Assessment Modifications

Are supports or services provided to help students progress in the general education curriculum and demonstrate their learning. Accommodations do not mean big change in the instructional level, content, or standards. Rather, support is provided so that students have an equal opportunity to learn and to demonstrate what they have learned.

Accommodations are approaches to information that level the playing field for all students.

Examples:

• Extended Time
  
• Large Print
  
• Books on Tape
  
• Typing the answers on a computer
  

A modification does alter content knowledge expectations as well as assessment administration practices. A modification is a change in the course of study, standards, test preparation, location, timing, scheduling, expectations, student response and/or other attribute which provide access for a student with a disability to participate in a course, standard or test. It does fundamentally alter or lower the standard or expectation of the course, standard or test. Modifications are used in the classroom to meet the needs of every child’s strength. Modifications involve lowering the level of materials presented.

Examples:

• Less Questions
  
• Simplified Text
  
• Using Spell Check on a computer
  
• Watch a Video or Film instead of reading text
  

Presentation accommodations allow students to access test directions or content in ways that do not require them to visually read standard print. These alternate modes of access include visual, tactile, auditory, and a combination of visual and auditory. Sometimes presentation accommodations refer to test instructions only, and sometimes they are used for all or parts of a test. Some states do not allow non-visual forms of print access on some tests, parts of tests, or at certain grade levels.

Accommodations:

Large print - Large print editions of tests are required for some students with visual impairments. A regular print test can be enlarged through photocopying, or an electronic version of a test can be manipulated to reformat test items and enlarge or change the font as needed. The latter method is preferable. All text and graphic materials, including labels and captions on pictures, diagrams, maps, charts, exponential numbers, notes, and footnotes, must be presented in at least 18-point type for students who need large print. If a student needs a large print test edition, be sure it is ordered in plenty of time to be available for the test. After a student finishes a large-print edition of a test, someone needs to transcribe the student's answers verbatim onto a standard answer sheet.

Audio tape or compact disk - A test may be prerecorded on an audio cassette or compact disk that a student accesses by listening. Some states provide tests recorded on audiotape. Advantages include ease of operation and low cost. An audio version of a test is not useful for a student who is not familiar, skilled, and comfortable taking tests with this accommodation. It is critical for students to use this accommodation regularly in classroom work and on classroom and practice tests before using it on a test for accountability.

Modifications: At our school we was not allowed to modify State assessments. Our students received a different test that had already been modified for them. For classroom assessments we could use modifications.

We used book that a student would be interested in for example everyone else might have read a book about the United States. For the student who need a modification who is interested in food. We would read a book about cuisine in the United States.

For fill in the blank questions students who need a modification would be given less questions and a word bank to chose from.

Response Accommodations allow a student to:

• Give responses in a form (oral or written) that’s easier for him
• Dictate answers to a scribe
• Capture responses on an audio recorder
• Use a spelling dictionary or electronic spell-checker

Response Modifications allow student to:

• Given less questions to answer
• Given multiple choice instead of fill in the blank
• Create alternate projects or assignments
• Write shorter papers

Setting accommodations allow a student to:

• Work or take a test in a different setting, such as a quiet room with few distractions
• Sit where he learns best (for example, near the teacher)
• Use special lighting or acoustics
• Take a test in small group setting
• Use sensory tools such as an exercise band that can be looped around a chair’s legs (so fidgety kids can kick it and quietly get their energy out)

Timing accommodations allow a student to:

• Take more time to complete a task or a test
• Have extra time to process oral information and directions
• Take frequent breaks, such as after completing a task

Scheduling accommodations allow a student to:

• Take more time to complete a project
• Take a test in several timed sessions or over several days
• Take sections of a test in a different order
• Take a test at a specific time of day

Test security: is to protect the integrity of the assessment and to assure that results are accurate and meaningful. To ensure that trends in achievement results can be calculated across years in order to provide longitudinal data, a certain number of test questions must be repeated from year to year. If any of these questions are made public, the validity of the test may be compromised because students may know the questions and answers in advance of taking the assessment. ( TILSA,2013)

Communication Protocol: In an effort to keep individuals well informed regarding testing security policies and procedures, the OSA recommends the following system for communication exchange. This protocol serves the purpose of connecting all individuals involved in the testing community in order to better impact policy decision making. There is a two-way communication exchange between each level, which is particularly important in maintaining test security. The protocol for communication exchange for test security is Office of Standards and Assessment >< District Assessment Coordinator >< Building Assessment Coordinator >< Test Administrator/Proctor. (TILSA,2013)

Family Education and Privacy Rights Act (FERPA). (1997). Code of Federal Regulations – Title 34, Volume 1, Parts 1 to 299

Technical Issues in Large-Scale Assessments (TILSA) Test Security Guidebook: Preventing, Detecting, and Investigating Test Security Irregularities. (2013). By John F. Olson and John Fremer. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers.

TILSA Test Security: Lessons Learned by State Assessment Programs in Preventing, Detecting, and Investigating Test Security Irregularities. (2015). By John F. Olson and John Fremer. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers.