Accommodations:Decide, Document, Monitor

Carrie PerkisNCDPI Division of Accountability Services

Conference on Exceptional ChildrenNovember 2010

Testing Students with Disabilities publication

(November 2009)

Testing Students with Disabilities Web Site:

www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/policies/tswd/

Testing Accommodations Web Site:

www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/policies/accom/

Look for revised document

coming December 2010

Information from this presentation is located in:

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What is an Accommodation?

Accommodations . . .

• Are changes in the way a student accesses instruction/assessment

• Do not change the construct of the assignment/ assessment

• Give student equal access to learning without “watering down” the content

• Are not to be provided for score enhancement

• Must be aligned or matched between classroom instruction, classroom assessments, district tests, and state tests

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Classroom Instruction

Classroom Assessment

State/District Assessment

Home, Work, Community,

Post-Secondary Education

Adapted from:Sandra J. Thompson, Ph.D., Research Associate, National Center on Educational Outcomes, University of Minnesota

The Linking of Student Accommodations

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Accommodations

≠

Modifications!

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Accommodations Differ from Modifications in that:

Modifications change the construct through altering language load, content complexity, and/or cognitive complexity.

Some examples of modifications:• Reduced assignments• Simplified reading passages• Reduced response choices

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Decide:Making Accommodations

Decisions

Who is Eligible for Accommodations?

INSTRUCTIONAL• Any student

TESTING

Students with Disabilities• Students with a current Individualized Education

Program (IEP)

• Students with a current Section 504 Plan

as well as….

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TESTINGWhile not covered in this presentation:

• Students identified as Limited English Proficient:– http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/ policie

s/slep/

• Students with current transitory impairment documentation

– Transitory impairment = impairment with actual or expected duration of six months or less

– Eligible for same accommodations as Section 504

Who is Eligible for Accommodations? (cont’d)

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Who Makes Accommodations Decisions?

For a student with disabilities:

• IEP Team

• Section 504 Committee

The collaborative team should include all relevant individuals involved in the student’s education.

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Instructional Accommodations

Testing Accommodations

drive

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Considerations for Committee Decision-Making

• Base accommodations on individual student need• Refer to the list of state-approved testing accommodations• Understand purpose of the accommodation and make sure it

is relevant to the student’s need and the demands of the test• Take into account other identifications a student may have

(e.g., LEP), which may require specific accommodations based on area of need and/or content

• All relevant teachers should be informed of accommodations

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Considerations for Committee Decision-Making

Students should be using accommodations ROUTINELY during

instruction and similar classroom assessments – accommodations should

not be a surprise on test day!

Routine use = at least 30 days

prior to test date

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Document:

Recording Accommodations in Student Plans

Documentation of Accommodations: Before Testing

• IEP Team/Section 504 Committee must document all required testing accommodations in the IEP or Section 504 Plan

• Document all specific details necessary for the provision of an accommodation (e.g., estimated amount of Scheduled Extended Time)

• Use language that is consistent and aligned with that of state-approved testing accommodations

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• For students with more than one identification…

Use the following hierarchy of

accommodations documentation:

A. IEP

B. Section 504 Plan

C. LEP Plan/Documentation

D. Transitory Impairment Documentation

Documentation of Accommodations: Before Testing

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• A student has an IEP as well as LEP documentation. What plan would house ALL of the student’s accommodations?

• Hierarchy:– IEP– Section 504 Plan– LEP Plan/Documentation– Transitory Impairment Documentation

Documentation Scenario – Which would you use?

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Documentation of Testing

Accommodations in the IEP

IEP DEC4 Page 6 of 10

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Documentation of Testing

Accommodations in the Section

504 Plan

Available at:http://www.ncpublicschools.org/

accountability/policies/accom

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State-Approved Testing Accommodations for Students

with Disabilities

Categories of Testing Accommodations

• Special Print Versions

• Assistive Technology (AT) Devices and Special Arrangements

• Special Test Environments

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Special Print Versions

• Braille

• Large Print

• One Test Item Per Page

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Special Print Versions

• IEP Team/Section 504 Committee meets and determines accommodation

• Required accommodations data entered into NC WISE/CECAS/LEA-approved accommodations management system at least 30 days prior to testing date

(details to be discussed later in presentation!)

• Test orders based on data entered

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AT Devices and Special Arrangements

• AT Devices• Interpreter/Transliterator Signs/Cues Test• Student Marks Answers in Test Book• Student Reads Test Aloud to Self• Test Administrator Reads Test Aloud

(cont’d)

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• Other AT Devices and Special Arrangements– Braille Writer/Slate and Stylus (and Braille Paper)– Cranmer Abacus– Dictation to a Scribe– Keyboarding Devices– Magnification Devices

AT Devices and Special Arrangements (cont’d)

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Special Test Environments

• Hospital/Home Testing

• Multiple Testing Sessions

• Scheduled Extended Time

• Testing in a Separate Room

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Special NCDPI Approved Testing Accommodations

• Accommodation Notification Form– Submit form for any accommodation that is

not on state-approved list– NCDPI team will review information and

determine approval of requests

• Submit requests early in school year

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Top 5 Accommodations that Students Required on the

EOG and EOC

1. Scheduled Extended Time

2. Testing in a Separate Room

3. Test Administrator Reads Test Aloud (not for EOG Reading Test)

4. Student Marks Answers in Test Book

5. Multiple Testing Sessions

Based on Green Book

data from 2008–09

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