielded that a substantial number of low-rated students actually performed better than expected. Also, teachers overestimated the number of students who would benefit from the video presentation. Other effects of teacher judgment were also reported. Finally, limitations of the study and its implications in the research context were indicated.