SBIR Phase I: Creating an Interoperable Accessible Student Assessment System

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to increase the efficiency of educational testing. The project examines the feasibility of modifying a universally designed test delivery system so that it can import test items tagged using a tagging protocol - Question Test Interoperability (QTI) and Accessibility Meta-Tags (AMT), to deliver that content in an accessible manner. This key questions this research will address are: 1. To what extent do the existing QTI AMT specifications address the test accommodations allowed by state testing programs?; and 2) What additional meta-tags are required to meet the universe of state test accommodations? 3. Is it feasible to modify the existing version of the company?s key product so that it interprets and accurately present test items formatted using the QTI AMT standards. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be a computer-based test delivery system that employs the QTI AMT specifications to make test content accessible and portable is a major advance in the technology of educational testing. Successful completion of this research and development effort will also provide a concrete example of the value of creating accessibility standards and specifications, and will demonstrate the importance of considering access needs that extend beyond print-based disabilities (i.e., blind/visual impairment, dyslexia, etc.) and will inform the development of the next version of the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) as employed by commercial learning material developers.