better tests, fewer barriers: advances in accessibility through parcc and smarter balanced

8/20/2019 Better Tests, Fewer Barriers: Advances in Accessibility through PARCC and Smarter Balanced

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Better Tests, Fewer Barriers

Advances in Accessibility through PARCC and Smarter Balanced

By Samantha Batel and Scott Sargrad February 2016


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Better Tests, Fewer BarriersAdvances in Accessibility through PARCC

and Smarter Balanced

By Samantha Batel and Scott Sargrad February 2016


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1 Introduction and summary

3 Moving toward better assessments

7 Advances in universal design and accessibility

through PARCC and Smarter Balanced

12 Challenges and future opportunities

15 Recommendations

17 Conclusion

18 About the authors

20 Endnotes

Contents


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1 Center for American Progress | Better Tests, Fewer Barriers

Introduction and summary

English language learners and sudens wih disabiliies make up more han 20 per-

cen o public school enrollmen.1 In he 2012-13 school year, an esimaed 4.4 mil-

lion public school sudens were idenified as English language learners.2 Ta same

school year, 6.4 million children and youh in he Unied Saes received special

educaion services under he Individuals wih Disabiliies Educaion Ac, or IDEA,

previously known as he Educaion or All Handicapped Children Ac o 1975,

or EHA.3 And he mos recen daa show ha nearly 740,000 sudens across he

counry have Secion 504 plans under he Rehabiliaion Ac o 1973, which providesudens wih disabiliies educaional services such as accommodaions.4

Given hese numbers, i is criical ha sudens wih disabiliies and English

language learners have he same opporuniies as heir peers o demonsrae heir

knowledge and skills and receive appropriae suppors o mee heir needs. In ac,

98 percen o schools have a leas one suden wih a disabiliy, and 74 percen o

schools have a leas one suden who is an English language learner.5 Accordingly,

schools mus ensure ha each and every suden is making progress.

Indeed, or he pas 50 years, he ederal governmen has increasingly suppored

he educaion o sudens wih disabiliies and English language learners, sar-

ing wih he Elemenary and Secondary Educaion Ac o 1965, or ESEA; he

Bilingual Educaion Ac o 1968; and EHA.6 Te Improving America’s Schools

Ache 1994 reauhorizaion o ESEArequired saes o assess he reading

and mahemaics perormance o all sudens, including sudens wih disabiliies

and English language learners, and repor disaggregaed resuls.7 And in 1997,

IDEA required ha saes include sudens wih disabiliies in saewide and dis-

ricwide assessmens, wih individual accommodaions as needed.8

Te No Child Lef Behind Ac, or NCLBhe 2001 reauhorizaion o ESEA

increased sae accounabiliy or sudens wih disabiliies and English language

learners by requiring annual assessmens. I also insruced saes and disrics

o ake acion when hese groups o sudens were no making progress.9 Wih


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hese requiremens came increased esing accommodaion polices o ensure ha

sudens wih disabiliies and English language learners ully paricipaed under

air esing condiions.10

Te mos recen reauhorizaion o ESEA was signed ino law by Presiden Barack

Obama on December 10, 2015. Te Every Suden Succeeds Ac, or ESSA,requires ha assessmens be valid, reliable, and air or all sudens, including su-

dens wih disabiliies and English language learners. I also preserves he annual

assessmen and accommodaion requiremens o NCLB.11

esing accommodaions or sudens wih disabiliies and English language

learners serve o increase access o exam maerials, setings, or procedures wihou

changing wha he assessmen measures. Common accommodaions or sudens

wih disabiliies include exended es-aking ime, dicaed response, large prin,

Braille, he use o a sign language inerpreer, and assisive echnology devices. 12

English language learners may receive ranslaion suppor hrough bilingual glos-saries, direcions read aloud or ranslaed ino heir naive language, or a side-by-

side bilingual version o he es.13 Noably, policies and guidelines ha perain

o es accessibiliy vary across saes, and some, such as hose or read-aloud

eaures, ace conroversy as saes srive o balance equiy and mainaining he

meaning and inegriy o es scores.14

New assessmens aligned o college- and career-ready sandards are a major sep

orward in accessibiliy and accommodaion eaures or sudens wih disabili-

ies and English language learners. Designed by wo consoria o saeshe

Parnership or Assessmen o Readiness or College and Careers, or PARCC, and

he Smarer Balanced Assessmen Consorium, or Smarer Balancedhese ess

include iems and asks designed wih all sudens in mind. PARCC and Smarer

Balanced exams also include buil-in eaures and innovaive approaches o acces-

sibiliy resources ha are ailored o sudens’ needs.

Alhough here is room or improvemen, he PARCC and Smarer Balanced es

designs represen remendous progress. As sae, local, and oher leaders develop

and adminiser uure generaions o assessmens, a heighened ocus on acces-

sibiliy, proper implemenaion, improved echnology, and ensuring access oaccommodaions will benefi all learners.


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Moving toward better assessments

Beginning in 2009, saes se abou developing and adoping he Common Core

Sae Sandards, a se o rigorous expecaions or wha sudens should know

and be able o do a each grade level rom kindergaren o 12h grade o ensure

ha hey are on rack or success in college and careers. Currenly, 42 saes, he

Disric o Columbia, our erriories, and he Deparmen o Deense Educaion

Aciviy are implemening hese sandards.15

As par o he ransiion o hese new, higher sandards, he Parnership or Assessmen o Readiness or College and Careers and he Smarer Balanced

Assessmen Consorium developed high-qualiy assessmens aligned o he

Common Core. Trough he Race o he op Assessmen Program auho-

rized under he American Recovery and Reinvesmen Ac o 2009, he U.S.

Deparmen o Educaion awarded hese wo groups o saes grans o develop a

new generaion o ess. In Sepember 2010, PARCC received $170 million and

Smarer Balanced received $160 million o creae assessmens or all learners.16

PARCC, originally made up o 26 saes, and Smarer Balanced, iniially made

up o 31 saes, designed compuer-adminisered summaive assessmens in

mahemaics and English language ars, or ELA, or hird hrough eighh grades

and once in high school.17 In February 2013, Smarer Balanced launched a pilo

es o is assessmen sysem, and in spring 2014, boh Smarer Balanced and

PARCC conduced exensive field ess.18 Te ollowing year, in spring 2015, 5

million sudens in 12 saes compleed a PARCC es, and 7 million sudens in

18 saes, he U.S. Virgin Islands, and selec Bureau o Indian Educaion schools

ook Smarer Balanced exams.19

Tese new assessmens improve on previous sae ess in erms o qualiy, rigor,and alignmen. Some ormer sae assessmens did no apply deeper learning

conceps, nor did hey measure he ull range o sae sandards.20 Addiionally,

approximaely one-hird o saes adminisered exclusively muliple-choice ess in

boh reading and mahemaics o sudens in he ourh and eighh grades.21


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A 2015 repor by he Naional Nework o Sae eachers o he Year concluded

ha he Common Core-aligned assessmens “represen an improvemen and he

righ rajecory.”22 Reviewers agreed ha PARCC and Smarer Balanced assess-

mens more accuraely reflec he range o reading and mahemaics knowledge

and skills ha sudens should maser; demonsrae a ull range o cogniive

complexiy; align wih srong insrucional pracices; and disinguish beweenmid-perorming and high-perorming sudens. Reviewers also raed PARCC and

Smarer Balanced as being more rigorous and grade-level appropriae.23

A 2016 repor by he Tomas B. Fordham Insiue underscores hese findings.

