Beattie, S. (1982). The effect of physical test format modifications on the performance of third grade mildly handicapped and normal students (Publication No. 8302206) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Florida]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Test modifications consisted of alterations in line lengths, inclusion of examples, the use of boldface type for emphasis, placement of answer bubbles, and the arrangement of items in a hierarchy of progressive difficulty.

Participants included 80 third grade students randomly selected from 4 populations (i.e., students without disabilities, students with learning disabilities (LD), students with emotional disabilities, and students with intellectual disabilities.

The students were administered either the modified or the standard test.

Overall test scores were found to be significantly higher on the modified test than on the standardized test. The findings also showed that students performed significantly higher on the modified subtest incorporating the introduction of examples. Performance scores for students without disabilities, with emotional handicaps, and with learning disabilities were similar; whereas scores for students with intellectual disabilities were consistently lower. Results from a post hoc analysis revealed that performance scores on the modified test surpassed mastery criteria for 32 percent of the sub-skill sections failed by the students taking the standardized version. (see also Beattie, Grise, & Algozzine, 1983; Grise, Beattie, & Algozzine, 1982)