Full Description
Succinct and up-to-date, Assessment Accommodations for Diverse Learners presents a systematic discussion of the use of assessment accommodations with two types of learners who have many assessment issues in common-students with disabilities and students from linguistically diverse backgrounds (ELLs).
Contents
Every chapter concludes with "Summary." Preface. 1. An introduction to contemporary school testing and assessment. Testing and assessment. Uses of tests in education. Contemporary developments affecting assessment in education. Including diverse learners in large-scale assessment. Recent trends in school assessment. 2. Diverse learners, standardized testing, and testing accommodations. Diverse learners defined. General requirements of assessment. Characteristics of standardized test. Types of standardized tests. Using testing accommodations for diverse learners. Legal bases for testing accommodations. 3. Professional uses of testing accommodations. Purpose of using accommodations in testing. Basic considerations in using testing accommodations. Types of testing accommodations. Selecting testing accommodations. Requesting and granting accommodations. Interpreting results from accommodated testing. Reporting assessment data from diverse learners. Research on the use of testing accommodations in various school assessments. 4. Psychometric issues in the use of testing accommodations. Testing accommodations and psychometric soundness. Standardization. Reliability. Validity. Types of validity evidence. Effects of accommodations on reliability and validity. Effects of accommodations on test performance. Flagging of scores on accommodated tests. 5. Using accommodations for students with sensory and/or physical disabilities. Blind and visual impairment. Deaf and hard of hearing. Physical disabilities. Empirical research on effects of testing accommodations. Some concluding remarks and recommendations. 6. Using accommodations for students with learning, cognitive, and behavioral disabilities. Learning disabilities. Mental retardation. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Behavioral and emotional disturbance. Empirical research on effects of testing accommodations. Some concluding remarks and recommendations. 7. Using accommodations for English language learners. ELLs in the public schools. Need for testing accommodations for ELLs. Steps in assessing ELLs with accommodations. Assessing English language proficiency. Exempting or deferring ELLs from testing. Modifying standard test administration. Using test translated or adapted tests. Using bilingual interpreters in testing. Common guidelines needed for providing testing accommodations to ELLs. Some concluding remarks and recommendations. 8. Alternative assessment. What is alternative assessment? Alternative assessment and diverse learners. Types of alternative assessment. Specific alternative assessment strategies. Scoring and interpretation. Technical considerations. Merits and limitations. References. Index.