An exper review o he PARCC and Smarer Balanced fifh and eighh grade

exams concluded ha hey are an “excellen” or “good” mach o he Common

Core ELA and mahemaics sandards in boh conen and deph. Te consoria

assessmens also ouperormed compeiors, including he AC Aspire and he

Massachusets Comprehensive Assessmen Sysem, or MCAS, in erms o align-

men o he sandards.24

A parallel sudy by he Human Resources Research Organizaion, or HumRRO,

evaluaed he alignmen o high school assessmens o he Common Core or

he same our esing programsPARCC, Smarer Balanced, AC Aspire, and

MCASin addiion o conducing an accessibiliy review. HumRRO ound ha

no only are PARCC and Smarer Balanced assessmens generally more aligned

o he Common Core ELA and mahemaics sandards in conen and deph, bu

hey also offer more accessibiliy eaures han heir compeiors.25

Indeed, PARCC and Smarer Balanced exams move beyond fill-in-he-bubble ess

o no only measure criical hinking skills bu also o beter accommodae he needs

o sudens wih disabiliies and English language learners. Te compuer-based

sysems offer advancemens in universal design principles as applied o assessmens

ha provide access or a wider range o suden needs, reducing he number o su-

dens required o ake exams in separae small-group or one-on-one setings.26

Universal design and accessibility

Universal design is a concep ha can apply o everyhing rom archiecure and

consumer producs o educaion. In general, universal design considers individu-

als wih he greaes physical and cogniive needs o creae accessible producs and

services. ake, or example, curb cus on sidewalks. Originally designed o accom-


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modae wheelchair users, curb cus are also useul or cycliss and pedesrians wih

srollers or suicases.27 By implemening his design on he ron end, i becomes a

eaure raher han a fix. Ideniying poenial access issues in he beginning mini-

mizes modificaions needed on he back end, and all users benefi.

Similarly, universally designed assessmens build in accommodaions and supporeaures o make hem more accessible o he greaes number o sudens. Tey

ensure ha assessmens measure suden knowledge o he maerial being esed

raher han heir abiliy o access he es conen.28 Moreover, when assessmen

designers have he expecaion ha ess should be aken by all sudens, hey cre-

ae exams wih every suden in mind. Tis is paricularly imporan or sudens

wih disabiliies and English language learners: Te goal is o provide beter access

or hose who need addiional suppors.


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Universal design for learning and assessment development

In the 1990s, the Center for Applied Special Technol-

ogy, or CAST, a nonprofit education research and

development organization, laid out the principles of

universal design for learning, or UDL. UDL is a frame-work to improve teaching and learning that focuses

on the “what,” “how,” and “why” of learning:

1. The “what”—multiple means of representa-

tion: Sudens comprehend inormaion di-

erenly, so i is opimal o presen maerial in

muliple ways.

2. The “how”—multiple means of action and

expression: Because sudens express heirknowledge differenly, i is bes o provide

opions ha allow hem o communicae

heir level o undersanding.

3. The “why”—multiple means of engagement:

Sudens learn bes hrough differen means

o engagemen. I is hereore crucial o pro-

vide hem muliple opions, rom working

alone o collaboraing wih peers.

These three UDL principles are the foundation for

curriculum development that provide students with

an equal opportunity to learn. In 2002, the National

Center on Educational Outcomes produced a set of

seven universal design principles for assessment

development to best measure students’ knowledge:

1. Inclusive assessment population:

Assessmens should be designed wih all

sudens in mind.

2. Precisely defined test items and tasks: Exam

quesions should be designed o measure

only conen and o exclude all cogniive,

sensory, emoional, and physical barriers.

3. Accessible, nonbiased items: Exam ques-

ions should be sensiive o disabiliy and he

range o sudens’ culural experiences.

4. Amenable to accommodations: Assessmensshould be compaible wih accommodaions

and a variey o adapive equipmen.

5. Simple, clear, and intuitive instructions and

procedures: Direcions should use clear,

undersandable language.

6. Maximum readability and comprehensibil-

ity: Exams should use plain language ha is

sraighorward and concise.

7. Maximum legibility: ess should be

designed in such a way ha physical eaures

o he essuch as ype size, prin conras,

and spacingdo no impede a suden’s

ocus or undersanding.

Sources: National Center On Universal Design for Learning, “The Three Principles of Universal Design for Learning,” available at http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/ whatisudl/3principles (last accessed January 2016); Sandra J. Thompson, Christopher J. Johnstone, and Martha L. Thurlow, “Universal Design Applied to Large ScaleAssessments” (Minneapolis: National Center on Educational Outcomes, 2002), available at http://www.cehd.umn.edu/NCEO/onlinepubs/synthesis44.html.


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Advances in universal design and

accessibility through PARCC and

Smarter Balanced

As gran-winning consoria, boh he Parnership or Assessmen o Readiness

or College and Careers and he Smarer Balanced Assessmen Consorium were

required o develop heir es iems and perormance asks using he principles o

universal design. Te consoria srove o use hese principles by avoiding biased

iems, such as hose ha unairly penalize sudens based on race or gender; elimi-

naing irrelevan eaures ha migh measure somehing oher han he conen

being assessed; and ideniying poenial challenges upron o avoid rerofiting

accommodaions a he end o he es developmen process.29 Te consoria alsodesigned quesions and asks using muliple means o represenaion, such as graph-

ics and chars, o accommodae sudens’ varied learning syles and disabiliies.30

Building on he benefis and srenghs o universal design, he consoria embed-

ded accessibiliy eaures ino he esing plaorms ha are available o all su-

dens. Sudens aking Smarer Balanced exams, or example, may access an

iem-specific, grade-appropriae glossary. PARCC, similarly, provides a pop-up

glossary or preseleced words. All es akers have access o ools such as a digial

noepad, calculaor, and highligher. Addiional eaures such as bookmarking and

zoom ools allow sudens o mark iems or laer review and zoom in or zoom ou

on ex and graphics.31 Tese eaures make es aking more dynamic and user

riendly, paricularly compared wih paper-and-pencil exams.

Beyond universal access eaures, PARCC and Smarer Balanced provide addi-

ional suppors or sudens wih educaion-relaed needs, such as learning di-

ficulies ha are no considered disabiliies. es akers, or example, may acivae

color conras o change he background and oreground color o heir exam or

selec answer masking ha will uncover answer opions only when he suden is

ready. In some cases, sudens also may use a ex-o-speech opion or cerain esiems, in which ex is read aloud via embedded echnology.32


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o increase accessibiliy or English language learners, Smarer Balanced provides

iem-specific, grade-level ranslaed ex and audio glossaries in more han 11

languages plus dialecs or mahemaics exams. Te consorium also offers sacked

Spanish-English mahemaics assessmens, which provide he ull ranslaion o

each es iem above he original iem in English, and nonembedded ranslaed

es direcions in 19 languages.33

I sae policy allows, English language learners aking he PARCC exam may ake

an online ransadapaiona combinaion o ranslaion and adapaiono

he mahemaics assessmen in Spanish. Unlike lieral word-by-word ranslaion,

ransadapaion

adjuss conen o mach he culure o he arge naive language,

convey meaning, and beter preserve he assessmen’s validiy.34 PARCC also

offers a ex-o-speech opion or he mahemaics assessmen in oher languages,

as well as writen es direcions in 10 languages.35

PARCC and Smarer Balanced provide urher accommodaions or su-dens wih Individualized Educaion Programs, or IEPs, as required under he

Individuals wih Disabiliies Educaion Ac or a Secion 504 plan required under

he Rehabiliaion Ac o 1973. An IEP is a plan or specialized insrucion and

relaed services or a suden wih a disabiliy, while a Secion 504 plan capures

he accommodaions ha a suden wih a disabiliy requires. o mee he needs

o hese sudens, he consoria provide es conen ranslaed ino American Sign

Language videos, compuer- and paper-based Braille opions, and closed capion-

ing, among oher suppors.36

As a resul o hese design eaures, sudens wih disabiliies and English lan-

guage learners are less likely o ake exams in a separae room or require he sup-

por o an aide, reducing he sigma around accommodaions. For example, an

English language learner may wear headphones o lisen o a ranslaed glossary,

anoher suden wih a reading-relaed disabiliy may use headphones o hear

mahemaics iems read aloud, and a hird suden may wear headphones as a

noise buffer o minimize disracionsall in he same classroom. es akers can

choose which suppors hey need in collaboraion wih heir eacher or IEP eam

in an inclusive esing environmen.


