A COMPUTERIZED ASSESSMENT ENVIRONMENT FOR TESTING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

THE POOR PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ON TESTS DESIGNED FOR THE NON-HANDICAPPED HAS LONG BEEN A CONCERN OF SPECIAL EDUCATORS. SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS MAY BE PENALIZED BY THE FORMAT AND PRESENTATION OF TEST ITEMS AND BY CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THE TESTS ARE ADMINISTERED. RESEARCH INDICATES THAT LOW PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ON MINIMUM COMPETENCY TESTS IS A PARTICULARLY SERIOUS PROBLEM. MINIMUM COMPETENCY TESTS ARE ADMINISTERED IN A MAJORITY OF STATES, AND ARE INCREASINGLY USED AS A BASIS FOR GRADUATION AND DIPLOMA DECISIONS WHICH CAN AFFECT STUDENTS FAR BEYOND THEIR SCHOOL CAREERS. THERE IS GENERAL AGREEMENT THAT IF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ARE TO SUCCEED ON MINIMUM COMPETENCY TESTS, THEY WILL NEED ACCOMMODATIONS SO THEY ARE NOT PENALIZED BY THEIR HANDICAPPING CONDITION. ALTHOUGH TEST MODIFICATIONS ARE ALLOWED IN SOME STATES, THEY ARE NOT APPLIED UNIFORMLY, AND SPECIFIC EFFECTS ARE UNKNOWN. THIS MAY BE BECAUSE THERE IS NO SYSTEMATIC AND PRACTICAL WAY TO PRODUCE AND ADMINSTER TEST MODIFICATIONS, OR TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF MODIFICATIONS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS WITH VARIOUS DISABILITIES. THIS PROPOSAL IS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A PROTOTYPE SYSTEM FOR COMPUTERIZED TEST DELIVERY, MANAGEMENT, AND ANALYSIS, THAT CAN ALSO BE USED FOR CONTINUING RESEARCH ON THE SPECIFIC RELATIONSHIP OF TEST MODIFICATIONS TO PERFORMANCE IN HANDICAPPED POPULATIONS. THE PROTOTYPE WILL CREATE AND ADMINISTER TESTS WITH VARIATION IN ITEM FORMATS, ITEM SEQUENCING, TIMING, AND PRESENTATION OF DIRECTIONS. THE SYSTEM WILL USE TOUCH SCREEN TECHNOLOGY TO ADMINISTER TESTS. AUTOMATIC DATA COLLECTION FEATURES WILL BE BUILT IN SO THAT DATA CAN BE ACCUMULATED AS TESTS ARE ADMINISTERED. PHASE I OUTCOMES INCLUDE SUMMARY DATA ON MANAGEMENT INFORMATION NEEDS, AND DETAILED WORK PLAN SPECIFICATIONS FOR PHASE II IMPLEMENTATION