Examining Associations Between Accommodation Types and Student Outcomes: Extended Time and Breaks Individually Versus Bundled

Abstract

This study examines the relationships between three accommodation strategies—Extended Time (ET) only, breaks only, and breaks bundled with ET—and academic performance, test-taking behavior, and attitudes among eighth-grade students with disabilities who participated in the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessment. Utilizing propensity score analysis to mitigate selection bias, the study finds that students receiving only breaks tend to exhibit lower performance and engagement compared to those receiving ET alone or those receiving breaks bundled with ET. In addition, results suggest that bundling breaks with ET is associated with lower performance compared to ET alone. These findings highlight the complexities of interactions between accommodations and support the need for reevaluating current accommodation policies to enhance their effectiveness for students with disabilities.

Keywords

students with disabilities breaks extended time accommodations NAEP process data mathematics performance test-taking behavior mathematics attitude

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abedi

Kao

J. C.

Leon

Sullivan

Herman

J. L.

Pope

Mastergeorge

A. M.

(2008). Exploring factors that affect the accessibility of reading comprehension assessments for students with disabilities: A study of segmented text (CRESST Report No. 746). National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, University of California, Los Angeles. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED503290.pdf

Alster

E. H.

(1997). The effects of extended time on algebra test scores for college students with and without learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30(2), 222–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/002221949703000210

American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education. (2014). Standards for educational and psychological testing. American Educational Research Association.

Becker

S. O.

Ichino

(2002). Estimation of average treatment effects based on propensity scores. Stata Journal, 2, 358–377. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536867X0200200403

Bolt

S. E.

Ysseldyke

(2008). Accommodating students with disabilities in large-scale testing. A comparison of differential item functioning (DIF) identified across disability types. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 26(2), 121–138. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282907307703

Cahan

Nirel

Alkoby

(2016). The extra-examination time granting policy: A reconceptualization. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 34(5), 461–472. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282915616537

Crawford

Ketterlin-Geller

L. R.

(2013). Middle school teachers’ assignment of test accommodations. The Teacher Educator, 48(1), 29–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2012.740152

DiCerbo

Stanley

Roberts

Blanchard

(2001, April). Attention and standardized reading test performance: Implications for accommodation [Paper presentation]. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of School Psychologists, Washington, DC.

Elliott

S. N.

Marquart

A. M.

(2004). Extended time as a testing accommodation: Its effects and perceived consequences. Exceptional Children, 70(3), 349–367. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440290407000306

10.

Fletcher

Francis

O’Malley

Copeland

Mehta

Caldwell

Kalinowski

Young

Vaughn

(2009). Effects of a bundled accommodations package on high-stakes testing for middle school students with reading disabilities. Exceptional Children, 75(4), 447–463. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440290907500404

11.

Fuchs

Capizzi

(2005). Identifying appropriate test accommodations for students with learning disabilities. Focus on Exceptional Children, 37(6), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.17161/fec.v37i6.6812

12.

Furlano

Goodrich

Darr

Gibbard

J. L.

Wang

Pike

M. D.

Provencher

Zhang

I. Y.

Vreeker-Williamson

E. C.

Hausdorf

P. A.

(2021). Determining the appropriateness of extended time accommodations in standardized cognitive ability testing. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue Canadienne des Sciences du Comportement, 53(2), 152–163. https://doi.org/10.1037/cbs0000257

13.

Ganguly

(2010). Testing accommodations for students with emotional or behavioral disorders: A national survey of special education teachers. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section A. Humanities and Social Sciences, 71, 1-186. http://search.proquest.com/docview/787893086/abstract

14.

Gregg

Nelson

J. M.

(2012). Meta-analysis on the effectiveness of extra time as a test accommodation for transitioning adolescents with learning disabilities: More questions than answers. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 45(2), 128–138. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219409355484

15.

Harrison

J. R.

Bunford

Evans

S. W.

Owens

J. S.

(2013). Educational accommodations for students with behavioral challenges: A systematic review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 83(4), 551–597. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654313497517

16.

Harrison

J. R.

Evans

S. W.

Baran

Khondker

Press

Noel

Wasserman

Belmonte

Mohlmann

(2020). Comparison of accommodations and interventions for youth with ADHD: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of School Psychology, 80, 15–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2020.05.001

17.

Harrison

J. R.

Evans

S. W.

Zatz

Mehta

Patel

Syed

Soares

Swistack

Griffith

Custer

B. A.

(2022). Comparison of four classroom-based strategies for middle school students with ADHD: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Journal of Attention Disorders, 26(11), 1507–1519. https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547221081108

18.

von Davier

(2015). Identifying feature sequences from process data in problem-solving items with n-grams. In van der Ark

Bolt

Chow

Douglas

Wang

(Eds.), Quantitative psychology research (pp. 173–190). Springer.

19.

Hjärne

M. S.

(2020). Just enough time to level the playing field: Time adaption in a college admission test. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 65(6), 941–955. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2020.1788143

20.

Incucation Act, Pub. L. 108-446, 20 USC.

21.

Irwin

Zhang

Wang

Hein

Wang

Roberts

York

Barmer

Bullock Mann

Dilig

Parker

(2021). Report on the Condition of Education 2021 (NCES 2021-144). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

22.

