Scheduled for Special Populations Symposium—Test Accommodations for Individuals With Disabilities, Friday, April 2, 2004, 8:45 AM - 10:00 AM, Convention Center: 208


Principle, Practice and Challenges of Test Accommodations

Weimo Zhu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL

When administering a standardized test to students with disabilities, some sort of accommodation or modification is often needed. This is because the test is usually developed based on an able-bodied population. A variety of changes have been employed when using cognitive testing instruments, such as changes in physical environment, testing time, test direction, test format and response mechanisms. Because of the variable characteristics of disability, possible ways for accommodation are endless. Whether a test, after accommodations, still retains its construct is the most critical challenge in test accommodation practice. While statistical procedures, such as test equating, are available to evaluate the equivalence of multiple testing forms, it is very difficult to conduct such analysis in the context of test accommodation due to small sample sizes and multiple formats of accommodations employed. Comparability of test scores is another challenge. Even if the construct remains the same, a score from an accommodated test may not be comparable to a score from non-accommodated test. The major principles of accommodation include addressing individual needs, confidentiality, engaging in joint problem solving, making all accommodations voluntary, reviewing accommodations periodically and being flexible in enforcing policies. Documentation is a key component of the accommodation process. Very recently, evidence-centered assessment has been proposed for test accommodation, as well as the construction of tests that can assess very large ranges of abilities. This presentation will provide an overview on test accommodation. Major psychometric challenges in test accommodations, along with the research needs in areas of physical, motor and fitness testing, will be described in detail.
Keyword(s): adapted physical activity, assessment, measurement/evaluation

Back to the 2004 AAHPERD National Convention and Exposition