Accommodations Training 2010[1]

8/6/2019 Accommodations Training 2010[1]

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The State of Georgia & ColumbiaCounty Fall 2010

Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of SchoolsWe will lead the nation in improving student achievement.

Test Administration Accommodations

for Students with Disabilities

& English Language Learners


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Overview

Review pertinent information about

accommodations

What are they? What are they not?

When are they appropriate Who is eligible?

Review Georgia and Columbia County policiesregarding accommodation use

Answer questions


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Historical Perspective

Prior to IDEA and NCLB, all students were not

always included in the assessment process

The focus on accommodation has shifted from ananything goes approach for inclusion to

ensuring valid measurement of student

achievement

Federal regulations stipulate states have policies

on appropriate accommodations, monitor those

policies, and ensure valid measurement


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Important Points to Remember

Allowable accommodations always grow out of the

content and skills measured by the assessment and

the purpose of the assessment

Teams and committees should consider the purpose

and content of the assessment as well as the

individual students need and circumstance when

selecting accommodations

Inappropriate use of accommodations can (and

does!) negatively impact student achievement


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Eligible Students

Students eligible for accommodations include:

Students with Disabilities

students with individualized educational plans

students served under Section 504*

English Language Learners

Students qualifying for language assistance services

ELL students who are also SWD

Students who have exited language assistance services

in the last two years (ELL-Monitored)**

*Only in the rarest of circumstances would a 504 student qualify for a conditionalaccommodation.

**ELL-M students are not eligible for conditional accommodations.


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Accommodations

Accommodations allow access

they are practices and procedures in the areas of

presentation, response, setting, and scheduling that

provide equitable instructional and assessment access forstudents with disabilities and English language learners.

Accommodations reduce or eliminate the effects of a

students disability or limited English proficiency

Accommodations do not provide an unfair advantage

Accommodations do not reduce or change learning

expectations


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Modifications

Modifications, on the other hand, involve:

Changing, lowering, or reducing learning or

assessment expectations May result in implications that could adversely

affect a student throughout that individualseducational career

Examples include Requiring a student to learn less material

Revising assignments or tests to make them easier

Modifications are not allowed on Georgia

assessments.


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Accommodations provide access for demonstration ofachievement

Allow participation

Do not guarantee proficiency and therefore should not be selected solely as mean to helpensure proficiency

Must be required by the student in order to participate in theassessment

Must be provided during routine instruction and assessmentin the classroom (both before and after the state tests areadministered)


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Whats the difference between an

accommodation for the classroom and one for

state-mandated testing? Classroom accommodations can be more expansive,

can cover situations outside the direct learning

environment

Accommodations utilized for state-mandated testingare more prescriptive, and support the

standardization of the testing procedure

The ultimate goal is always meaningful measurement

of what the student has learned as a result of

instruction


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Classroom and State-Mandated

Testing Accommodations

Classroom

Can be more expansive

May include

accommodations for avariety of environments

Must be individualized

Must include those

accommodations beingused in the testing

situation

State-Mandated Testing

Focus on standardization

Focus on testing

environment

Must be individualized

Must be used in the

classroom before beingprovided on the state-

mandated test


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Whats the difference between an accommodation for

the classroom and an accommodation for state-

mandated testing? Some accommodations appropriate for

instruction are not appropriate for

assessments

Given a mismatch, careful consideration of

possible consequences should be given before

including accommodations in the classroom

that go beyond what is allowable on the state-mandated test


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Whats the difference between an accommodation for

the classroom and an accommodation for state-

mandated testing?

Classroom testing accommodations should be individualized,determined by subject area, and as specific as possible. Forexample, a student may require additional time to completetests- it is recommended that the amount of time is specificsuch as, 25% or 50% more time.

If the student requires a modified test, it should be specificallydescribed in the IEP such as, reduce response items by 1 orreduce amount of test questions by 25%

It is not best practice to allow a student to take a test acrossseveral days. This compromises the integrity of the test anddoes not provide meaningful measurement of mastery.


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Classroom/Instructional Accommodations

Caution: It would be very rare for a student to have both amodified test and extended time, particularly at the uppergrades.

Remember: All assessments are supposed to be designed to

give a meaningful measurement of mastery extensiveaccommodations interfere with the construct the assessmentis designed to evaluate

Giving a student with organizational issues several extra daysto turn in assignments only causes more difficulty.

Recommended practice involves dividing long-termassignments and providing incremental deadlines andfrequent checks for progress


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Need for Clarification of Accommodation

Be very specific in your description of theaccommodation. If a student is able to manage fineon tests that take a single class period, but hasdifficulty maintaining focus or processing on lengthy

exams (>1 hour) then stipulate that. This would still allow for the extended time

allocation for the EOCTs/GHSGT

Research has shown that students given small group

or extended time receive no benefit from thisaccommodation

Be purposeful and use concrete data to support theuse of accommodations in any situation


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How can the IEP show what state-mandated test the

student should take?

ALL state-mandated assessments measure the

students learning in the general curriculum

Therefore, ALL students with disabilities must have

instruction that teaches the general curriculum

The determination of the state-mandated

assessments through which the student will be

assessed is NOT which one is easiest RATHER

which one matches the instruction, goals, and

objectives


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How can the IEP show what state-mandated test the

student should take?

The movement of the student through the

levels of possible assessment should begin

with the appropriateness of the general

assessment without accommodations, then

moves from there

The decision must be supported by

information in the PLP as well as IEP goals andobjectives


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Some accommodations appropriate for

instruction are not appropriate for

assessments

It may be appropriate to use some instructional

accommodations to provide access to grade

level content, but these should be faded overtime


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Testing Accommodations

The ultimate goal is always

meaningful measurementof what

the student has learned as a result

of instruction


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Accommodations

In Georgia accommodations MAY NOT

alter, explain, simplify, paraphrase, or eliminate

any test item, reading passage, writing prompt, or

choice option

provide verbal or other clues or suggestions that

hint at or give away the correct response to the

student

Only state-approve accommodations may be

used on state-mandated assessment, following

the guidance issued.


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Accommodations

During classroom assessments:

the teacher should not give any accommodation that

has not been agreed upon by the IEP committee and is

listed in the students IEP This includes providing verbal or other clues or

suggestions that hint at or give away the correct

response to the student

Grades should not be altered or inflated ONCE AGAIN: The assessment should be designed to

give a meaningful and accurate measurement of

mastery


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Target Skills vs Access Skills

Target Skills: those skills and concepts the test isdesigned to measure

(specific academic content)

Access Skills: those needed by the student todemonstrate knowledge and application of the targetskills

(reading ability, multiplication skills)

Accommodations do not alter target skills.


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Key Considerations

Different tests serve different purposes

Accommodations may be allowed for one test, but

not for anotherit has to do with the testspurpose and what is it designed to measure

When considering an accommodation, consider

the purpose of the test and what it is designed tomeasure


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Key Considerations

Accommodations are tools that provide

students with access and help them

demonstrate what they have learned.

It is important to consider the type of tool needed

for the specific job at hand

If the wrong tool is used, the job will not be done

well If the student does not know how to use the tool,

the tool will not be effective (at best) and can be

destructive (at worst)Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools

We will lead the nation in improving student achievement. 23


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Key Considerations

It is important that we match the right student

to the right tool

In making decisions we need to think about

the student characteristics (disability /

language proficiency) and how those

characteristics interact with the specific

content area Decisions should be made individually and

can differ by content area based on need

Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of SchoolsWe will lead the nation in improving student achievement. 24


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Key Considerations

For students with disabilities we should

consider

the characteristics of the disability or the combination

of disabilities for the individual student

how the disability affects/impacts the learning of

specific content

how the disability affects/impacts the demonstration

of learning



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Key Considerations

For English language learners who also have a

disability we should consider

whether the need is based on

the disability or

language acquisition needs or

some combination of both

The IEP team should include an languageservice teacher to help make appropriate

decisions services should be coordinated



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Key Considerations

For all students we should consider

the students need for the accommodation the students experience with the accommodation

whether the accommodation was of benefit to the

student

the students feelings and beliefs about the

accommodation



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Standard Accommodations

accommodations which provide access to

students in order to demonstrate their

achievement of target skills

standard accommodations do not alter or

encroach on the construct measured

as with any accommodation, it is important thatthe student require the accommodation and use

it regularly during routine instruction and

assessment


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Conditional Accommodations

More expansive accommodations that provideaccess for students with more severedisabilities or more limited English proficiency

who would not be able to access theassessment to demonstrate theirachievement without such support

Should be used sparingly, per State Board Rule

Must be considered when interpreting scores


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Guidance on the appropriate use of

conditional accommodations is provided in

the Student Assessment Handbook

Only students meeting the guidance criteria

are eligible for conditional accommodations

The educational plans for students qualifying

for conditional accommodations must includespecific goals that address the deficits which

necessitate the accommodation


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There are three accommodations that are

considered conditional for the CRCT:

Signing reading passages (SWD only)

Oral reading of reading passages (grades 3 8 only)

Use of a basic function calculator (SWD only)

There are no approved conditionalaccommodations for the GHSGT or EOCT


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Why must we attend to the guidance

for conditional accommodations?

1. These accommodations were never intended to be

available for all students.

2. The guidance is designed to protect the

accommodations for students who truly require

them.


