Accessibility for Michigan’s Assessments Region IV Assistive Technology Consortium Fall Conference November 14, 2014.

Accessibility for Michigan’s Assessments

Region IV Assistive Technology Consortium Fall Conference

November 14, 2014

Jennifer [email protected]

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

Burning QuestionsJennifer [email protected]