Ivanova

Michaelides

Eklöf

(2020). How does the number of actions on constructed-response items relate to test-taking effort and performance? Educational Research and Evaluation, 26(5–6), 252–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2021.1963939

23.

Joakim

S. E.

(2015). Help me fail: A study on testing accommodations for students with disabilities in writing assessments. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section A. Humanities and Social Sciences, 77(3E), 1–125. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1735801010/abstract

24.

Kato

Moen

Thurlow

(2007). Examining DIF, DDF, and omit rate by discrete disability categories. http://www.cehd.umn.edu/nceo/onlinepubs/PARA/examingdifddfomitrate/PARADIFDDFandOmitRateReport.pdf

25.

Kern

Hetrick

A. A.

Custer

B. A.

Commisso

C. E.

(2019). An evaluation of IEP accommodations for secondary students with emotional and behavioral problems. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 27(3), 178–192. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426618763108

26.

Kong

X. J.

Wise

S. L.

Bhola

D. S.

(2007). Setting the response time threshold parameter to differentiate solution behavior from rapid-guessing behavior. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 67(4), 606–619. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164406294779

27.

Lai

S. A.

Berkeley

(2012). High-stakes test accommodations: Research and practice. Learning Disability Quarterly, 35(3), 158–169. https://doi.org/10.1177/0731948711433874

28.

Lesaux

N. K.

Pearson

M. R.

Siegel

L. S.

(2006). The effects of timed and untimed testing conditions on the reading comprehension of adults with reading disabilities. Reading and Writing, 19, 21–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-005-4714-5

29.

Lewandowski

Cohen

Lovett

B. J.

(2013). Effects of extended time allotments on reading comprehension performance of college students with and without learning disabilities. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 31(3), 326–336. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282912462693

30.

Lin

P.-Y.

(2021). Teachers’ differentiated assessment practices for secondary students with exceptionalities: The more, the better? Journal of Disability Studies, 7(2), 64–74.

31.

Lovett

B. J.

Nelson

J. M.

(2021). Systematic review: Educational accommodations for children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 60(4), 448–457.

32.

May

A. L.

Stone

C. A.

(2014). An initial investigation into the role of stereotype threat in the test performance of college students with learning disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education & Disability, 27(1), 89–106.

33.

National Center for Education Statistics. (n.d.). Accommodations provided to students during assessments. https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/accom_ude_descriptions.asp

34.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2020). NAEP students with disabilities questionnaire. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/experience/pdfs/sd_2020.pdf

35.

National Center on Educational Outcomes. (2021a). Accommodations Toolkit: Test breaks: Research. https://publications.ici.umn.edu/nceo/accommodations-toolkit/test-breaks-research

36.

National Center on Educational Outcomes. (2021b). Accommodations Toolkit: Test breaks: States’ Accessibility Policies, 2020. https://publications.ici.umn.edu/nceo/accommodations-toolkit/test-breaks-policies

37.

Peltier

Harrison

J. R.

(2018). Selecting accommodations for mathematics assessments: Legal and practical considerations. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 62(4), 300–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2018.1443425

38.

Pohl

Ulitzsch

von Davier

(2019). Using response times to model not-reached items due to time limits. Psychometrika, 84(3), 892–920. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11336-019-09669-2

39.

Pritchard

A. E.

Koriakin

Carey

Bellows

Jacobson

Mahone

E. M.

(2016). Academic resting accommodations for ADHD. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 21(2), 67–78. https://doi.org/10.18666/LDMJ-2016-V21-I2-7414

40.

R Core Team. (2021). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/

41.

Rickey

K. M.

(2005). Assessment accommodations for students with disabilities: A description of the decision-making process, perspectives of those affected, and current practices [Doctoral dissertation]. The University of Iowa.

42.

Rogers

C. M.

Thurlow

M. L.

Lazarus

S. S.

Liu

K. K.

(2019). A summary of the research on effects of test accommodations: 2015-2016 (NCEO Report 412). University of Minnesota, National Center on Educational Outcomes.

43.

Rosenbaum

Rubin

D. B.

(1983). The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika, 70, 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/70.1.41

44.

Sievertsen

H. H.

Gino

Piovesan

(2016). Cognitive fatigue influences students’ performance on standardized tests. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(10), 2621–2624. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1516947113

45.

Sireci

S. G.

Scarpati

S. E.

(2005). Test accommodations for students with disabilities: An analysis of the interaction hypothesis. Review of Educational Research, 75(4), 457–490. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543075004457

46.

Wadley

Liljequist

(2013). The effect of extended test time for students with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 26(3), 263–271.

47.

Walz

Albus

Thompson

Thurlow

(2000). Effects of a multiple day test administration on the performance of special education students (Minnesota Report No. 34). University of Minnesota, National Center on Educational Outcomes.

48.

Wei

(2024). Text-to-Speech technology and math performance: A comparative study of students with disabilities, English language learners, and their general education peers. Educational Researcher, 53(5), 285–295. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X241232995

49.

Wei

Zhang

(2024). Extended time accommodation and the academic, behavioral, and psychological outcomes of students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 57(4), 242–254. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194231195624

50.

What Works Clearinghouse. (2022). What Works Clearinghouse Procedures and Standards Handbook (Version 5.0).

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.02 MB