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Why must we attend to the guidance

for conditional accommodations?

3. Anytime an accommodation is considered it is

important to reflect what the test is designed to

measure.

The goal is meaningful (i.e., valid) measurement of

student achievement

4. It is important to consider the long term effects ofinappropriate accommodation use.

Accommodations should foster independence, not

dependence


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Consider the Constructs

The Reading CRCT is designed to measure reading

comprehension.

Inherent in the state curriculum in the elementary and

middle grades are reading strategies and skills.

Each test has a range of passages on it

The Mathematics CRCT is designed to measure

computational skill and mathematical understanding.

Inherent in the state curriculum in the elementary and

middle grades are mathematics procedures and processes.


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Key Consideration

Conditional accommodations provide

additional access to the test for certain

students

students must still interact with text (passage may

be read once) and numbers (basic calculator only)

in this way, the accommodation facilitates the

students access and is not a substitute for theskills measured



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Guidance for Reading of

Reading Passages: SWD

The use of this conditional accommodation for the ReadingCRCT must be restricted to grades 3 8 and may be

considered when BOTH the following conditions apply:

1. The student has a specific disability that severely limits or

prevents him or her from decoding text at any level of

difficulty, even after varied and repeated attempts to teach

the student to do so (i.e. the student is a non-reader, not

simply reading below grade level); and2. The student has access to printed materials only through a

reader or other electronic format during routine instruction.


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Guidance for Reading of

Reading Passages: ELL

The use of this conditional accommodation for the ReadingCRCT must be restricted to grades 3 8 and may be

considered when BOTH the following conditions apply:

1. The students English proficiency scores and experiences in

the classroom indicate the student cannot access, retain, or

comprehend written text without the assistance of a reader;

and

2. The student not poised to exit language assistance services

within the current school year.Students poised to exit: Tier C or any student approaching

a performance level of 4.

Consider ACCESS reading score if 3 or higher, this

accommodation is probably not appropriate.


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Why is reading of passages

restricted to grades 3 8?

Students in the primary grades are learning to

read

The curriculum standards in these grades includedecoding and fluency these things are

completely compromised when the student does

not read

It is imperative that we have a clean, accuratemeasure of student reading skill so that problems

can be identified and appropriate services

provided if needed


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Reading of Test Questions

Most students who need accommodations are

struggling readers (e.g., read below grade level).

Reading of the questions reducing the reading load and

allows the student to focus on the passages Given that we are not attempting to measure reading

comprehension on other content area tests (ELA,

Mathematics, Science, Social Studies), it is

permissible to read any prompts that accompany theitems.

This should only be done when appropriate


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Use of a Basic Function Calculator(SWD only)

The use of this conditional accommodation may beconsidered for the Mathematics CRCT when BOTH the

following conditions apply:

1. The student has a specific disability that severely limits orprevents her or his ability to calculate mathematically, even

after varied and repeated attempts to teach the student to

do so; and

2.T

he student has access to mathematical calculation onlythrough the use of a calculator, which the student uses for

classroom instruction.

Only a basic function calculator or function adapted

calculator may be used; scientific calculators are not

allowed.


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What is a basic function

calculator? A basic function calculator has the four

computational functions (addition, subtraction,

multiplication, & division).

many basic function calculators also have square root andpercentage functions

A basic function calculator is not a scientific

calculator.

these calculators have additional functions that encroach

on the concepts and skills inherent in the curriculum

Programmable calculators are not allowed

on any state assessment.


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Points to Remember

Only state-approved accommodations may be

considered for standardized assessments

Federal regulations specify that studentsparticipating with unapproved

accommodations may not be considered

participants for AYP purposes

Use of accommodations must be accurately

coded


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What if an accommodation is

needed that is not on the list?

In RARE circumstances a student with a disability may

need an accommodation that is not on the approved

list

Follow the procedures in the Student Assessment

Handbook to submit a request for consideration

Such requests should be vetted locally first and should berequested only on an individual basis

We cannot approve any request which modifies test content

We cannot approve requests for classes of students


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Additional Resources

Student Assessment Handbook

Accommodations Manual for SWD

Frequently Asked Questions

All are posted on the Testing webpage:http://www.gadoe.org/ci_testing.aspx


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Questions/Concerns?

Melissa FincherDirectorAssessment Research &

Development 404.651.9405

[email protected]

Accommodations Manual.url

Toni Bowen, Ph.D.

Program Specialist

Divisions for Special Education Services

and Supports

404.463.0616

[email protected]

Lisa HillDirector, Columbia County Special

Services

Teri Pettyjohn

Coordinator, Columbia County Special

Services

Accommodations Training 2010[1]

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Transcript of Accommodations Training 2010[1]