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PARCC and Smarer Balanced assessmens also offer general advanages com-pared wih radiional paper-and-pencil exams. Because hese ess are designed

or a compuer, hey presen more ineracive iems and asks, such as simula-

ions and graphing, ha sudens find engaging. Tese ess are also more cos

effecive, as elecronic delivery is less expensive han prining and mailing paper

exams in bulk, and hey reduce he coss associaed wih enering and analyzing

daa. Furher, he PARCC and Smarer Balanced assessmens are more ime effi-

cien, eliminaing he need o mail ess or scoring and minimizing paperwork

burdens. And boh assessmens offer beter sandardizaion o es adminisraion

while increasing es sie securiy.37

Moreover, Smarer Balanced exams and es iems are adapive, which means

ha he difficuly o quesions changes based on a suden’s previous responses

in order o capure suden srenghs and weaknesses. Tis creaes a cusom-

ized exam or each es aker o beter pinpoin his or her abiliies. I a suden

complees mos o he es and is likely o have a very low or a very high score,

he assessmen also may include quesions ha were originally writen or higher

or lower grades bu measure he same conen. Tis eaure allows he es o

ideniy which sudens are demonsraing grade-level proficiency in he conen

sandards while urher increasing is precision and allowing or beter measure-men o suden growh rom year o year.38

Previous stateassessments

• Primarily paper-and-pencil exams

• Mainly multiple-choice questions

•Low cognitive rigor

• Did not measure the full range of

state standards

PARCC and SmarterBalanced assessments

• Computer-based exams

• Interactive items and tasks

•Rigorous and cognitively complex

• Aligned to new college- and career-

ready standards

• Universally designed

• Built-in accessibility and accommoda-

tions features

• Cost effective

• Adaptive (Smarter Balanced)


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As a resul, he Smarer Balanced adapive esing model measures a wider range

o suden abiliy o a finer degree han paper-and-pencil assessmens.39 Tis

approach can be paricularly helpul or sruggling sudens, as he es adaps o

heir skill level o mainain engagemen and offer an opporuniy or success. 40 Te

adapive eaure also urher increases es securiy, as neighboring sudens are

less likely o have he same exam.41

Improving inclusion through PARCC and Smarter Balanced

Amendmens o IDEA made in 1997 required saes o include sudens wih

disabiliies in saewide and disricwide assessmens or o provide an alernaive

assessmen i he general assessmen could no appropriaely assess a suden’s

perormance.42 No Child Lef Behind reinorced his provision, requiring saes o

assess all sudens; hold schools accounable or suden perormance, including

sudens wih disabiliies; and develop a leas one alernae assessmen.43

In 2003, he U.S. Deparmen o Educaion issued regulaions o help saes develop

and adminiser alernae assessmens based on alernae achievemen sandards, or

AA-AAS, or sudens wih he mos significan cogniive disabiliies.44 In 2007, he

agency expanded his pracice o allow he use o alernae assessmens based on

modified achievemen sandards, or AA-MAS, or sudens whose disabiliies were

no significan enough o qualiy or AA-AAS bu sill prevened hem rom access-

ing he general assessmens successully.45 Tese wo regulaions placed caps on he

percenage o a sae’s ull suden populaion who could be couned as “proficien”

under he alernae assessmens a 1 percen and 2 percen, respecively.46

Te expansion o AA-MAS creaed conroversy in he disabiliy communiy. Some

advocaes expressed concern abou he possible over assignmen o sudens rom

he general assessmen o his version, and ohers worried ha he new exams

would se low expecaions or sudens wih disabiliies.47 In response o repored

misuse and growing opions or expanded accessibiliy, such as PARCC and

Smarer Balanced exams, he Deparmen o Educaion eliminaed he opion o

adminisering AA-MAS in Sepember 2015.48

As a resul o his change, more sudens wih disabiliies have an expanded

opporuniy o demonsrae masery o college- and career-ready sandards on

exams such as PARCC and Smarer Balanced. Tis ransiion creaes he expec-

aion o alignmen beween sandards and assessmens or all sudens, as es

akers have access o he same conen and exams.


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Alernae assessmens or sudens wih he mos significan cogniive disabili-

ies coninue o be an imporan componen o each sae’s assessmen sysem

under he Every Suden Succeeds Ac. ESSA caps a 1 percen he percenage o

sudens who may ake hese exams by subjec, while NCLB regulaions capped a

1 percen he percenage o sudens aking AA-AAS ha could be couned as pro-

ficien. ESSA, accordingly, increases access o he general assessmen by limiinghe number o sudens wih disabiliies ha saes may assign o alernae exams.

Furher, ESSA requires saes o develop alernae assessmens using he principles

o universal design or learning. ESSA does no, however, provide auhoriy or

saes o implemen AA-MAS.49

Saes already have begun o improve he qualiy o AA-AAS using UDL prin-

ciples.50 Alernae assessmens developed by wo consoria o saes, Dynamic

Learning Maps and he Naional Cener and Sae Collaboraive, provide new

ways o assess he achievemen o sudens wih he mos significan cogniive dis-

abiliies and heir readiness or success afer high school. Similar o PARCC andSmarer Balanced assessmens, hese new alernae assessmens are a major sep

orward in qualiy and accessibiliy or all sudens.51

In addiion, saes have developed alernae assessmens or English language

learners wih significan cogniive disabiliies. WIDAnamed or original mem-

ber saes Wisconsin, Delaware, and Arkansasdeveloped an alernae version o

he Assessing Comprehension and Communicaion in English Sae-o-Sae or

English Language Learners, or ACCESS or ELLs, exam. In he 2013-14 school

year, 31 sae educaional agencies adminisered he Alernae ACCESS or ELLs

o measure nearly 12,000 sudens’ English language proficiency.52

Like achievemen in English language ars and mahemaics, saes are accounable

or English learners’ language acquisiion. NCLB creaed a separae accounabiliy

sysem or English language proficiency ha only applied o disrics and saes.53

ESSA, however, requires saes o include English language proficiency in every

school’s accounabiliy sysem, prioriizing he needs o English language learners

and increasing accounabiliy or heir success.54 Te Alernae ACCESS or ELLs

exam will help ensure ha sruggling English learners receive he suppor hey

need regardless o abiliy, and wih a beter undersanding o sudens’ languageproficiency, schools will be beter equipped o improve heir achievemen.


