The Road to Meeting NCLB Accommodations Requirements for Students with Disabilities

1. The Road to Meeting NCLB Accommodations Requirements for Students with Disabilities National Center on Educational Outcomes Presented to the ASES SCASS February 6, 2007

2. Information from the peer review comments to highlight the major accommodations-related issues that need to be addressed NCEO was asked to provide states with guidance regarding preparing for upcoming peer reviews Review peer review sections on accommodations Review and summarize for acceptable/insufficient examples Organize by themes Develop a brochure/pamphlet that includes examples and contact information Purpose of the study

3. We… Examined peer review comments Compiled the comments on just the sections related to accommodations, and Ended up with three large documents (Section 4.3 = 120 pages; 4.6 = 63 pages; 6.2 = 143 pages) Summarized and analyzed for themes Noticed some information gaps Method

4. Method • We met with the standards and assessment team. • Verified themes; cut Section 6.2 • We brought back copies of what States submitted for review for the sections on accommodations, for the first 10 approved states, plus other states that had exemplary or insufficient evidence.

5. Currently… Finalizing examples for each theme Finishing the draft guidance brochure Method

6. Arizona Connecticut Delaware Indiana Maryland North Carolina Oklahoma Tennessee Utah West Virginia 1st 10 States Approved

7. Our analysis is based on the peer reviewers’ comments and review documents from the first 10 states approved We did not start from the evidence provided by states; we looked at evidence from only the first 10 states, and selected other states that were directly mentioned as exemplary or insufficient by the peer reviewers Caveats

8. The peer review process did not use a rubric, but states and peers had the Standards and Assessment Peer Review Guidance Accommodations was just one small piece of the many things reviewers needed to consider Crosswalk effect in terms of the corresponding critical elements and acceptable/insufficient evidence (see Section 4.3 and 4.6) Caveats

9. Not always easy to pull examples from documents Some exemplars may have not been cited as such by the peers Sometimes states were commended but not for exemplary evidence Peer review comments sometimes indicated they saw much potential in a statement Caveats

10. Selection of Accommodations Consistency of accommodations with instruction Monitoring accommodations availability and use Accommodations provide meaningful scores Accommodations allow for valid inferences about students’ knowledge and skills Overview of Themes

11. Overview/Definition What the Guidance says about exemplary evidence Exemplary Evidence What the Guidance says about insufficient evidence Insufficient Evidence Recommendations for the theme Format of Themes

12.  Selection of accommodations refers to the decision-making process used to determine which students should receive accommodations on statewide assessments and what accommodations are appropriate for each student. Theme 1: Selection of Accommodations

13. Exemplary Evidence 1. Delaware’s flowchart 2. Maryland’s selection of accommodations Theme 1: Selection of Accommodations

17. Insufficient evidence no distinction made among accommodations for students with IEPs, accommodations for students with 504 plans, or accommodations for students who are English language learners CCSSO's (2005) Accommodations Manual was adopted as part of the state’s accommodations selection guidelines but not adapted to fit the state’s unique conditions a variety of accommodations are provided, but justification for accommodations is missing Theme 1: Selection of Accommodations

18. Produce a set of guidelines for accommodations that reflects a variety of options, with clear indications of when their use results in valid scores. Differentiate accommodations for different groups of students (e.g., students with disabilities, English language learners). Ensure that information provided to districts and others (e.g., parents, students) reflects the state’s accommodation policies, not some non-state-specific document produced by a collaborative of states or technical assistance center. Provide tools for decision makers if possible (e.g., decision-making trees, sets of questions to ask, fact sheets) based on state accommodation policies. Selection of Accommodations Recommendations

19. Consistency of assessment accommodations with instructional approaches refers to the link between accommodations used during instruction and those used during assessment. Theme 2: Consistency of Accommodations with Instruction

20. Exemplary Evidence: Alaska: “Because of the close link between assessment and instruction, the IEP or 504 plan must describe how accommodations for assessment are included in the student’s classroom instruction and assessment” (p. 13). Florida Theme 2: Consistency of Accommodations with Instruction

23. Insufficient Evidence: Providing a list of accommodations, but linkage of testing accommodations to use during instruction was not clear No clear requirement that accommodations used during testing must have been used in instruction No clear monitoring of the selection and use of accommodations to establish that accommodations used during testing are the same as those used for instruction Theme 2: Consistency of Accommodations with Instruction

24. Ensure that the linkage is clearly stated – in a way that expounds what is appropriate and what is not appropriate, given the state’s assessment. Provide decision makers with tools to help them see the distinctions and linkages between instructional accommodations and assessment accommodations. For more information on developing assessment accommodations aligned with accommodations used during instruction, refer to CCSSO's Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluation the Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities. Consistency of Accommodations with Instruction: Recommendations

25. Monitoring refers to tracking the use of accommodations and checking for the consistency with which they are available and used by students during instruction and during assessment. Theme 3: Monitoring Accommodations Availability and Use

