Page 3: Instructional Versus Testing Accommodations
As explained previously, accommodations help students with disabilities to access instruction and to demonstrate their learning. These accommodations are included in a student’s individual education program (IEP) or 504 plan. As discussed below, these accommodations can be implemented during instruction and testing.
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individualized education program (IEP)
A written plan used to delineate an individual student’s current level of development and his or her learning goals, as well as to specify any accommodations, modifications, and related services that a student might need to attend school and maximize his or her learning.
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504 plan
A plan that specifies the accommodations and modifications necessary for a student with a disability to attend school with her or his peers; named for Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities, ensuring that children with disabilities have equal access to public education; students with 504 plans do not meet the eligibility requirements for special education under IDEA.
Instruction
Examples of Instructional Accommodations
- Large print
- Assistive listening device
- Repeated or paraphrased instructions
- Pencil grip
Instructional accommodations are changes to the delivery of classroom instruction or the accompanying materials. Instructional accommodations change how students learn but do not change what they learn. In other words, they do not alter the scope or range of the grade-level academic content standards, nor do they change the complexity of the knowledge students are expected to learn. Students with disabilities who use instructional accommodations are required to learn the same content at the same level of proficiency as their peers who do not use instructional accommodations.
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academic content standards
An instructional outline delineating what students should know, understand, and be able to do in specified content areas throughout the course of their K–12 education; a definition of the breadth and depth of knowledge, skills, and processes that are to be taught in a given domain; sometimes simply referred to as academic standards or content standards.
Example
Rae, a student with a learning disability (LD), struggles to identify and remember important information. To address this barrier, any time her science teacher uses a handout (digital or hardcopy) in class, she provides one to Rae with the key information already highlighted.
Because students experience changing demands throughout the school day, accommodations are likely to differ from one class setting to another. For instance, just because Rae benefits from the accommodation outlined above in her science class does not mean that she will necessarily require it in algebra.
For Your Information
The implementation of certain kinds of technology as well as instructional practices or frameworks like differentiated instruction or Universal Design for Learning (UDL) not only allow teachers to enhance learning for all students, they also inherently address many of the learning barriers faced by students with disabilities.
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differentiated instruction
An approach whereby teachers adjust their curriculum and instruction to maximize the learning of all students: average learners, English language learners, struggling students, students with learning disabilities, and gifted and talented students; not a single strategy but rather a framework that teachers can use to implement a variety of strategies, many of which are evidence-based.
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Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
A research-based framework for teachers to incorporate flexible materials, techniques, and strategies for delivering instruction and for students to demonstrate their knowledge in a variety of ways.
Recall that Aliyah has muscular dystrophy. As a result, she struggles with handwriting and becomes fatigued if she is required to write for long periods of time. Compare how the teachers below, one of which uses traditional instruction and one who incorporates UDL, address Aliyah’s barriers.
| Aliyah’s Barriers | Accommodations in Language Arts (Traditional Instruction) | Accommodations in Science (UDL) |
| Handwriting | Allowing her to complete assignments on a computer | Because her teacher incorporates UDL, all students have access to computers to complete assignments. |
| Fatigue | Allowing frequent breaks during writing assignments | Allowing frequent breaks during writing assignments |
Because the language arts teacher requires students to handwrite in-class assignments, he must provide an accommodation to address Aliyah’s handwriting barrier. However, the science teacher has essentially already addressed this barrier by allowing students to complete in-class assignments using a computer. Additionally, because other students in the science class may choose to complete assignments on the computer, any stigma that might be attached to this accommodation is eliminated or minimized.
When educators implement current technology and practices that enhance learning for all students, the discussion regarding accommodations needed to meet the needs of individual students may change. Listen as Candace Cortiella discusses this further (time: 1:15).
Candace Cortiella
Director, The Advocacy Institute
Washington, DC
View Transcript
Transcript: Candace Cortiella
We need to talk about accommodations in a whole different context, and that new context is what we are able to do with all the current technology, Universal Design for Learning, and personalized learning? If we are leveraging all of those things in a classroom, before we start talking about what each kid needs based on their disability, you’re going to have a very different discussion, and you’re going to have a discussion that results in needing to do, quite honestly, a lot less for specific students. But also you’re going to enhance the learning for everybody, which is what personalized learning is all about. You’re also going to eliminate or minimize the stigma that has been attached to providing accommodations for students with disabilities in classroom and testing settings. We know from the research and from studying this issue for years, it’s the stigma that makes the students refuse to use the accommodations, especially in middle and high school when they become much more aware of what’s going on.
