Stone, E., Cook, L., & Laitusis, C. (2013). Evaluation of a condition-adaptive test of reading comprehension for students with reading-based learning disabilities (ETS Research Report No. RR-13-20). ETS. https://www.ets.org/research/policy_research_reports/publications/report/2013/jrki.html

doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2333-8504.2013.tb02327.x

The adaptation to this reading comprehension assessment was oral delivery presented by an audio (MP3) player for students with reading-based learning disabilities.

Extant data were analyzed from 275 students with reading-based learning disabilities and 486 students without learning disabilities in grade 8 classrooms in 26 schools throughout Massachusetts (U.S.).

Scores from a state reading comprehension condition-adaptive test were analyzed for the assessment's potential to address both needs of supporting students and attending to accountability requirements. Included in the test was an oral reading fluency subtest designed to measure decoding skills. Participants responded to surveys about their assessment experiences.

The researchers confirmed that the two-stage condition-adaptive assessment format would facilitate measuring both decoding and comprehension components in a manner that addresses the needs of both supporting students with reading-based learning disabilities and obtaining valid scores not affected by construct validity concerns. In other words, the provision of oral delivery accommodations for reading passages (for assessing comprehension) did not complicate the capacity of the testing system to separately obtain oral reading fluency scores from students with reading-based learning disabilities (who read passages aloud using headsets with microphones). Students with reading-based learning disabilities who responded to the study survey indicated that the oral delivery accommodation provided via MP3 player met their needs, and about 70% of them reported having used oral delivery for the entire test (with about 16% using oral delivery for most test items). These students also indicated that they felt they scored better on the accommodated test than the non-accommodated test. Most (57%) also noted that they have typically received oral delivery by an in-person reader, with only 12% having used an MP3 player and 6% using CD or tape players, and only 1% using computer-administered (text-to-speech) software. Limitations of the study were reported, and future research directions were suggested.