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Challenges and

future opportunities

Te accessibiliy eaures and accommodaions buil ino he Parnership

or Assessmen o Readiness or College and Careers and Smarer Balanced

Assessmen Consorium assessmens are a remendous sep orward rom he

sae exams o he pas, allowing access or more learners han ever beore.55

Collaboraion enabled consoria saes o accomplish ar more han hey would

have achieved individually and o bring ogeher he naion’s op hinkers o

develop policy and design he highes-qualiy ess. By working ogeher, saes

also had greaer resources available o inves in accessibiliy and accommodaioneaures and guidelines and o improve heir pracices.56

PARCC, or example, creaed a comprehensive policy documen ha provides

guidance o disrics on es adminisraion, he availabiliy o accessibiliy eaures

and accommodaions, and how o effecively selec and evaluae accommodaions

and oher es suppors or sudens. Smarer Balanced, oo, prepared usabiliy,

accessibiliy, and accommodaions guidelines, in addiion o an implemenaion

guide. While neiher consorium required unanimous agreemen o suppor or

adop sandard accommodaion policies, his join work is he firs atemp o cre-

ae a common and shared se o guidelines. Furher, boh consoria benefi rom

member inpu o updae or add policies as boh pracice and evidence requires.57

PARCC and Smarer Balanced coninue o improve heir pracices by soliciing

eedback rom a broad range o sakeholders and users. PARCC, or example, has

adminisered es adminisraor and suden surveys and assembled a review board

o prioriize changes or enhancemens o he esing plaorm and esing manage-

men sie based on eedback rom he field. Smarer Balanced saes have buil on

eedback rom heir experience adminisering pilo ess, field ess, and he firs

year o operaional assessmens o ideniy areas or improvemen. As a resul oha eedback, Smarer Balanced is developing guidelines wih recommendaions

on providing esing breaks o sudens.58


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Bu his progress is no perec, and here is room or improvemen in implemen-

aion, echnology, and available suppors. Smarer Balanced guidelines, or exam-

ple, should reduce variabiliy in accommodaion access and implemenaion, bu

some saes have heir own policies, regulaions, and legislaion. Implemenaion

a he local level, accordingly, may vary.59 Similarly, availabiliy o ransadaped

PARCC mahemaics assessmens is inconsisen, as PARCC saes have differinglaws, regulaions, and policies regarding naive-language exams.60

Likewise, ineroperabiliy o he consoria esing plaorms wih sudens’ assis-

ive echnology devices remains a challenge, hough here is some progress in his

area. Smarer Balanced, or example, is in he process o acquiring a web accessibil-

iy cerificaion ha will suppor greaer ineroperabiliy and accessibiliy o web-

based echnology.61 Furher, he Every Suden Succeeds Ac requires ha saes’

general assessmens include appropriae accommodaions, such as ineroperabil-

iy wih and he abiliy o use assisive echnology or sudens wih disabiliies.62

Going orward, i will be imporan or es developers and assisive echnology vendors o agree on clear and consisen sandards or ineroperabiliy so sudens

can access he assisive echnology hey use daily when aking assessmens.63

Furher advances in echnology are needed, paricularly wih respec o he read-

aloud eaures.64 Some sudens, or example, sruggled wih he as pace and

roboic voice o he Smarer Balanced exam dicaion ool in spring 2015 es-

ing. In response, Smarer Balanced has made adjusmens in his area, and in he

uure, sudens will be able o conrol pacing and choose a more human-sounding

voice.65 Boh consoria also will need o accommodae he ransiion o a new

Braille sysem, as he Unied Saes is se o implemen Unified English Braille, a

revised code based on curren lierary braille, beginning in January 2016.66

Addiional suppors or English language learners are an essenial prioriy going

orward as well. PARCC offers ransadaped mahemaics exams, and Smarer

Balanced provides sacked ranslaions, bu only in Spanish.67 Saes mus reques

and pay or ransadapaions or ranslaions in oher languages.68 In addiion, as

he ransadaped mahemaics assessmen was no field-esed, some advocaes

ound room or improvemen wih he 2014-15 exam language.69 Increased com-

plexiy o word problems compounds his challenge, as i may es skills oher hanmahemaical knowledge, such as reading comprehension.70

Advocaes or English language learners also have raised concerns regarding he

validiy and reliabiliy o assessmens writen in English, as hey may reflec su-

dens’ English proficiency skills raher han heir conen knowledge.71 Accordingly,


17/26


some argue or more naive-language assessmens o beter measure sudens’

subjec-area comprehension.72 Expers also advocae or increased use o culurally

responsive exs ha are reflecive o diverse perspecives. Compuer-adminisered

assessmens presen an opporuniy or regional adapabiliy going orward.73

In addiion, compuer lieracy is ofen a challenge or his populaion o su-dens, as many English language learners ener he classroom wih limied

echnology experience, which can make navigaing he online es plaorm chal-

lenging.74 Compounding his problem, difficulies in communicaion beween

schools and parens o English language learners can resul in sudens no

receiving he suppors hey need.75

Compuer lieracy, however, is no always a unique obsacle or English language

learners. Resuls rom he 2014-15 PARCC exams, or example, ound ha in gen-

eral, sudens who ook he exams on a compuer ended o score lower han hose

who ook he exams wih paper and pencil.76 Discrepancies, in par, may sem romdemographic and academic differences, and hey do no necessarily hold rue or

every sae, disric, and school.77 Regardless, all sudens will need more ime and

pracice o adjus o online esing plaorms o perorm o he bes o heir abiliy.


18/26


Recommendations

While he Parnership or Assessmen o Readiness or College and Careers and

Smarer Balanced Assessmen Consorium assessmens represen a major sep

orward or all learners, hey are no perec. As sae and local leaders and ohers

develop and adminiser he nex generaion o assessmens, hey mus ocus on

increasing accessibiliy and ineroperabiliy, ensuring proper implemenaion,

improving echnology, and ensuring access o accommodaions. o accomplish

hese goals, he Cener or American Progress recommends he ollowing nex

seps or he uure o assessmens.

States should continue to implement PARCC and Smarter Balanced

exams and assessment items to ensure that all students have

access to high-quality assessments

Fory-wo saes, he Disric o Columbia, our erriories, and he Deparmen o

Deense Educaion Aciviy are implemening he Common Core Sae Sandards.78

Te consoria assessmens aligned o hese sandards, however, have paid a price

during legislaive batles, wih saes ofen dropping he exams as a compromise.79

Saes should coninue o implemen PARCC and Smarer Balanced assessmens

or heir qualiy, rigor, and benefis or sudens wih disabiliies and English

language learners. PARCC’s recen move oward a more flexible approach ha

allows saes o use specific PARCC conen when building heir own ess is an

innovaive approach ha could allow more saes o use high-qualiy, universally

designed iems.80 And wih approval by governing members, nonmembers may

access Smarer Balanced maerials or he same ee paid by consorium saes.81

Coninuing and improving on hese policies will ensure ha more sudens havegreaer access o beter exams.


19/26


States and districts should provide more guidance and information

to schools, families, and other stakeholders on test accessibility

and accommodations

Beter ess are no effecive wihou beter inormaion. Saes mus creae clariy

or disrics around sae-approved accommodaions, and alhough boh PARCCand Smarer Balanced provide ools or educaors o capure sudens’ needs,

schools and parens need more local inormaion o beter undersand available

suppors.82 Accordingly, saes and disrics should provide addiional guidance o

schools and amilies o ensure ha sudens have consisen access o appropriae

accommodaions and are prepared o inerac wih suiable eaures when aking

he exams. Embedding suppors wihin sudens’ daily insrucion also will ensure

ha hey are comorable using hem on es day.83

State and local leaders, assessment developers, and others mustwork together to continue to make progress on next-generation

assessments for all students

Assessmens are evolving, and leaders a all levels mus coninue o make exams

beter or he enire suden populaion. An increased emphasis on universal

design, accessibiliy, and uncional ineroperabiliy can urher reduce accom-

modaions needed on uure ess. PARCC and Smarer Balanced are a sep in he

righ direcion, bu each sysem has challenges and barriers o ull accessibiliy.

Going orward, assessmens mus adap o keep up wih evolving educaional

needs and should accommodae he bes assisive echnology available. es akers,

or example, need improved read-aloud eaures, es quesions ha are culurally

responsive, and exams readily available in muliple languages. Cross-sae effors

have been exremely producive o dae, and saes should coninue o work across

sae lines o opimize nex-generaion exams or he greaes number o sudens.