For more information on differentiated instruction and Universal Design for Learning view the following IRIS Modules:
- Differentiated Instruction: Maximizing the Learning of All Students
- Universal Design for Learning: Designing Learning Experiences That Engage and Challenge All Students
Testing
Examples of Testing Accommodations
- Having test read aloud
- Extended time
- Permitting scribes or dictation
- Testing in a small-group setting
Testing accommodations are changes to the format of a test (e.g., providing a test in large print) or its administration procedures (e.g., permitting extended time to complete the test). Testing accommodations change how students are tested but do not change what a test measures. Students with disabilities who receive testing accommodations are required to take the same assessment and reach the same level of proficiency as students who do not use them.
When they administer tests, educators should understand the difference between target skills and access skills. Target skills refer to the knowledge or skills being assessed (e.g., mathematics computation, reading comprehension). Access skills are those skills needed to complete the assessment, although they are not specifically being measured. For example, to complete a written test in science (target skill), a student must know how to read (access skill). Although reading fluency is not being measured, this skill is necessary for the student to demonstrate his knowledge of the science content. By providing a testing accommodation for this student (e.g., a human reader), the teacher can more accurately assess the student’s skills or content knowledge.
Listen as Ryan Kettler discusses this issue in more detail. Further, he discusses that though testing accommodations provide a student with a disability better access to the curriculum, such access does not automatically equate to higher scores on tests or better grades on class assignments. Even with the help of accommodations, the student may not understand the content and successfully demonstrate his or her knowledge (time: 3:39).
Ryan Kettler, PhD
Associate Professor
Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
Rutgers University
View Transcript
Transcript: Ryan Kettler, PhD
Basically, it’s any change made to a test or the way the test is administered in order to overcome an impairment that a student has that keeps them from being able to take the test, that yields a score that we can use, a score that represents their ability level on the knowledge or skills that are being targeted by the test. Students with disabilities often have functional impairments that keep them from being able to show what they know and what they can do on a test the same way that students without disabilities can show what they know and what they can do on a test. Any test that you would take has a skill that’s being targeted, whether it be algebra or biology or reading comprehension. But it also has a number of skills that aren’t specifically being measured or targeted by the test but are still necessary in order for the student to take the test, and those are called access skills.
What happens is, if a student doesn’t meet the minimal level on those access skills, they’re not able to show what they know and can do on the target skill. So think of this algebra test that has these long story problems written at grade level, and a student that doesn’t read at grade level is taking the test, trying to show what she or he knows and can do in algebra. If the student can’t read the test, the score is not going to reflect their algebra ability. It’s going to reflect a deficit in reading. We want to make the test score as reflective of ability on the target skill, in this case algebra, as we can. I may prescribe an accommodation that the student have a read-aloud accommodation. So either the computer voiceover reads the test aloud to him, or a person sits with him and reads the test. That accommodation is put in place so that I can get a better score indicating what the student knows or can do, but that accommodation is not intended to remediate the student’s reading problem. So I think that what’s important to clarify is that accommodations are not an intervention.
When we give accommodations on tests, the end goal is not necessarily to make students’ scores higher. The end goal is to make students’ scores more accurately reflective of their abilities on that targeted skills and knowledge. In many cases, because we are addressing these functional impairments that are lowering students’ scores, they are going to score higher when we give them greater access. But sometimes, if you’re delivering an appropriate accommodation, the student will have more access, but he won’t get a higher score because he actually doesn’t have the knowledge or the skills that are being tested.
We want scores that reflect that knowledge or skills or reflect the lack of that knowledge or skills. So, in terms of access, the thing that I think is really important to know is that when we improve access the scores won’t always go up. We’re not just trying to give more success. We’re trying to give better access to take the test the same way students who don’t have disabilities take the test. And the access to taking a test is the opportunity to have that test accurately reflect what a person knows or can do.
Activity
Let’s revisit the students from the previous page. For each student, identify the target skill being assessed and the access skill required to demonstrate the target skill. Type your answers in the provided field.
| Danica, a student with LD, struggles with organizing ideas and providing supporting details in writing assignments. To assess the class at the end of the unit on the solar system, her science teacher gives an exam consisting of five essay questions. | The skill being assessed is knowledge of the solar system. The access skill is organizing ideas and providing supporting details on writing assignments. |
| Brody, a 6th-grade student with ADHD, has difficulty organizing his time. His social studies teacher is giving a chapter test on important battles of World War I and will allow the students 30 minutes to complete it. | The skill being assessed is knowledge of World War I. The access skill is time-management. |
| Aliyah, a middle school student with muscular dystrophy, often experiences physical fatigue. She has an upcoming test on Number the Stars in which she will be required to write a detailed analysis of the main character with supporting evidence from the text. | The skill being assessed is the ability to use supporting evidence to back up claims. The access skill is handwriting. |
| Ahmed, a high school student with an intellectual disability, reads at a 2nd-grade level. The standardized assessment he will take in the spring will require him to read passages and identify key information. | The skill being assessed is the ability to identify key information in a text passage. The access skill is reading, which includes decoding, fluency, and comprehension. |
Being able to differentiate between target skills and access skills is critical for determining the types of testing accommodations that will allow a student the opportunity to demonstrate his or her knowledge and skills. Recall that testing accommodations change how students are tested but do not change what a test measures. Read on to learn more about classroom and standardized assessment accommodations.
Classroom Assessments
When it comes to tests and assessments, how teachers administer them will of course significantly affect the kinds of accommodations a student or students might require. For students taking a test on a computer, barriers may be addressed through common features such as the ability to enlarge onscreen text. For students completing paper-based assessments, teachers will need to provide the necessary accommodations (e.g., enlarged text). In either case, teachers need to be familiar with the testing accommodations listed in a student’s IEP or 504 plan and be diligent about providing them.
Standardized Assessments
Recent years have seen a shift in the way standardized tests are administered, from a paper to an online format. This shift has allowed for universally designed assessments, which incorporate digital tools and features that increase accessibility for all students and eliminate obstacles often encountered by students with disabilities (as well as other students such as English language learners). A number of states now use a multi-tiered approach that allows students to access the content. Typically, this incorporates three levels of accessibility:
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universally designed assessments
Tests that incorporate universal design features (e.g., simple, clear, and intuitive instructions and procedures; maximum readability and comprehensibility) as a means to make tests more accessible for all students, including students with disabilities and English language learners.
Universal features: Accessibility features available to all participating students. These supports may be embedded and provided digitally (e.g., zooming to enlarge text), or they may be non-embedded and provided at the local level (e.g., scratch paper).
Designated features: Accessibility features that any student can use as long as they are decided upon by an informed educator or team of educators prior to testing. Embedded digital supports at this accessibility level include color contrast, while non-embedded supports include magnification devices.
Accommodations: Accessibility supports that are limited to student with disabilities and, in some cases, ELLs. Embedded digital accommodations include text-to-speech, while a non-embedded accommodation would include a sign-language interpreter or scribe.
For Your Information
Across states there are significant differences in what constitute allowable accommodations for standardized tests. What is allowed in one state may not be permitted in others. To ensure compliance with state policies, educators should be aware of allowable accommodations in their states. This information is made available by the National Center on Educational Outcomes.
Whether for classroom assessments or standardized tests, students should ideally be familiar with an accommodation before having to use it in a testing situation. In fact, some states require that testing accommodations be made available to the student for a specified amount of time prior to the day of testing. Listen as Martha Thurlow discusses why this is important (time: 0:38).
Martha Thurlow, PhD
Director of the National Center on Educational Outcomes
University of Minnesota
View Transcript
Transcript: Martha Thurlow, PhD
I think the bottom line is that, if a student is going to use an accommodation for an assessment, that student should have used that accommodation, should have had exposure to it before the time of the assessment. In the past, I heard many stories about how an accommodation actually interfered with a student’s performance on the test because they’d never had the accommodation before. It really threw them for a loop. They didn’t know what to do. One of the critical things is making sure that the student [with] an accommodation has seen it before the day of the test.
For Your Information
For a small number of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, testing accommodations might not offer sufficient support. In these cases, an alternate assessment can be used. These alternate assessments reflect the grade-level standards but are less complex and do not cover the content in as much depth or breadth (i.e., alternate academic achievement standards), while maintaining high expectations for these students.
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alternate assessment
Assessment used with students who are unable to take the typically administered standardized tests, even with accommodations; generally reserved for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