26. Exemplary Evidence: West Virginia: Documents submitted in Round 2 include 2005-2006 West Virginia Guidelines for Participation in State Assessments West Virginia Continuous Improvement and Focused Monitoring Process. Florida Theme 3: Monitoring Accommodations Availability and Use

27. Florida’s monitoring includes: monitoring visits that include IEP reviews and interviews of teachers and administrators. districts must provide assurance that students with disabilities are given appropriate accommodations. at the time of testing, the state records information about accommodations. the state reviews and reports information about accommodations use on the FCAT for reading and math on an annual basis. targeted monitoring of schools and school districts is conducted. This includes reviewing records of individual students with disabilities for verification that the student received appropriate accommodations. Theme 3: Monitoring Accommodations Availability and Use

28. Insufficient Evidence: no evidence on monitoring IEP team can order accommodations, but the form is a suggestion, not returned to the state Insufficient monitoring plans, or inappropriately targeted monitoring plans Theme 3: Monitoring Accommodations Availability and Use

29. Recommendations made by peer reviewers Surveys or observations regarding accommodations assignment (e.g. samples of IEPs compared to accommodations, larger than that proposed) followed by random audits/monitoring, Studies comparing external judgments of proficiency (e.g. teacher ratings on standards, overall grades) with test results with and without accommodations, if possible, Application of existing research to selection of accommodations, Studies of the effects of invalidating modifications, particularly for the [high school proficiency exam], and Formal reviews of literature, collection of expert judgment, and empirical evidence regarding what accommodations produce more valid scores for which students Monitoring Accommodations Availability and Use

30. Ensure that your state has a valid method for gathering data on which students are to receive specific accommodations in assessment, and a form to document what they receive on test day. Document how your state analyzes its accommodations data, including timelines of analysis. Identify a specific monitoring procedure that identifies issues in the selection of accommodations for individual students or the provision of accommodations for instruction or assessment. Include information on any consequences that result from any irregularities in the administration of assessment accommodations. Consider conducting studies that examine the link between IEP-determined instructional accommodations, IEP-determined assessment accommodations, and which accommodations are actually used in each location. Additional Monitoring Recommendations

31. When used, accommodations must provide meaningful scores, ones that mean the same as scores produced by students who did not use accommodations. Theme 4: Accommodations Provide Meaningful Scores

32. Exemplary Evidence: In Maryland, accommodations that invalidate the score are clearly prohibited. Theme 4: Accommodations Provide Meaningful Scores

33. Insufficient Evidence: Not providing evidence for all assessments Not reporting results by accommodation Theme 4: Accommodations Provide Meaningful Scores

34. Provide a logical and rational argument that demonstrates why tests administered with specific accommodations that may be considered controversial do indeed produce scores that are comparable to nonaccommodated tests, given the standards being assessed. Identify studies that have been conducted that demonstrate the comparability of scores obtained with the accommodated and nonaccommodated assessments. Provide results by accommodations and modifications, to clearly distinguish those that are comparable and those that are noncomparable to results from students who received no accommodations. Accommodations Provide Meaningful Scores: Recommendations

35. When used, assessment accommodations should enable the user of test results to have an accurate measure of what the student knows and is able to do. With appropriate accommodations educators can make valid inferences about students’ knowledge and skills. Theme 5: Accommodations Allow for Valid Inferences about Students’ Knowledge and Skills

36. Exemplary Evidence: Delaware dissaggregates accommodations usage, as reported in the Accountability Technical Manual In addition, the accommodation guidelines provide which accommodations can be aggregated into the accountability system. Theme 5: Accommodations Allow for Valid Inferences about Students’ Knowledge and Skills

37. Insufficient Evidence Reliance on the belief that if accommodations are those typically provided, they allow for valid inferences Lack of evidence that scores from accommodated administrations are valid representations relative to standards Theme 5: Accommodations Allow for Valid Inferences about Students’ Knowledge and Skills

38. Conduct studies in your states on the use of accommodations by specific groups of students (e.g., category of disability, ethnic groups, etc.) Interview students about accommodations (access to, understanding of purpose, reactions of peers, etc.) – variable that will help you understand the validity of scores that result from their use during instruction and assessment Interview teachers to better understand the logistical constraints that impede the provision of accommodations, which in turn might reduce the validity of assessment results Interview decision making teams to identify factors that produce a tendency to select almost every accommodation possible, thereby resulting in over-accommodation; produce a form to aid decision making to avoid overaccommodation Accommodations Allow for Valid Inferences about Students’ Knowledge and Skills: Recommendations

39. Themes are interconnected Cross-walk between the themes and the guidance document Additional recommendations that are broader/narrower than the themes Narrow: Suggestions for states using ACT/SAT Broad: Recommendations for clear organization of materials Final Thoughts

40. Still working to pull examples to deepen themes 4 and 5 Verification with the ED Standards and Assessments Review Team Development of the brochure What’s Left to Do