A recent trend in education research and policy has been to employ Universal Design principles for the greatest number of students to equitably and efficiently participate in large-scale assessments. A partnership was made with a computer science team to create a computer-based reading comprehension test with options for audio presentation and extended time testing accommodations. Tests with and without accommodations were given to 131 twelfth grade students in three high schools in New Jersey. Scores on Oral Reading Fluency Curriculum Based Measures (ORF CBMs) determined placement of students in groups of Students Without Functional Impairment in reading fluency (SWOFI, n = 83) and Students With Functional Impairment (SWFI, n = 44). Accessibility was measured using Test Accessibility and Modification Inventory (TAMI; Beddow, Elliot, & Kettler, 2008) and student evaluations, with TAMI results indicating an adequately accessible test and students rating the overall platform as highly accessible. Reliability change was analyzed using Feldt’s test, but yielded mixed results for different forms of the test. The validity results were mixed as well, with data analyses indicating no increase in scores for either group with accommodations, no differential boost, and no relationship between boost and accommodations. SWFIs spent more time and used more accommodations than SWOFIs, indicating that measurement of access skills can predict student need and use of accommodations. The relationship between reading fluency and reading comprehension lessened for SWFIs with accommodations, indicating that the accommodations may have assisted in removing construct-irrelevant skill. The results of this study suggest further inclusion of testing accommodations into general test platforms as an option for all students.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
School Psychology
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_7293
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
1 online resource (vii, 85 p. : ill.)
Note (type = degree)
Psy.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Universal design
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Students with disabilities
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Leah Dembitzer
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore10001800001
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
Rutgers University. Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.