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Standardized Assessment Accommodations for Individuals with Intellectual Disability

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Abstract

Standardized cognitive and educational assessments of individuals with intellectual disability (ID) provide crucial information for parents, researchers, and educators. Understanding the unique developmental strengths and challenges of an individual with ID is imperative to determining appropriate educational placements, developing intervention plans, and measuring growth. However, challenges associated with ID in areas such as communication, attention, and self-regulation can interfere with the validity of test results and lead to students being labeled “untestable.” Unfortunately, there is a paucity of research regarding administrative procedures that yield valid standardized assessment results with this population. This paper outlines best practices in standardized assessment accommodations based on a literature review, professional standards, legal precedence, and extensive field research. A model for assessment will be proposed, consisting of an iterative four-stage cycle of planning, administration, evaluation, and reporting. Practical ideas for accommodations will inform school psychologists so they can obtain valid and useful scores when administering standardized assessments with students with ID.

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Funding

This study was funded by the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development (NIHCD) (A Cognitive Assessment Battery Intellectual Disabilities, R01 HD076189).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver, 1999 E. Evans Ave., Denver, CO, 80210, USA

    Talia Thompson, Jeanine M. Coleman, Karen Riley, Laurel A. Snider & Londi J. Howard

  2. MIND Institute, UC Davis Medical Center, 2825 50th St., Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA

    Stephanie M. Sansone & David Hessl

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis School of Medicine, 2230 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA

    Stephanie M. Sansone & David Hessl

Authors
  1. Talia Thompson
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  2. Jeanine M. Coleman
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  3. Karen Riley
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  4. Laurel A. Snider
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  6. Stephanie M. Sansone
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  7. David Hessl
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Correspondence to Talia Thompson.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards of UC Davis (#681782) and the University of Denver (#698133).

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All participants or their legal guardians gave written consent to participate in the research, and capable participants gave their written consent or assent as determined by the IRBs.

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Thompson, T., Coleman, J.M., Riley, K. et al. Standardized Assessment Accommodations for Individuals with Intellectual Disability. Contemp School Psychol 22, 443–457 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-018-0171-4

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