![Sample our Education journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5932/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Education.jpg"})
Abstract
This study explores factors that affect the accessibility of reading comprehension assessments for students with disabilities in grade 8 public school classrooms. The study consisted of assessing students using reading comprehension passages that were broken down into shorter “segments” or “chunks” in order to assess the validity and effectiveness of segmenting and the reliability of assessment in segmenting. The results of the segmenting study indicated that: (1) segmenting did not affect reading performance of students without disabilities; suggesting that it does not compromise the validity of reading assessment; (2) segmenting did not affect reading performance of students with disabilities; and (3) the segmented version had a higher reliability for students with disabilities without affecting the reliability for students without disabilities.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to acknowledge the valuable contribution of colleagues Martha Thurlow, Ross Moen, Deborah Dillon, and Kristi Liu, and other staff at the National Center on Educational Outcomes. We are also grateful to Eva Baker for her support of this work. Special thanks to all of the consultants, specialists, teachers, and students who volunteered to participate in the study.
The work reported herein was supported under PR/award number H324F040002, as administered by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. The findings and opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education.
Notes
1CRESST is the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing.
2Numbers do not total 117 because one student was listed as belonging to two of the disability categories.
Individual with Disabilities Education Act of 1997, Pub. L. No. 105-17, 111 Stat. 37 (1997).
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended in 2004, PL 108-446, 20 USC 1400 et seq
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110, 115 Stat. 1425 (2002).
