Making Online Tests Accessible to Persons who are Visually Impaired

1. Making Online Tests Accessible to Persons who are Visually Impaired

2. Accessible Tests… • Are designed for the medium from the ground up to avoid retrofitting. • Allow the student to enter and navigate the test independently. • Provide a large print, braille/tactile, or regular print test so that the examinee has their choice of media. • Coordinate the various media.

3. To meet the needs of students with visual impairments, online tests must… • Follow operating system and web accessibility guidelines • Provide keyboard access to functions • Allow user to change font & screen color • Provide alternative content for all illustrations, diagrams, photos, etc. • Make content accessible to screen readers and other assistive technology

4. CATS Online: Kentucky’s Accessible Assessment Provides eligible students with disabilities or limited English proficiency an accessible way to participate in the Kentucky Core Content Test (KCCT)

5. Basis for Creation of this Assessment Accommodation • Accommodations regulation (703 KAR 5:070) allows technology use during instruction to be applied during assessment under certain criteria • >95% of KY Schools Have Acquired a Textreader Site License

6. Which Students are Eligible? • Students with an IEP, 504 Plan, or PSP (ELLs) which includes the need for a “reader” or other assistive technology as an instructional and assessment accommodation • Students who routinely use a screen reader or other technology in order to access printed material in classroom instruction and assessment

7. Supported Assistive Technology • JAWS • ZoomText Xtra • Read & Write Gold • Read & Write Mac • Mac OS textreader

8. Online Assessment Participation(Students with disabilities or LEP) Kentucky has a total of 175 school districts, 1249 schools, and 86,000+ SWDs.

9. Comparison of 3 Testing Systems

10. Common Features of 3 Systems • Individual student login • Single question presentation • Reminder of unanswered questions • Navigation to any question in section • Flag item for review • Setup of students and test sessions at school level

11. Student View System 1

12. Student View System 2

13. Student View System 3

14. Student View Constructed Response Text box

15. Issues Encountered • Logistics of large numbers of students testing online simultaneously (e.g., hardware, security, bandwidth, technology support, etc.) • Electronic submission and scoring of student responses (especially open response) • Training and prep of staff, students and technology (validation of local capacity) • Availability of digital curriculum • Psychometric impact of online assessment

16. Capturing responses beyond capacity of textbox (e.g., drawing of graphs, illustrations) • AT capacity to read many math symbols rendered with regular font (subtraction, exponents, fractions…) • Provision of additional accommodations (scribe, cueing, paraphrasing, etc.) • Alt text for math & science images problematic • Support for AT currently in use vs. time for QC and security • Wide range of implementation of technology across schools, grades and content areas

17. Contractor Perspective • 2000-2006 Online testing experience • Large-scale, high-stakes • general population students • Mandated and voluntary participation models • FAQ: Why test online?

18. Answers(?) • Faster results • Less paper • Engaged students • Because it’s cool • Objections(!) • Students and proctors required to learn new technology • Incongruent to classroom instruction • Infrastructure burden

19. The Kentucky Opportunity • Large-scale, high-stakes • Special population students who require online accommodation first to test online • Voluntary participation • FAQ answered: because the students will benefit

20. Requirements gathering and development • Assistive Technology: built in or compatible? • Student interface: Flash vs. HTML • Data administration and proctor interface • Section 508 compatibility • What tools and/or products do we support?

21. Test Content Considerations • Alternative text • Graphics • Equations • Formatting • Reading passages • Graphic placement • Footnotes • Numbered paragraphs or lines

22. Roll-out/product support • Prototype/External QA/User Acceptance • KDE and Measured Progress • Feedback and critical updates • Pilot Test/External QA/User Acceptance • KDE, Measured Progress, local school environments • Feedback and critical updates • Operational Release • KDE release approval • Operational Updates (expect the unexpected) • Implemented as required with KDE and Measured Progress review/approval

23. Summary: Critical Elements • Communication • Planning • Student and school/district staff input • Continual learning process

24. Staff Comments - 2007 • My students felt that they had performed better on CATS testing this year than all the other years that they had tested. • The on-line testing this year was so much easier to use than in the past. • The students enjoyed it tremendously. I had one parent tell me her child was still discussing the test 2 weeks after completion. • The students worked harder than I have ever seen them work.

25. Questions? Don’t forget to fill out your evaluations!

26. Contact Information Barbara Henderson, American Printing House for the Blind bhenderson@aph.org , 1-800-223-1839 x328 Linnie Lee, Kentucky Dept of Education linnie.lee@education.ky.gov , 1-502-564-2106 Chloe Torres, Measured Progress ctorres@measuredprogress.org , 1-603-749-9102