20/26


Conclusion

Trough he use o universal design principles and embedded suppor eaures,

boh he Parnership or Assessmen o Readiness or College and Careers and

Smarer Balanced Assessmen Consorium assessmens offer advancemens in

accessibiliy or sudens wih disabiliies and English language learners. No only

are hey more rigorous in academic conen, bu hey also enable sudens o expe-

rience a ailored ye comparable esing experience o beter demonsrae wha

hey know and can do wihou unnecessary barriers.

Te Every Suden Succeeds Ac reinorces he need or accessible exams or all

sudens. ESSA mainains he annual assessmen requiremen in English language

ars and mahemaics in hird hrough eighh grade and a leas once in high school

and holds saes accounable or suden achievemen by subgroup o ensure ha

all sudens are making progress. Te law also requires assessmens o have appro-

priae accommodaions or sudens wih disabiliies and English language learners

and o be developed using he principles o universal design or learning. 84

PARCC and Smarer Balanced exams are a sep orward in assessmen, developed

wih UDL principles and embedded accessibiliy eaures and accommoda-

ions. As a resul, sudens wih disabiliies and English language learners have

an improved opporuniy o be esed wih heir peers and o demonsrae heir

knowledge wih ewer impedimens o access. Te nex generaion o assess-

mens, wih a heighened ocused on universal design, accessibiliy, and uncional

ineroperabiliy, should build on his progress in an effor o guaranee he equi-

able assessmen o all learners.


21/26


About the authors

Samantha Batel is a Policy Analys wih he K-12 Educaion eam a he Cener

or American Progress. Her work ocuses on school sandards, school and disric

accounabiliy, and school improvemen.

Prior o joining CAP, Bael was a confidenial assisan a he U.S. Deparmen

o Educaion in he Office o Elemenary and Secondary Educaion and a ellow

a he American Consiuion Sociey or Law and Policy. She graduaed wih a

bachelor’s degree rom he Woodrow Wilson School o Public and Inernaional

Affairs a Princeon Universiy.

Scott Sargrad is he Managing Direcor or Educaion Policy a he Cener or

American Progress.

Prior o joining CAP, Sargrad served as he depuy assisan secreary or policyand sraegic iniiaives in he Office o Elemenary and Secondary Educaion a

he U.S. Deparmen o Educaion, where he had he primary responsibiliy or key

K-12 educaion programs and iniiaives, including he ile I program, Elemenary

and Secondary Educaion Ac flexibiliy, and School Improvemen Grans. He

joined he deparmen in 2009 as a presidenial managemen ellow in he Naional

Insiue on Disabiliy and Rehabiliaion Research and also worked as a senior

policy advisor in he Office o Planning, Evaluaion and Policy Developmen.

Sargrad received his undergraduae degree in mahemaics wih a minor in phi-

losophy rom Haverord College and a maser’s degree in educaion policy and

managemen rom he Harvard Graduae School o Educaion.


22/26


Acknowledgments

Te auhors would like o hank he ollowing individuals or providing inpu

and eedback on his repor: Caherine Brown rom he Cener or American

Progress; ony Alper, Magda Chia, and Jacqueline King rom Smarer Balanced;

Callie Riley and Karina Sanner rom PARCC; rinell Bowman rom PARCC’s Accessibiliy, Accommodaions, and Fairness Operaional Working Group; Jessica

McKinney rom he U.S. Deparmen o Educaion; Ron Hager rom he Naional

Disabiliy Righs Nework; Kim Hymes and Lindsay Jones rom he Naional

Cener or Learning Disabiliies; Delia Pompa rom he Migraion Policy Insiue;

Laura Kaloi rom Washingon Parners LLC; Luciana de Oliveira rom he

Universiy o Miami; odd Ruecker rom he Universiy o New Mexico; Jessica

Rodriguez rom he Naional Council o La Raza; and Crisina Pacione-Zayas and

Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro rom he Laino Policy Forum.


23/26


Endnotes

1 Authors’ calculation is based on Civil RightsData Collection, “2011-12 State and NationalEstimations,” available at http://ocrdata.ed.gov/StateNationalEstimations/Estimations_2011_12(lastaccessed February 2016).

2 National Center for Education Statistics, “Fast Facts:English Language Learners,” available at https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=96 (last accessedDecember 2015).

3 National Center for Education Statistics, The Conditionof Education 2015 (U.S. Department of Education, 2015),available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015144.pdf .

4 Civil Rights Data Collection, “2011-12 State and Na-tional Estimations: Section 504 enrollment,” available athttp://ocrdata.ed.gov/downloads/projections/2011-12/enrollment/SCH-0102%20Enrollment%20of%20Students%20with%20Disabilities%20Served%20under%20Section%20504%20only.xlsx (last accessedFebruary 2016).

5 National Center for Education Statistics, Characteristicsof Public and Private Elementary and Secondary Schoolsin the United States: Results from the 2011-12 Schools and

Staffing Survey (U.S. Department of Education, 2013),available at https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013312.pdf.

6 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 , PublicLaw 10, 89th Cong., 1st sess. (April 11, 1965); Elementaryand Secondary Education Act Amendments of 1967 ,Public Law 247, 90th Cong., 1st sess. (January 2, 1968);Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, Pub-lic Law 142, 94th Cong., 1st sess. (November 29, 1975).

7 Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994, Public Law 382,103rd Cong., 2d sess. (October 20, 1994).

8 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendmentsof 1997 , Public Law 17, 105th Cong., 1st sess. (June 4,1997).

9 No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Public Law 110, 107th

Cong., 1st sess. (January 8, 2002).

10 The Advocacy Institute, “7 Million Students with Dis-abilities Need No Child Left Behind” (2007), available athttp://www.advocacyinstitute.org/ESEA/AIWhySWD-sNeedNCLB.pdf .

11 Every Student Succeeds Act , Public Law 95, 114th Cong.,1st sess. (December 10, 2015).

12 Martha L. Thurlow, “Research Impact on State Accom-modation Policies for Students with Disabilities,” Paperpresented at 2007 annual conference of the AmericanEducational Research Association, April 11, 2007,available at http://www.cehd.umn.edu/NCEO/Presenta-tions/AERA07Thurlow.pdf .

13 John W. Young and Teresa C. King, “Testing Accom-modations for English Language Learners: A Review

of State and District Policies” (New York: The CollegeBoard, 2008), available at https://research.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/publications/2012/7/researchre-port-2008-6-testing-english-language-learners-state-district-policies.pdf.

14 Lindy Crawford, “State Testing Accommodations: ALook at their Value and Validity” (New York: NationalCenter for Learning Disabilities, 2007), available athttp://www.advocacyinstitute.org/resources/NCLDSta-teTestingAccommodationsStudy.pdf.

15 Common Core State Standards Initiative, “Standardsin Your State,” available at http://www.corestandards.org/standards-in-your-state/ (last accessed December2015).

16 U.S. Department of Education, “U.S. Secretary of Educa-tion Announces Winners of Competition to ImproveStudent Assessments,” Press release, S eptember 2, 201 0,available at http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessments.

17 Ibid.

18 Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, “SmarterBalanced Begins Pilot Test of Next-Generation StudentAssessments,” available at http://www.smarterbal-anced.org/news/smarter-balanced-begins-pilot-test-of-next-generation-student-assessments/ (last accessedJanuary 2016); Partnership for Assessment of Readinessfor College and Careers, “Field Test,” available at http://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-development/field-test (last accessed January 2016);Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, “Field Test,”available at http://www.smarterbalanced.org/field-test/ (last accessed January 2016).

19 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Collegeand Careers, “Milestones,” available at http://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-devel-opment/milestones (last accessed December 2015);Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, “HigherEducation,” available at http://www.smarterbalanced.org/higher-education/ (last accessed December 2015);personal communication from Magda Chia, deputy di-rector of system design, Smarter Balanced AssessmentConsortium, January 8, 2016.

