Designing, Developing, and Implementing an Accessible Computer-Based National Assessment System

Abstract

As states adapt new content standards that support college and career readiness, there is a need to develop assessments that produce valid and reliable measures for all students. This chapter describes the overall processes and individual tasks that the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) implemented to produce one of the most accessible mathematics and English language arts/literacy assessment systems. The assessments are aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and are geared to students in grades 3–8 and 11. This chapter explains the ways in which the consortium operationalized and implemented universal design principles throughout the entire assessment design and development process, including creation of the test administration platform, item writing, piloting, field testing, and scoring. In addition, the authors share how Smarter Balanced emphasized utilizing a multidisciplinary approach and evidence-based decisions-making processes. The chapter shows how these approaches resulted in a suite of embedded and non-embedded accessibility resources that can help meet individual student needs. The ability to customize individual test instances reinforces a paradigm shift away from considering the needs of student groups (e.g., English learners, students with disabilities) to focusing on each individual student’s specific need(s). The chapter closes with a call for future work and research that includes identifying how technology can meet the needs of individual students, in particular low-instance populations.

Appendices

Appendix A

Members for of the Three Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium in 2016

Technical Advisory Committee Members

• Randy Bennett, Ph.D.

• Derek Briggs, Ph.D.

• Gregory J. Cizek, Ph.D.

• David Conley, Ph.D.

• Brian Gong, Ph.D.

• Edward Haertel, Ph.D.

• Gerunda Hughes, Ph.D.

• G. Gage Kingsbury, Ph.D.

• Joseph Martineau, Ph.D.

• William McCallum, Ph.D.

• James W. Pellegrino, Ph.D.

• Jim Popham, Ph.D.

• Joseph Ryan, Ph.D.

• Guillermo Solano-Flores, Ph.D.

• Martha Thurlow, Ph.D.

• Sheila Valencia, Ph.D.

• Joe Willhoft, Ph.D.

English Language Learners Advisory Committee Members

• Stephanie Cawthon, Ph.D.

• Magda Chia, Ph.D.

• Donna Christian, Ph.D.

• Gary Cook, Ph.D.

• Kathy Escamilla, Ph.D.

• James Green, Ph.D.

• Kenji Hakuta, Ph.D.

• Robert Linquanti

• Guillermo Solano-Flores, Ph.D.

• Guadalupe Valdés, Ph.D.

Students with Disabilities Advisory Committee Members

• Magda Chia, Ph.D.

• Donald D. Deshler, Ph.D.

• Barbara Ehren, Ed.D.

• Cheryl Kamei-Hannan, Ph.D.

• Jacqueline F. Kearns, Ed.D.

• Susan Rose, Ph.D.

• Jim Sandstrum

• Ann C. Schulte, Ph.D.

• Richard Simpson, Ed.D.

• Stephen W. Smith, Ph.D.

• Martha L. Thurlow, Ph.D.

Appendix B

Advocacy Groups with which the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium Collaborates

• American Federation of Teachers

• California School for the Blind

• California School for the Deaf

• Californians Together

• California State Teach

• Center for Applied Special Technology

• Center for Law and Education

• Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf

• Council for Exceptional Children

• Council of the Great City Schools

• Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates

• Learning Disabilities Association of Maryland

• Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund

• Missouri School Boards’ Association

• Missouri Council of Administrators of Special Education

• National Center for Learning Disabilities

• National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials

• The Advocacy Institute

• The National Hispanic University