Transcript The Validity of Accommodations or the Accommodations of

The Validity of Accommodations
or
the Accommodations of Validity:
Are They the Same Thing?
Kurt F. Geisinger
The University of St. Thomas
Assessment of Individuals with
Disabilities
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
• Definition of Disability:
(1) physical or mental impairment that limits life
activities
(2) documentation of such an impairment
(3) being regarded as having such an impairment
whether or not it limits activities
Principles of Accommodated Test
Administration
• Under ADA, individuals with disabilities must
have tests administered to them using
reasonable and appropriate accommodations.
• The goal of modified test administration is to
“provide a test that eliminates, insofar as
possible, sources of difficulty that are irrelevant
to the skills and knowledge being measured.”-Willingham et al., 1988
Types of Accommodated Test
Administration
• Test forms may be presented in improved type,
large-type, Braille, or audio-cassette
• Time limits can be enforced, extended (to different
degrees), or waived
• Test takers may be given extra rest pauses, a
reader, a recorder, a sign language interpreter, a
tape recorder to register answers, convenient testtaking locations and testing times.
• Testing of compensatory skills
What Makes an Accommodation
Useful? What Makes it Valid?
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Ease of use?
Affordability?
Expert judgment?
Psychometric proof of equivalence?
Lack of legal challenge?
All of the above…
Difficulty in Getting
Psychometric Proof
• Small Numbers/Accommodation
• Differences in the severity and nature of the
disability
• Meaningfulness in testing individuals with
accommodated and non-accommodated measures
• Appropriateness of grouping people with different
disabilities with the same accommodation
statistically
• Criterion deficiencies
Research Needed on
Accommodated Test
Administration
• Accommodated measures must be researched to
assess whether scores earned are comparable to
those earned under standard conditions and
whether the scores from adapted measures
continue to be stable and meaningful.
• Timing of testing is the #1 concern
– Maximum available time—pragmatic concerns
– Fatigue
• University Design
Extended Time:
The Final Frontier
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Modern definitions of learning disabilities/dyslexia
Many discrete disabilities
The infinite variety of levels of disability
Combinations of disabilities occur often
Can one treat all individuals with the same
accommodation but different disabilities as the
same? (for analysis)
• Flagging as a “hot topic”
The Need for Speed:
Test Speededness
• What is the justification of the need for
speed in considering the construct being
measured?
• The purpose of the test…Is the test a
measure of achievement or a predictive
test?
• How much should time be extended?
• The justifications for above differ
Speed and
Achievement Measures
• Must work normally be done quickly?
• Must knowledge be quickly accessible?
• Is slowing down responses a reasonable
accommodation in “real life”?
• Examples of each…
Some Conclusions
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We must use accommodations
Accommodations generally work & yield valid scores
Biggest concern: extended time limits & speed
If speed is not essential, reduce or eliminate it
The nature of the construct and purpose of the
testing are paramount determinants
• Research is difficult but more is needed