20 Kun Yuan and Vi-Nhuan Le, “Estimating the Percentageof Students Who Were Tested on Cognitively Demand-ing Items Through the State Achievement Tests.”Working Paper (RAND Corporation, 2012), available athttp://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/work-ing_papers/2012/RAND_WR967.pdf.

21 Matthew Chingos, “Standardized Testing and theCommon Core Standards: You Get What You Pay For?”(Washington: Brown Center on Education Policy atBrookings, 2013), available at http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/10/30-cost-of-common-core-assessments-chingos/standardized-testing-and-the-common-core-standards_final_print.pdf.

22 Catherine McClellan, Jilliam Joe, and Katherine Bassett,“The Rig ht Trajectory: State Teachers of the Year Com-pare Former and New State Assessments” (Arlington,VA: National Network of State Teachers of the Year,2015), available at http://www.nnstoy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Right-Trajectory-FINAL.pdf .

23 Ibid.

24 Nancy Doorey and Morgan Polikoff, “Evaluating the

Content and Quality of Next Generation Assessments”(Washington: Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 2016),available at http://edexcellence.net/publications/eval-uating-the-content-and-quality-of-next-generation-assessments.

http://ocrdata.ed.gov/StateNationalEstimations/Estimations_2011_12http://ocrdata.ed.gov/StateNationalEstimations/Estimations_2011_12https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=96https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=96http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015144.pdfhttp://ocrdata.ed.gov/downloads/projections/2011-12/enrollment/SCH-0102%20Enrollment%20of%20Students%20with%20Disabilities%20Served%20under%20Section%20504%20only.xlsxhttp://ocrdata.ed.gov/downloads/projections/2011-12/enrollment/SCH-0102%20Enrollment%20of%20Students%20with%20Disabilities%20Served%20under%20Section%20504%20only.xlsxhttp://ocrdata.ed.gov/downloads/projections/2011-12/enrollment/SCH-0102%20Enrollment%20of%20Students%20with%20Disabilities%20Served%20under%20Section%20504%20only.xlsxhttp://ocrdata.ed.gov/downloads/projections/2011-12/enrollment/SCH-0102%20Enrollment%20of%20Students%20with%20Disabilities%20Served%20under%20Section%20504%20only.xlsxhttps://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013312.pdfhttps://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013312.pdfhttp://www.advocacyinstitute.org/ESEA/AIWhySWDsNeedNCLB.pdfhttp://www.advocacyinstitute.org/ESEA/AIWhySWDsNeedNCLB.pdfhttp://www.cehd.umn.edu/NCEO/Presentations/AERA07Thurlow.pdfhttp://www.cehd.umn.edu/NCEO/Presentations/AERA07Thurlow.pdfhttps://research.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/publications/2012/7/researchreport-2008-6-testing-english-language-learners-state-district-policies.pdfhttps://research.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/publications/2012/7/researchreport-2008-6-testing-english-language-learners-state-district-policies.pdfhttps://research.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/publications/2012/7/researchreport-2008-6-testing-english-language-learners-state-district-policies.pdfhttps://research.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/publications/2012/7/researchreport-2008-6-testing-english-language-learners-state-district-policies.pdfhttp://www.advocacyinstitute.org/resources/NCLDStateTestingAccommodationsStudy.pdfhttp://www.advocacyinstitute.org/resources/NCLDStateTestingAccommodationsStudy.pdfhttp://www.corestandards.org/standards-in-your-state/http://www.corestandards.org/standards-in-your-state/http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessmentshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessmentshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessmentshttp://www.smarterbalanced.org/news/smarter-balanced-begins-pilot-test-of-next-generation-student-assessments/http://www.smarterbalanced.org/news/smarter-balanced-begins-pilot-test-of-next-generation-student-assessments/http://www.smarterbalanced.org/news/smarter-balanced-begins-pilot-test-of-next-generation-student-assessments/http://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-development/field-testhttp://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-development/field-testhttp://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-development/field-testhttp://www.smarterbalanced.org/field-test/http://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-development/milestoneshttp://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-development/milestoneshttp://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-development/milestoneshttp://www.smarterbalanced.org/higher-education/http://www.smarterbalanced.org/higher-education/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/2012/RAND_WR967.pdfhttp://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/2012/RAND_WR967.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/10/30-cost-of-common-core-assessments-chingos/standardized-testing-and-the-common-core-standards_final_print.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/10/30-cost-of-common-core-assessments-chingos/standardized-testing-and-the-common-core-standards_final_print.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/10/30-cost-of-common-core-assessments-chingos/standardized-testing-and-the-common-core-standards_final_print.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/10/30-cost-of-common-core-assessments-chingos/standardized-testing-and-the-common-core-standards_final_print.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/10/30-cost-of-common-core-assessments-chingos/standardized-testing-and-the-common-core-standards_final_print.pdfhttp://www.nnstoy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Right-Trajectory-FINAL.pdfhttp://www.nnstoy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Right-Trajectory-FINAL.pdfhttp://edexcellence.net/publications/evaluating-the-content-and-quality-of-next-generation-assessmentshttp://edexcellence.net/publications/evaluating-the-content-and-quality-of-next-generation-assessmentshttp://edexcellence.net/publications/evaluating-the-content-and-quality-of-next-generation-assessmentshttp://edexcellence.net/publications/evaluating-the-content-and-quality-of-next-generation-assessmentshttp://edexcellence.net/publications/evaluating-the-content-and-quality-of-next-generation-assessmentshttp://edexcellence.net/publications/evaluating-the-content-and-quality-of-next-generation-assessmentshttp://www.nnstoy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Right-Trajectory-FINAL.pdfhttp://www.nnstoy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Right-Trajectory-FINAL.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/10/30-cost-of-common-core-assessments-chingos/standardized-testing-and-the-common-core-standards_final_print.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/10/30-cost-of-common-core-assessments-chingos/standardized-testing-and-the-common-core-standards_final_print.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/10/30-cost-of-common-core-assessments-chingos/standardized-testing-and-the-common-core-standards_final_print.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/10/30-cost-of-common-core-assessments-chingos/standardized-testing-and-the-common-core-standards_final_print.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/10/30-cost-of-common-core-assessments-chingos/standardized-testing-and-the-common-core-standards_final_print.pdfhttp://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/2012/RAND_WR967.pdfhttp://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/2012/RAND_WR967.pdfhttp://www.smarterbalanced.org/higher-education/http://www.smarterbalanced.org/higher-education/http://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-development/milestoneshttp://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-development/milestoneshttp://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-development/milestoneshttp://www.smarterbalanced.org/field-test/http://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-development/field-testhttp://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-development/field-testhttp://www.parcconline.org/assessments/test-design/test-development/field-testhttp://www.smarterbalanced.org/news/smarter-balanced-begins-pilot-test-of-next-generation-student-assessments/http://www.smarterbalanced.org/news/smarter-balanced-begins-pilot-test-of-next-generation-student-assessments/http://www.smarterbalanced.org/news/smarter-balanced-begins-pilot-test-of-next-generation-student-assessments/http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessmentshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessmentshttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-duncan-announces-winners-competition-improve-student-assessmentshttp://www.corestandards.org/standards-in-your-state/http://www.corestandards.org/standards-in-your-state/http://www.advocacyinstitute.org/resources/NCLDStateTestingAccommodationsStudy.pdfhttp://www.advocacyinstitute.org/resources/NCLDStateTestingAccommodationsStudy.pdfhttps://research.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/publications/2012/7/researchreport-2008-6-testing-english-language-learners-state-district-policies.pdfhttps://research.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/publications/2012/7/researchreport-2008-6-testing-english-language-learners-state-district-policies.pdfhttps://research.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/publications/2012/7/researchreport-2008-6-testing-english-language-learners-state-district-policies.pdfhttps://research.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/publications/2012/7/researchreport-2008-6-testing-english-language-learners-state-district-policies.pdfhttp://www.cehd.umn.edu/NCEO/Presentations/AERA07Thurlow.pdfhttp://www.cehd.umn.edu/NCEO/Presentations/AERA07Thurlow.pdfhttp://www.advocacyinstitute.org/ESEA/AIWhySWDsNeedNCLB.pdfhttp://www.advocacyinstitute.org/ESEA/AIWhySWDsNeedNCLB.pdfhttps://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013312.pdfhttps://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013312.pdfhttp://ocrdata.ed.gov/downloads/projections/2011-12/enrollment/SCH-0102%20Enrollment%20of%20Students%20with%20Disabilities%20Served%20under%20Section%20504%20only.xlsxhttp://ocrdata.ed.gov/downloads/projections/2011-12/enrollment/SCH-0102%20Enrollment%20of%20Students%20with%20Disabilities%20Served%20under%20Section%20504%20only.xlsxhttp://ocrdata.ed.gov/downloads/projections/2011-12/enrollment/SCH-0102%20Enrollment%20of%20Students%20with%20Disabilities%20Served%20under%20Section%20504%20only.xlsxhttp://ocrdata.ed.gov/downloads/projections/2011-12/enrollment/SCH-0102%20Enrollment%20of%20Students%20with%20Disabilities%20Served%20under%20Section%20504%20only.xlsxhttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015144.pdfhttps://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=96https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=96http://ocrdata.ed.gov/StateNationalEstimations/Estimations_2011_12http://ocrdata.ed.gov/StateNationalEstimations/Estimations_2011_12


