Modifications in Statewide Criterion-Referenced Testing Programs to Accommodate Pupils with Disabilities

Abstract

Educators are sometimes trapped in a professional dilemma arising from a conflict between the need to provide an appropriate education for every child and the need to collect accurate and valid test data. To ensure that pupils with disabilities are not eliminated from educational experiences because of a handicapping condition, accommodations are sometimes made in test administration procedures and test format. The comparability of modified and standard test forms and the validity of modified test forms have been questioned. The purpose of the present study was to determine how the 50 states balance those sometimes conflicting needs and resolve questions about comparability and validity. In this article, the modifications allowed by 30 states in their statewide criterion-referenced testing programs are reported. There is no universal agreement about all the modifications that should be allowed for students with disabilities; however, accommodations in Test Setting and Test Scheduling are more likely to be allowed than revisions in Test Directions or Test Format. Some accommodations to Answer Mode are permitted as are the use of some types of assistance devices.