Providing Access to State Assessments to Students with Disabilities without Compromising Security

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Balancing Test Security and Accessibilityon Next Generation OnlineAssessments: One State’s Perspective

Shelley Loving-Ryder

Virginia Department of Education

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Considerations

•Provide accessibility without advantagingstudents

•Ensure that assessment responses are student-generated

•Maintain security of test items

•Maintain constructs being measured

•Permit use of assistive technology that may notinteract well with online test delivery software.

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Additional Challenges for NextGeneration Tests

•Greater challenges in capturing some students’responses for technology-enhanced orconstructed response items.

•Assistive technology is ever changing

•Accessibility vs accommodations

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Virginia’s Requirements for All SchoolStaff Involved in Testing

•Signed security agreements

•Required training

•Affidavits

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Accommodation Procedures

•Test session monitored by additional proctor

•Video tape or audio taped

•Documented procedures for providingaccommodations (e.g., “read aloud” andinterpreter guidelines)

•Supervised access to test prior to administrationmay be permitted

•Individual testing may be required

•Additional affidavits for interpreters

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Security Requirements for TestingAccommodations

Allowed Accommodations

Security Requirements

Interpreting/Transliterating

•Guidance Document for Interpreters

•Examiner training requirement

•Access to test 24 hours prior with supervision

•Videotaping or proctoring of test session

•Interpreter and Proctor affidavits

Communication Board,Choice Cards

•Student response transcribed into answerdocument or entered online. A second adultverifies the transcription to ensure that noerrors have occurred

•Videotaping or proctoring of test session

•Examiner and Proctor affidavit

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Security Requirements for TestingAccommodations

Allowed Accommodations

Security Requirements

Read-Aloud

•Guidance Document for Read-Aloud

•Access to test 24 hours prior as authorizedby the Division Director of Testing

•Audio taping or proctoring of test session

•Written verification by Proctor to remainon file until scores are verified

•If audio tape, video must remain on fileuntil scores are verified

Flexible Schedule

(includes breaks and multiple test sessions)

•Breaks must be supervised

•Test materials must not be accessible orviewable by other students or schoolpersonnel

•Students cannot be exposed to previouslycompleted items or items not yet accessed.

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Assistive Technology Challenges

•While online test delivery systems are now beingbuilt to provide certain accessibility features,current systems often do not allow the use ofassistive technology software that is notprovided as a part of the online delivery system

•One solution is to use two computers—one thatdelivers the online test and the other that isloaded with the assistive technology.

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Security Requirements for TestingAccommodations

Allowed Accommodations

Security Requirements

Word PredictionSoftware (Online ShortPaper Writing Test)

•Use of two work stations (one withword prediction software and theother logged into Test Nav)

•Student response typed intoresponse area in TestNav bystudent or entered by scribe with asecond adult verifying

•Student response must be deletedfrom first workstation

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

The Ever Changing Landscape ofAccommodations….

•Assistive technology is constantly changing

•How to deal with requests for accommodationsthat aren’t yet on the “approved” list and withthose that are individualized for particularstudents?

•Virginia uses a “special accommodations”request process

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Special Accommodation Requests

•Allows the review of requests from local school divisions for thesmall number of students with disabilities who requireassessment accommodations beyond those routinely allowed.

•Each request is reviewed by Virginia Department of Educationstaff and consider the access needs of the student andstandardization and test security requirements.

•Staff members who are experts in assistive technology may beinvolved as well as content specialists to ensure that theconstruct of the test items are not changed by theaccommodations.

• Assessment accommodations may be “Approved,” “Approvedwith Conditions,” or “Not Approved.”

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Special Accommodation RequestProcess

Step 1

•Completion and submission of Special Accommodation request form toVDOE by local school division

Step 2

•Review of Request by staff with experience in online testing, specialeducation and assistive technology

•Consideration of student’s disability, access needs and test security

Step 3

•Draft response to request and determine if request is “Approved”“Approved with Conditions”, or “Denied”

Step 4

•Approval of Response by Assistant. Superintendent

Step 5

•Return of written response to school division

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Sample Special Accommodation Request Online - Geometry Test

•Accommodation request fornon-verbal student withphysical disabilities

–Use of iPad to communicate withscribe

–Use of Smart Notebook programon laptop with document cameraand LCD projector. SmartNotebook program includes toolssuch as compass, ruler,straightedge, pen)

–Projection of test onto SmartBoard to perform calculationsand constructions

•Approved with Conditions

–Test student individually

–Guided Access required with iPadto ensure there is no access to theInternet or other iPad applications

–Student responses entered inonline test by scribe. Verified by asecond school official to ensurethat errors have not occurred

–Test session proctored

–Test items and scratch work mustbe deleted from Smart Board, buta copy of the scratch work mustbe securely maintained untilscores are received and verified

–Written statements required byExaminer and Proctor indicatingtesting according to conditions.

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Special Accommodation Request: Prompts to Maintain Focus

•Accommodation request forstudent with processingdisabilities and difficultiesmaintaining focus

–Use statements – “____, stayfocused on what you aredoing”, and “Keep focused”.

–Use of a simple tap on his deskwhen student is off-task.

•Approved with Conditions

–Student must be test individuallyso other test-takers are notdisturbed.

–Only the following prompts maybe used: “____, stay focused onwhat you are doing”, and “Keepfocused”.

–Test session proctored or video-recorded.

–Written statements required byExaminer and Proctor indicatingtesting according to conditions.

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 2014

Security Requirements forEvidence- Based Alternate Assessments

Allowed Accommodations

Security Requirements

Accommodations must be documented onstudent’s IEP or 504 plan

•Evidence must be collected under thesupervision of the teacher or other schoolpersonnel.

•Testing conditions must be used in whichthe student does not have access to hints,clueing, or prompts that would provideanswers or an unfair advantage.

•Scoring rules require that individualstudent work that has not been copied

•Teacher and Principal Affidavits

Note: Affidavits states that theAlternate/Alternative Assessment are a part ofthe Virginia Accountability System andinappropriate administration is subject to thesame consequences and repercussions asviolations of test security for the Standards ofLearning Assessment)