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Assessment Accommodations

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Mastering Modern Psychological Testing

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Abstract

A primary tenet of standardized testing is to strictly adhere to standard assessment procedures when administering tests and other assessments. However, accommodations to standardized procedures are often needed for people with disabilities. This chapter reviews the rationale for providing assessment accommodations to individuals with disabilities, including guidance to help determine whether accommodations are or are not appropriate. Various accommodation strategies are presented, such as modifications to test presentation and response format, adjusting time limits, providing adaptive devices/strategies and supports, and using modified or alternate assessments. Guidance for determining what accommodations should be provided is also reviewed, as well as guidance on how to report scores from test administrations where accommodations were provided. Special considerations for English Language Learners are also considered.

Assessment accommodations help students show what they know without being placed at a disadvantage by their disability.

United States Department of Education (2001, p. 8).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Brookhart v. Illinois State Board of Education, 1983.

  2. 2.

    Southeastern Community College v. Davis, 1979.

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Recommended Reading

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  • Mastergeorge, A. M., & Miyoshi, J. N. (1999). Accommodations for students with disabilities: A teacher’s guide (CSE Technical Report 508). Los Angeles, CA: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing This guide provides some useful information on assessment accommodations specifically aimed towards teachers.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Austin, TX, USA

    Cecil R. Reynolds

  2. Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Robert A. Altmann

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA

    Daniel N. Allen

Authors
  1. Cecil R. Reynolds
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  2. Robert A. Altmann
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  3. Daniel N. Allen
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Reynolds, C.R., Altmann, R.A., Allen, D.N. (2021). Assessment Accommodations. In: Mastering Modern Psychological Testing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59455-8_16

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