By Christine Pafumi
4/30/10
Test. This one-syllable word can induce stress for any student. But what happens when the design of the test is not accessible to everyone? Many students with disabilities find themselves required to take standardized tests that are not accommodating to their personal needs.
Every spring students throughout the state take the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). This spring marked the13th time the test has been administered.
"There's mixed feelings about it," said Stacy Hart, who runs the youth group at Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL). "A lot of the students don't like the test, They've struggled with the test, however a lot of the advocacy organizations feel like it has actually raised the quality of education for students with disabilities."
Maureen Kavanaugh, fourth year doctoral student in Educational Research Measurement and Evaluation at Boston College spends everyday focusing on such questions. The basis of her research is large-scale test designs and gives some insight to the issue of accessibility.
"MCAS does tend to get better reviews relative to other states," Kavanaugh said. "But that is sort of more reflective over the fact, or might be distorted by the fact that Massachusetts students tend to achieve higher."
Although Kavanaugh said there is less pushback in this state, there is still a lot of it.
"People are just generally not okay with the standardized testing and the accountability systems that are currently in place just in general," said Kavanaugh.
In statewide education measurements, standardized testing is a way to assess individual learning achievements, teachers' success rates and entire school systems progress as a whole.
"It really is a big deal because there's consequences at the end of these tests," said Kavanaugh. "There are graduation requirements, promotion requirements, schools are losing money, teachers are losing jobs; so its really important we get this right."
Researchers can work to improve accessibility in standardized testing but teachers also play a role in preparing the students.
"The schools are required to make accommodations," said Karen Schneiderman, a former teacher at Lesley and Northeastern. "And they know that and some of the teachers are very resentful of it and some of them are very accommodating,"
John Mullady, an eighth grade history teacher in Wellesley said that he feels kids with disabilities have equal access in public education.
"The system is set up for that," Mullady said.
Their classrooms are equipped with microphones for teachers to wear so it is possible for children with hearing disabilities to listen to the lesson. For students that are color blind, Mullady teaches that it is important to read the key in the map to distinguish the codes since most maps are color-coded.
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has created accountability within the school systems in regards to standardized testing. It stipulates that 95 percent of the testing population must be tested in all states.
"Before NCLB and IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, kids were excluded from large scale testing because the educational system didn't know how to cope with these students," Kavanaugh said. "All these kids were getting left behind."
There are a lot of high stakes and money involved with NCLB said Kavanaugh. "That changes the way that you think about test design and basically getting stuff right becomes more important."
The transition was made, requiring most students to participate in standardized testing but the tests and approach to making the tests remained the same. Now, children with disabilities can receive accommodation while taking tests. This could include getting a test read aloud or having extra time.
"It was cheaper to take the existing test and update the content and update the standards that were being tested but not necessarily how kids were being tested or the format, structure and procedures," said Kavanaugh. "They are slowly now starting to make that switch. They are sort of embracing a new philosophy, this thing that they call universal design."
Universal design and recognizing the student population are accessibility issues that test makers are dealing with at the conception of test design.
"By focusing more precisely on what it is your trying to measure you are giving yourself room for flexibility and that is the key of universal design," Kavanaugh said. "With flexibility in test administration your following standardization to a certain degree but you're also offering kids alternative means of interacting with items, engaging in items and expressing understanding to items."
Universal design and technology are used to incorporate the flexibility that is needed in a cost effective way. According to Kavanaugh, most systems are moving towards computerized assessments right now due to the fact that it allows for multiple options with the same testing interface for almost any student.
"It moves away from this thing about disabled and nondisabled and acknowledges that this all lies on a continuum. These kids are not necessarily disabled, they're just different learners. They have different learning styles and different needs and they are capable of learning," said Kavanaugh. "We just need to figure out how they can learn and create the environment that's good for them."
In 2009 a total of 553,635 Massachusetts public school students participated in MCAS testing; 8,732 students with disabilities participated in the MCAS Alternative Assessment (MCAS-Alt), a portfolio for students unable to take the MCAS even with accommodation.
In 2009, the MCAS website reports that less than 25 percent of students with disabilities scored Proficient or higher at three of seven grade levels tested in ELA, at all grades tested in Mathematics except grades 3 and 10, and at all grades tested in STE.