Reading outcomes of students with intellectual disability on statewide assessments

Education laws in the U.S. hold schools accountable for including students with intellectual disability on statewide reading assessments. Students with intellectual disability have been taking general or alternate reading assessments over the past two decades. However, very little attention has been given to the results of these assessments. The purpose of this study was to examine reading outcomes of students with intellectual disability on statewide general and alternate assessments in a Midwestern state in the U.S. We also examined whether students with intellectual disability’s reading outcomes varied across traditional and innovative school types. Results from descriptive analyses showed that a very low percentage of students with intellectual disability performed at the proficient level or above on 5th and 8th grades reading assessments. Also, students with intellectual disability’s reading proficiency levels did not significantly differ across school types. Implications of these results are discussed and recommendations for future research are provided.

Audible Image Description as an Accommodation in Statewide Assessments for Students with Visual and Print Disabilities

Introduction Although image description has been identified as an accommodation for presentations conducted in the classroom, only a few U.S. states have approved it for use in high-stakes assessments. This study examined the use of audible image description as an assessment accommodation for students with visual and print disabilities by investigating student comprehension under multiple conditions. Methods Students in three western states in grades three through eight who had visual ( n = 117) or print ( n = 178) disabilities participated in an abbreviated test constructed of retired assessment questions in English language arts, mathematics, and science, that were aligned with each state's instructional standards, under conditions with and without standardized description of graphic images. The study used a within-subjects block design to collect and compare comprehension data under conditions where audible image description was both used and not used in an abbreviated test. Results Results indicated that students who read braille were more likely to respond correctly under the audible image description condition, and students with visual and print disabilities who used print were equally likely to respond correctly regardless of condition. Discussion Braille readers were more likely to obtain a correct answer when audible image description accompanied the question. Audible image description did not affect the likelihood of a correct response from students with print disabilities or students with visual disabilities who read print. Implications for practitioners Audible image description is an accommodation that may help braille readers perform better on tests. Although the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and Smarter Balanced consortia are taking steps to include image (or picture) descriptions in their assessment accommodations, teachers may want to develop a standard method for describing images and familiarize their braille readers to the strategy by including it in instruction and in classroom tests. Readers are referred to the National Center on Accessible Media's online guidelines for image description.

Collaborative Planning To Teach Strategies for the Language of Testing

Language underlies learning in school settings. This paper describes a collaborative project to address the language of testing that children need to master to demonstrate their skills on statewide assessments. Two schools developed transdisciplinary teams to focus on the language of testing. School 1 focused on language skills in the area of reading for fifth graders and school 2 focused on language in the area of mathematics for children in the third through fifth grades. The methods and materials used are described in detail. Resources are provided that can be used to help children learn vocabulary and strategies needed for success on statewide assessments.

Relation Between CBM-R and CBM-mR Slopes

Oral reading tasks and Maze reading tasks are often used interchangeably to assess the level and rate of reading skill development. This study examined the concurrent validity of growth estimates derived from Curriculum-Based Measurement of Oral Reading (CBM-R) and Maze Reading (CBM-mR). Participants were 1,528 students from Grades 3 to 8. CBM-R and CBM-mR were administered in fall, winter, and spring. Results indicate that CBM-R growth estimates are not correlated with CBM-mR growth estimates as derived with bivariate latent growth modeling (BLGM). In addition, results indicate that CBM growth estimates do not contribute to predictions of student performance on statewide assessments. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.