Many states are implementing more broadly defined accessibility policies that have fewer tools labeled as accommodations. A larger group of students, including English language learners (ELLs) and general education students, may use assessment accessibility tools, some of which were previously considered to be accommodations.
On June, 22, 2015, NCEO and the Assessing Special Education Students (ASES) State Collaborative on Assessments and Student Standards (SCASS) held a joint forum on the topic of implementing accessibility frameworks for all students. This pre-session to the National Conference on Student Assessment was attended by 60 educators, including State education agency (SEA) and local education agency (LEA) representatives, technical assistance (TA) providers, and vendors.
The specific focus of the forum was for participants to hear several perspectives on this topic and then to discuss the challenges. A panel discussion included state representatives from Colorado, Kansas, Alabama, and West Virginia. These speakers shared their states’ experiences implementing new accessibility frameworks that reflect the recent shifts that allow for more students to use accessibility tools and accommodations on assessments.
Breakout groups discussed this topic further, with conversations focusing on three groups: general education students, ELLs, and students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans.
Overall recommendations from the forum include the following:
- Involve key stakeholders, including students and family members.
- Develop resources that:
– Identify and document appropriate supports permitted by an SEA/LEA/school.
– Identify preferences versus needs for supports by individual students.
– Consider resources tailored specifically for educators/counselors, families, and students.
– Facilitate documentation (i.e., data collection) of supports identified and implemented.
- Determine who makes, implements, and monitors support decisions.
- Develop SEA/LEA/school framework to evaluate selection and use of supports – include considerations for identifying over/under identification and use of supports.
A full report of the pre-session will be available at nceo.info.