Ziomek, R. L., & Andrews, K. M. (1998). ACT assessment score gains of special-tested students who tested at least twice . National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Kansas State University. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED426108

Research Report (ERIC doc. reproduction service no. ED426108)
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED426108.pdf

The study's goal was to investigate the scores of students with disabilities who took the ACT Assessment at least twice, and at least once under extended-time guidelines.

Investigation studied three groups. The first group was composed of students who tested at least twice under extended-time guidelines (n= 3,410). The second group initially tested under standard time limits and then retested under extended-time guidelines (n=3,439). The third group of students initially tested under extended-time guidelines and then retested under standard time guidelines (n=439). There were no specific disabilities provided, only that the participants utilized the extended-time accommodation.

ACT Assessment Composite Scores (extant assessment data) formed the dependent variable.

Of the three groups of students, the second group had the largest ACT Composite score gain of 3.2 scale score points. The third group of students had an average ACT Composite score decline of 0.6 scale score points. The first group had an average scale score gain of 0.9 points, which is similar to that of students who tested twice under standard-time limits. The results of the study raise two important questions: (1) Do students with disabilities benefit from taking the ACT Assessment under extended time? (2) What do these results suggest regarding the 'flagging' of test scores of students who have been provided extended time as a testing accommodation? The latter issue is directly related to the concern over comparability of test scores between standard and nonstandard administrations.