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25 Sheila R. Schultz and others, “Evaluating the Contentand Quality of Next Generation High School Assess-ments” (Alexandria, VA: Human Resources ResearchOrganization, 2016), available at https://www.humrro.org/corpsite/sites/default/files/HQAP_HumRRO_High_School_Study_Final%20Report.pdf. PARCC and SmarterBalanced exams are an “excellent” match to the Com-mon Core standards in English language arts contentand a “good” or “excellent” match in mathematics con-tent and depth. Smarter Balanced exams are a “good”or “excellent” match in ELA depth, but PARCC examsare a “limited/uneven match” in ELA depth because the

assessments require higher cognitive demand thanprescribed by the study ’s methodology.

26 Liana Heitlin, “Common-Assessment Groups Differon Accommodations,” Education Week , April 21,2014, available at http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/04/23/29cc-accommodations.h33.html.

27 Universal Design, “What is UD?”, available at http://www.universaldesign.com/what-is-ud/ (last accessedFebruary 2016).

28 Sandra Thompson and Martha Thurlow, “CreatingBetter Tests for Everyone Through Universally DesignedAssessments,” Journal of Applied Testing Technology 6(1) (2004): 1–15, available at http://www.testpublish-ers.org/assets/documents/volume%206%20issue%201%20Creating%20%20better%20tests.pdf.

29 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Collegeand Careers, “PARCC Accessibility Features and Ac-commodations Manual” (2015), available at http://www.parcconline.org/images/Assessments/Accces-sibility/PARCC_Accessibility_Features__Accommoda-tions_Manual_v.6_01_body_appendices.pdf; SmarterBalanced Assessment Consortium, “Smarter BalancedAssessment Consortium: Usability, Accessibility, and Ac-commodations Guidelines” (2015), available at http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/SmarterBalanced_Guidelines.pdf ;personal communication from Laura Kaloi, vice presi-dent, policy and development, Washington PartnersLLC, January 29, 2016.

30 Personal communication from Kim Hymes, associatedirector of federal outreach, National Center for Learn-ing Disabilities, and Lindsay Jones, vice president, chiefpolicy & advocacy officer, National Center for Learning

Disabilities, January 6, 2016.

31 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Collegeand Careers, “PARCC Accessibility Features and Accom-modations Manual”; Smarter Balanced AssessmentConsortium, “Smarter Balanced Assessment Consor-tium: Usability, Accessibility, and AccommodationsGuidelines”; personal communication from Chia.

32 Ibid.

33 Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, “SmarterBalanced Assessment Consortium: Usability, Acces-sibility, and Accommodations Guidelines”; personalcommunication from Chia.

34 Sasha Zucker and others, “Transadaptation: Publish-ing Assessments in World Languages” (San Antonio:Pearson, 2005), available at http://images.pearsonas-

sessments.com/images/tmrs/tmrs_rg/Transadaption-ResPaper.pdf?WT.mc_id=TMRS_Transadaptation.

35 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Collegeand Careers, “PARCC Accessibility Features and Accom-modations Manual.”

36 Ibid.; Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium,“Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium: Usability,Accessibility, and Accommodations Guidelines.”

37 Christie Blazer, “Computer-Based Assessments ,” Infor-mation Capsule 0918 (2010): 1–18, available at http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED544707.pdf.

38 Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, “Creatinga Computer Adaptive Test,” available at http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/up-loads/2014/10/SmarterBalanced-Adaptive-Software.pdf (last accessed January 2016); personal communi-cation from Tony Alpert, executive director, SmarterBalanced Assessment Consortium, January 8, 2016.

39 Ibid.

40 Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, “SmarterBalanced Assessment Consortium: Accessibility and Ac-commodations Framework” (2014), available at http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Accessibility-and-Accommodations-Framework.pdf .

41 John Michael Linacre, “Computer-Adaptive Testing: AMethodology Whose Time Has Come.” In Sunhee Chaeand others, Development of Computerized Middle School Achievement Test (Seoul, South Korea: Komesa Press,2000), available at http://www.rasch.org/memo69.pdf .

42 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendmentsof 1997 .

43 U.S. Department of Education, State and Local

Implementation of the No Child Left Be hind Act, VolumeV—Implementation of the 1 Percent and 2 Percent InterimPolicy Options (2009), available at https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/disadv/nclb-disab/nclb-disab.pdf.

44 U.S. Department of Education, “Title I—Improving theAcademic Achievement of the Disadvantaged; FinalRule,” Federal Register 68 (236) (2003): 68698–68708,available at https://www2.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegis-ter/finrule/2003-4/120903a.pdf .

45 U.S. Department of Education, “Title I—Improving theAcademic Achievement of the Disadvantaged; Individ-uals with Disabilities Education Act (I DEA)—Assistanceto States for the Education of Children with Disabilities,”Federal Register 72 (67) (2007): 17748–17781, availableat https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2007-04-09/pdf/FR-2007-04-09.pdf .

46 U.S. Department of Education, “Title I—Improving theAcademic Achievement of the Disadvantaged; FinalRule”; ibid.

47 Crawford, “State Testing Accommodat ions.”

48 Joy Resmovits, “Arne Duncan Wants Special EducationStudents To Take General Exams,” HuffPost Politics,August 27, 2013, available at http://www.huffing-tonpost.com/2013/08/27/arne-duncan-special-education_n_3819045.html; U.S. Department ofEducation, “Improving the Academic Achievement ofthe Disadvantaged; Assistance to States for the Educa-tion of Children with Disabilities,”Federal Register 80(162) (2015): 50773–50785, available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-08-21/pdf/2015-20736.pdf .

49 Every Student Succeeds Act .

50 National Center and State Collaborative, “NCSC GSEGPolicy Paper: Alternate Assessments Based on CommonCore State Standards: How Do They Relate to Collegeand Career Readiness?” (2013), available at http://nc-scpartners.org/Media/Default/PDFs/AA-AAS-College-Career-Readiness-NCSC-9-24-2013.pdf ; DynamicLearning Maps, “Accessibility Manual for the DynamicLearning Maps Alternate Assessment, 201 5-2016”(2015), available at http://dynamiclearningmaps.org/sites/default/files/accessibility_manual_2015-16.pdf .

