SBIR Phase I: Developing, Piloting, and Validating a Flexible Test Delivery System for State Assessment Programs

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I research project aims to develop, pilot, and validate a Flexible Test Delivery System that provides multiple test accommodations in a flexible, cost-effective, and standardized manner. The accommodations include: a) read aloud of text; b) magnification of text and images; c) read back of open-ended responses; d) item masking; and e) test materials management. Usability and preliminary validity studies will be conducted at the high school level, using released mathematics tests. The proposed research responds directly to a need that has arisen as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. These acts require that students with disabilities participate in state administered educational tests and that schools provide appropriate accommodations for students during testing. Although all fifty states have implemented annual testing programs for students in grades 3-8 and in high school, many schools across struggle to provide students with appropriate accommodations during testing. As a result, the achievement of many students with disabilities is underestimated and decisions made based on test performance may result in decreased educational opportunities for many of these students. Currently, state testing programs modify test materials or test administration procedures to provide students with appropriate accommodations. These modifications are expensive and include printing different versions of test materials, producing specialized electronic versions, administering tests individually with a proctor, and requiring proctors to transcribe responses from a booklet or typed essay to an answer booklet. Although it is difficult to estimate the time and costs associated with these modifications, they have become too large for many schools to bear. Based on ten years of research, it is evident that computers can be used to effectively and efficiently provide test accommodations. This research project will have the opportunity to broadly testing across all states.