test accommodations: creating access in assessment

Carol Funckes

Past President, AHEAD

Disability Resources, University of Arizona

TEST ACCOMMODATIONS: CREATING ACCESS IN ASSESSMENT

What must we do?

What should we do?

What can we

do?

LegislationDisabilityDesign

REHABILITATION ACT, § 504 (1973)

No otherwise qualified person with a disability in the United States shall, solely by reason of disability, be denied the benefits of, be excluded from participation in, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance

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ADA (1990)

• Civil Rights Protection - anti-discrimination

• “Disability” defined

• Doesn’t require disability documentation from an external expert, but establishes the right to request documentation

• Supports “reasonable accommodations”, auxiliary aids and services

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ADA AMENDMENTS ACT (2008)

• Broadened and strengthened coverage of the ADA, shifting the focus from determination of disability to the substantial issues of reasonable accommodation and discrimination.

• Restored the broad protection from discrimination that Congress intended

TEST ACCOMMODATIONS?

• Any person that offers examinations or courses related to applications, licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary or post-secondary education, professional, or trade purposes shall offer such examinations or courses in a place and manner accessible to persons with disabilities or offer alternative accessible arrangements for such individuals.

42 U.S.C. § 12189

ADA/DOJ - TEST ACCOMMODATIONS

Testing entities:

• must administer any examination “so as to best ensure that . . . results accurately reflect the individual’s aptitude . . . rather than reflecting the individual’s [disability],”

• are to give “considerable weight to documentation of past modifications . . . received in similar testing situations, as well as such modifications . . . or a plan describing services provided …”

28 C.F.R. § 36.309 28 C.F.R. § 36.309(b)(2).

DISABILITY RESOURCE OFFICE

• Two-Fold:

• identify barriers that individual students face and planning strategies, including reasonable accommodations to facilitate access

• consult with the campus community to design inclusive and welcoming environments

AHEAD-SUPPORTING ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS: GUIDANCE ON DOCUMENTATION PRACTICES

• Clarity in reemphasizing case-by-case, individual review

• Focus on scholarly understanding of disability

• Reminder that the law never required third party documentation

• Acknowledgment that there are various sources of information that help in describing disability and exploring accommodations

• Non-burdensome, common-sense standard

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS• Modifications or adjustments that allow equal

opportunity for participation while maintaining essential components

• Must:

• Be effective (best ensure)

• Be appropriately related to the disability

• Consider preference of the disabled student

• Maintain integrity

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DETERMINING ACCOMMODATIONS• Does a barrier result from the interaction between the

condition/disability and environment?

• Are there accommodations that will remove the barrier?

• Does the individual have equal access without accommodation?

• Does the proposed accommodation alter the fundamental elements?

• Will the accommodation result in undue hardship?

“As social movements mature, they begin to look beyond the ‘letter of the law’, which emphasizes ethics and values, and promulgate systemic changes in attitudes, behaviors and institutional structures.

Leslie Kanes Weisman

DISABILITY - LEGAL

• A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity

• A record of such an impairment

• Being regarded as having such an impairment

Physical Condition + Substantial Limitation

DISABILITY – IN PRACTICE

• A sociopolitical construct

• A key aspect of the human experience, with social, political and economic implications for society as a whole

• Perpetuated by exclusive design and environmental, attitudinal and economic barriers, whether intentional or inadvertent

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TRADITIONAL FRAME OF DISABILITY

• “The disability” is deficient, abnormal, negative

• “The problem” resides within the individual

• The remedy is cure or normalization of the individual

• The intervention agent is the professional

Pitiable - in need of help

Comical, Childlike,

Incompetent

Inspirational Supercrips

Sinister, Evil, Criminal

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PROGRESSIVE FRAME OF DISABILITY• Disability is a difference

• The condition is neutral

• “The problem” results from interaction between the individual and environment

• The environment is the focus of remedy

• The intervention agent can be anyone who can affect the design of the environment

“Buffalo Hunter"

Ernie Pepion

DANCE AND MOVEMENT

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DISABILITY IS AN ART

"Disability is not a`brave struggle' or`courage in the faceof adversity.'Disability is an art.It's an ingeniousway to live.“

Neil Marcus

DESIGNReframing Disability Through Design

UNIVERSAL DESIGN

The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

The goal is to increase access for people with divergent needs and preferences without treating

them differently.

ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING UD• Variation in human characteristics is natural

• Design is ubiquitous and profoundly affects how we interact with the world around us

• Products, activities and environments can be accessible AND elegant, functional, effective

• Integrating inclusive elements during design is less cumbersome, energy-intensive and expensive than adding them

• Separate is not equal

EXCLUSIVE

ACCOMMODATED

INCLUSIVE

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EVERYTHING IS DESIGNED!

• Products

• Buildings

• Technology

• Policies

• Services

• TESTS

DISABILITY RESOURCES RECONSIDERED

Disabled student with functional limitations which substantially limit a major life activity such as learning in the educational environment

OR

Student, in the disabled educational environment with functional limitations which substantially limit a major life activity such as learning

Permission, Molly Sirois, University of Oregon

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QUESTIONS

• Where do we locate the ‘problem’?

• How much more complicated is it to achieve access for disabled students than non-disabled students?

• What messages about disability do we send?

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• Environmentally focused

• Proactive

• Equal experience

• Inclusive

• Sustainable

• “Long-range”

• Individually focused

• Reactive

• Differential treatment

• Separate

• Consumable

• “Immediate”

Accommodations Universal Design

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CLASSROOM TESTS

• not tested for validity

• time frame

• knowledge of test design features

• flexibility.

WHY ACCOMMODATE?

• Legally required

• Right thing to do

• To measure what the student’s learned

• To measure what you’ve taught

• Diversity

UNFAIR ADVANTAGE

• Fair vs. Equal

• The law is clear:

• If it is not a fundamental alteration or undue hardship it is reasonable.

• If it is reasonable, it is not providing an unfair advantage.

• Students without disabilities are not disadvantaged by students with disabilities having accommodations.

• Students without disabilities do not face disability based barriers.

TIME• What is the test designed to measure?

• Are there psychometric or pedagogical reasons for the length of the exam?

• Is the time limit set based on common experience about when students finish?

• Are most students expected to finish the exam?

• Are concerns about providing extra time logistic?

DESIGNING ACCESSIBLE ASSESSMENTS

• Identify learning objectives

• What’s negotiable and what’s not

• Options:

• Take home, Projects

• Online tests

• Shorter using test banks or randomized items

• More frequent assessments

Design is a Moral Issue.Jef Raskin,

Apple Computer Designer

Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works.

Steve Jobs