accessibility for michigan’s assessments region iv assistive technology consortium fall conference...
TRANSCRIPT
Accessibility for Michigan’s Assessments
Region IV Assistive Technology Consortium Fall Conference
November 14, 2014
Agenda• New national directions in accessibility• Grant work• Guiding accessibility principles• Specific accommodations for spring 2015
Assessment Consortium
• Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium• WIDA ASSETS Consortium
Shared National Experts
SBAC PARCC DLM ASSETS ELPA21
Jamal Abedi Jamal Abedi Jamal Abedi
Derek Briggs Derek BriggsJames Pellegrino
James Pellegrino
Ed Bosso Ed Bosso
Kenji Hakuta Kenji Hakuta Kenji Hakuta
Robert Linquanti
Robert Linquanti
Martha Thurlow
Martha Thurlow
Gary Cook Gary Cook
GAAP Grant• Guidelines for Accessible Assessment Project
o www.nimbletools.com/gaap o Guidelines for how to represent assessment content in audio and sign
formo Individuals tasked with reading aloud or signing test content rarely see
the test content in advance, thus, content is read aloud or signed on-the-fly
o Creates potential for variation in the content of what’s being testedo 18 states including Michigan
ATEA Grant• Accessibility for Technology-Enhanced
Assessments Projecto www.ateaassessments.orgo Guidelines and recommendations for providing accessibility of
technology-enhanced tests for students with vision and motor disabilities
o 8 states including Michigano Michigan has 13 teachers scheduled to participate in the item tryouts
ATEA Grant• Removing inaccessible actions like dragging and
dropping elements• Replacing these elements with things like radio
buttons or click-to-select interactions• Creating static alternatives for print and braille
test forms
New Accommodations Framework
• Universal Tools• Designated Supports• Accommodations
New Framework• Universal tools consistent with universal design
available to all students• Designated supports available to students but
must be arranged and activated prior to assessment by an educator or team of educators
• Accommodations assigned and documented by an IEP or 504 Plan team
Other Guiding Principles
“…assessments can be designed from the beginning with consideration of all students,”
(Thurlow, Quenemoen, & Lazarus, 2011)
Other Guiding Principles
• Attempt to ensure accessibility to content for the widest range of students possible
• Ensure constructs are not violated• Ensure consistency of administration• Ensure connection between accommodations
used in instruction and assessment• Accommodations decisions made at the student
level• Decisions made through a team approach
Construct Relevance & Validity
Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing:
“Validity refers to the degree to which evidence and theory support the interpretations of test scores entailed by proposed uses of tests.”
CAST:
“Construct relevant refers to the factors (e.g. mode of presentation or response) that are relevant (related) to the construct that the test is intended to measure.”
ExamplesLetter decoding ≠ listening comprehension
Drag and drop requirement for students with physical disabilities
Technology Enhanced Items
• New testing mode, new items, new challenges• Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should
o Increased cognitive demandso Increased physical demands
Technology Enhanced Item Examples
• Drag and drop• Graphing• Hot text• Constructed response items
Braille• Contracted and possibly uncontracted (Math and
ELA only)• Future transitions:
o Office of Low Incidence Outreach Workshops beginning this fall for UEB transition
o Contact Collette Bauman at [email protected]
o Accommodation
TTS & Read Aloud• TTS for Read aloud for ELA reading passages in
grades 6-8 and 11 as an Accommodationo TTS available for Math and ELA items as a Designated Support
• Blind students in grades 3-8 and 11 who do not yet have adequate braille skills
Read Aloud• Text is read aloud to the student by a trained and
qualified human reader who follows the administration guidelines provided in the Test Administration Manual. All or portions of the content may be read aloud.
Recommendations for Use
• TTS & Read Aloud for ELA Passages: Appropriate for an estimated 1-2% of the population of students with disabilities participating in the general assessment
Additional Supports• Color overlay (Designated Support)• Masking (Designated Support)• Magnification (Universal)• For paper-pencil – Enlarged print (Designated
Support)• Multiplication table (Accommodation)• Full Spanish translation (Designated Support)• For paper-pencil – Glossing reference sheets
(Designated Support)
Additional Supports• Scratch paper (Universal)• Calculator
o Only available on items for which it’s allowedo If students need something like a talking calculator, they may use it
(Accommodation). Heavily reliant on good test administration.
Other Allowable Assistive Technologies
Alternate response options include but are not limited to adapted keyboards, large keyboards, StickyKeys, MouseKeys, FilterKeys, adapted mouse, touch screen, head wand, and switches.
Future Accommodations
Assignment• Personal Needs Profile (PNP)
o Assignment of accommodations needed for an assessment through the MDE Secure Site• Allows for efficiency in setting up accommodations in the online
delivery system• Encouraging team approach• Try to help districts make good decisions about accommodations
Planned Michigan Resources
• Accommodations manualo Decision making guidanceo Tables for each content area and mode (online & paper-pencil)o If it’s not in the manual, e-mail Jen
• Scribing guidelineso Guidelines for all assessmentso Possible video
• Professional developmento How to make decisionso How to setup supports in the delivery system
• Practice tests
M-STEP• Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress• www.michigan.gov/mde
o Student Assessmento M-STEP Summative
