Legal Law

Standardized Testing and Students with Assistive Technology

In recent years there has been a boom in standardized testing in American schools. Students are being tested in reading, math, science, social studies for state and school district standards used to demonstrate compliance with No Child Left Behind, along with NCLB testing. Students are also given graduation tests, tests to advance in school progression (ie, a student must pass this test before moving on to the next grade level).

With the increasing number of tests given to students where the results weigh heavily on the school, school districts, or the performance of individual students, where do students with disabilities fit in this mix? Where are the students with assistive technology or augmentative communication especially? Federal law requires states and school districts to include students with disabilities in large-scale assessments and to report their scores publicly, on a disaggregated basis, as a way to determine how well schools are serving these students. This is a system liability issue. However, federal law does not say whether states or school districts must impose high-risk consequences on individual students with disabilities who do not pass large-scale tests. In other words, while federal law mandates participation in large-scale testing and public reporting of disaggregated scores, it is up to states to decide whether large-scale testing will result in high-risk individual consequences, and, if so, for what. which students (Heubert, 2002).

Accommodations can be granted to students with disabilities without losing the standardization of the test. An adaptation is considered to be any change in the standard test format for assessing an individual’s abilities, rather than their
disabilities Although allowable accommodations vary, they generally fall into one of four categories:

o Presentation (eg, instructions/questions read aloud, large print).

o Response (eg, use of a scribe).

o Environment (small group or individual tests, study cubicle).

o Time/scheduling (extended time, extra breaks; Wahburn-Moses, 2003)

IDEA requires the IEP team to document any accommodations in the student’s Individualized Education Plan. As Washburn-Moses (2003) put it: “The IEP team
must focus on the student’s individual strengths, weaknesses, and learning characteristics, and refrain from basing a decision on the student’s disability
current level or location. Team members should consider only those accommodations that the student uses during classroom instruction and testing, rather than introducing new accommodations specifically for use on the state test (Thurlow et al.). it is extremely
It is important to document in the IEP the team’s decision regarding accommodations, as well as the rationale for that decision.

Dunne (2002), stated in an Education World article, “In Wisconsin, students with disabilities are allowed to make test accommodations so more people can take the test. The accommodations include more time to take a test, the use of a scribe to write answers, and use of a reader to read directions and questions aloud Those types of accommodations will allow about 85 percent of students with disabilities to participate in the State Assessment System of Wisconsin, according to a study authored by Eva M. Kubinski at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Research in Education.

For those students who cannot be tested, even with accommodations, the state developed an alternate performance indicator linked to state standards for schools to use to assess the 2 percent of Wisconsin students with severe disabilities or limited proficiency. from English, Kubinski wrote in his article. “

What does this mean for students with assistive technology or AAC? Based on the research found, having an assistive technology device would allow an IEP team to determine if accommodations were needed on standardized tests. Each student is as unique as their assistive technology device and therefore it can be said that each student will present different circumstances when it comes to assessment in the school setting. Under IDEA, as noted above, the IEP team must determine what accommodations must be made for the student to be successful on the test. These accommodations must be written into the student’s IEP.

Since students who use AT/AAC vary widely and many have underlying issues as to why they have AAC devices, such as other confounding disabilities. It is important for the IEP to determine if the device the student uses to communicate will be part of the standardized test accommodation or if it is not needed. It will be important to determine that and then prepare the student for whether or not she will be able to use the device during the test. This is especially important if the device cannot be used during the test, since this is the voice of the students.

IEP teams must work to find the best accommodations for the student to be successful, there are several ways to do this, including Dynamic Assessment Testing.
Accommodations (DATA), which helps teachers determine which students
benefit from what accommodation.

Based on the information provided, it can be concluded that each student’s case will be very different, but in general, each student who qualifies for special education, including those who use assistive technology or augmentative communication devices, may qualify for special accommodations. of standardized tests that allow those students to complete the tests with reasonable scores.

References

Dunne, D. (2000). Are high-stakes exams punishing some students? Weekly Education 34(1) 32-35.
Heubert, J.P. (2002). Disability, race, and high-risk testing of students. NVC. 4(1) 38-45.
Sindelar, T., Hager, R., & Smith, D. (2003). High-Stakes Assessment Standards for Students with Disabilities. Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc.
Washburn-Moses, L. (2003). What every special educator should know about high-stakes testing. Teaching Exceptional Children 35(4) 12-15.

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