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25/26


51 Liana Heitin, “Alternative-Assessment GroupsPursue Divergent Pathways,” Education Week , April21, 2014, available at http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/04/23/29cc-accommodations-side.h33.html.

52 WIDA, “Mission & the WIDA Story,” available at https://www.wida.us/aboutus/mission.aspx (last accessedFebruary 2016).

53 No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.


55 Kim Hymes and Lindsay Jones, phone interview withauthors, November 24, 2015.

56 Callie Riley and Jacqueline King, phone interview withauthors, December 18, 2015.

57 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Collegeand Careers, “PARCC Accessibility Features and Accom-modations Manual”; Smarter Balanced AssessmentConsortium, “Smarter Balanced Assessment Consor-tium: Usability, Accessibility, and AccommodationsGuidelines”; Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium,“Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium: Usability,Accessibility, and Accommodations ImplementationGuide” (2014), available at http://www.smarterbal-anced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Usability-Accessibility-and-Accommodations-Imple-

mentation-Guide.pdf ; personal communication fromKaloi.

58 Riley and King, phone interview with authors; personalcommunication from Trinell Bowman, chair, PARCC Ac-cessibility, Accommodations, and Fairness OperationalWorking Group, January 12, 2016.

59 Riley and King, phone interview with authors.

60 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Collegeand Careers, “PARCC Accessibility Features and Accom-modations Manual”; personal communication fromKatrina Santner, senior assessment program associate,summative accessibility, Partnership for Assessment ofReadiness for College and Careers, January 12, 2016.

61 Personal communication from Chia.


63 Ron Hager, phone interview with authors, November23, 2015; Jessica McKinney, phone interview withauthors, December 18, 2015.

64 Hymes and Jones, phone interview with authors.

65 Laurie Udesky, “How new tools meant to help specialeducation students take standardized tests actuallymake it harder,” Los Angeles Times, December 21, 2015,available at http://www.latimes.com/local/education/standardized-testing/la-me-edu-how-new-tools-meant-to-help-special-education-students-take-stan-dardized-tests-actually-made-them-ha-20151130-story.html.

66 Riley and King, phone interview with authors; Councilof Chief State School O fficers, “Unified English Braille

Implementation Guide” (2015), available at http://www.ccsso.org/Documents/Unified%20English%20Braille%20Implementation%20Guide%20-%20Final%2005%2012%202015.pdf.

67 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Collegeand Careers, “PARCC Accessibility Features and Accom-modations Manual”; Smarter Balanced AssessmentConsortium, “Smarter Balanced Assessment Consor-tium: Usability, Accessibility, and AccommodationsGuidelines.”

68 Ibid.; Todd Ruecker, Bee Chamcharatsri, and Jet Saengn-goen, “Teacher Perceptions of the Impact of the Com-mon Core Assessments on Linguistically Diverse HighSchool Students,” The Journal of Writing Assessment 8 (1)(2015), available at http://journalofwritingassessment.org/article.php?article=87.

69 Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro, phone interview withauthors, December 22, 2015.

70 Todd Ruecker, phone interview with authors, December7, 2015.

71 Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro and Cristina Pacione-Za-yas, phone interview with authors, December 22, 2015.

72 Bronwyn Coltrane, “English Language Learners andHigh-Stakes Tests: An Overview of the Issues” (Washing-ton: Center for Applied Logistics, 2002).

73 Ruecker, phone interview with authors.

74 Luciana de Oliveira, phone interview with authors, De-cember 4, 2015; Diane Staehr Fenner, “Computer-BasedCommon Core Testing: Considerations and Supportsfor ELLs,” Colorín Colorado, available at http://www.colorincolorado.org/blog/computer-based-common-core-testing-considerations-and-supports-ells (lastaccessed January 2016).

75 Ruecker, phone interview with authors.

76 Benjamin Herold, “PARCC Scores Lower for StudentsWho Took Exams on Computers,” Education Week , Feb-ruary 3, 2016, available at http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/02/03/parcc-scores-lower-on-computer.html?r=450791252&cmp=SOC-SHR-TW.

77 Ibid.

78 Common Core State Standards Initiative, “Standards inYour State.”

79 Lauren Camera, “As Test Results Trickle In, States StillDitching Common Core,” U.S. News & World Report ,September 21, 2015, available at http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/09/21/as-test-results-trickle-in-states-still-ditching-common-core.

80 Catherine Gewertz, “PARCC Restructures, Allows States

to Customize Test,” Curriculum Matters, November 12,2015, available at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2015/11/parcc_allows_states_to_custom-ize_test.html.

81 Personal communication from Chia.

82 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Collegeand Careers, “PARCC Accessibility Features andAccommodations Manual”; Smarter Balanced Assess-ment Consortium, “Individual Student AssessmentAccessibility Profile (ISAAP)” (2015), available athttp://52.11.155.96/static/isaap/ISAAP-Web-Tool-Version%201-Instructions_081322015.pdf .

83 Personal communication from Hymes and Jones.


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lorado.org/blog/computer-based-common-core-testing-considerations-and-supports-ellshttp://www.colorincolorado.org/blog/computer-based-common-core-testing-considerations-and-supports-ellshttp://journalofwritingassessment.org/article.php?article=87http://journalofwritingassessment.org/article.php?article=87http://www.ccsso.org/Documents/Unified%20English%20Braille%20Implementation%20Guide%20-%20Final%2005%2012%202015.pdfhttp://www.ccsso.org/Documents/Unified%20English%20Braille%20Implementation%20Guide%20-%20Final%2005%2012%202015.pdfhttp://www.ccsso.org/Documents/Unified%20English%20Braille%20Implementation%20Guide%20-%20Final%2005%2012%202015.pdfhttp://www.ccsso.org/Documents/Unified%20English%20Braille%20Implementation%20Guide%20-%20Final%2005%2012%202015.pdfhttp://www.latimes.com/local/education/standardized-testing/la-me-edu-how-new-tools-meant-to-help-special-education-students-take-standardized-tests-actually-made-them-ha-20151130-story.htmlhttp://www.latimes.com/local/education/standardized-testing/la-me-edu-how-new-tools-meant-to-help-special-education-students-take-standardized-tests-actually-made-them-ha-20151130-story.htmlhttp://www.latimes.com/local/education/standardized-testing/la-me-edu-how-new-tools-meant-to-help-special-education-students-take-standardized-tests-actually-made-them-ha-20151130-story.htmlhttp://www.latimes.com/local/education/standardized-testing/la-me-edu-how-new-tools-meant-to-help-special-education-students-take-standardized-tests-actually-made-them-ha-20151130-story.htmlhttp://www.latimes.com/local/education/standardized-testing/la-me-edu-how-new-tools-meant-to-help-special-education-students-take-standardized-tests-actually-made-them-ha-20151130-story.htmlhttp://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Usability-Accessibility-and-Accommodations-Implementation-Guide.pdfhttp://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Usability-Accessibility-and-Accommodations-Implementation-Guide.pdfhttp://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Usability-Accessibility-and-Accommodations-Implementation-Guide.pdfhttp://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Usability-Accessibility-and-Accommodations-Implementation-Guide.pdfhttps://www.wida.us/aboutus/mission.aspxhttps://www.wida.us/aboutus/mission.aspxhttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/04/23/29cc-accommodations-side.h33.htmlhttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/04/23/29cc-accommodations-side.h33.htmlhttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/04/23/29cc-accommodations-side.h33.html


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