2011-2012 APR Snapshot #8:
Yi-Chen Wu, Martha Thurlow, and Miong Vang May, 2016 All rights reserved. Any or all portions of this document may be reproduced and distributed without prior permission, provided the source is cited as: Wu, Y.-C., Thurlow, M., & Vang, M. (2016). 2011-2012 APR snapshot #8: Assessment accommodations use by students receiving special education services. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, National Center on Educational Outcomes. Table of ContentsBackgroundAssessment accommodations are changes in testing materials or procedures that allow students to show their knowledge and skills rather than the effects of their disabilities. This report provides information on the number of students with disabilities using accommodations and the performance of students with disabilities on the general statewide assessment used for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability. Using federally submitted data from the 2011-2012 school year, we present information on accommodations for reading and mathematics statewide assessments administered to grade 8 students (and grade 4 to show a comparison to grade 8 data). Figures displaying statewide accommodations data for other grades are provided in this report via links following Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. Data tables for all grade levels are available from NCEO at https://nceo.info/Resources/publications/APRsnapshot/data/. Throughout this report, we use the term "students with disabilities" to refer to students receiving special education services. Thus, students on 504 accommodation plans are not included in these analyses. Top of page | Table of Contents FindingsAccommodations Use for Reading and Mathematics AssessmentFigure 1 shows the percentage of students with disabilities using accommodations during statewide reading and mathematics assessments in grade 8 in the 50 regular states. The states are ordered from those that have the highest percentages of students using accommodations for the regular mathematics assessment to those that have the lowest percentages of students using accommodations for this assessment. The figure indicates that visible differences between the percentage of students with disabilities using accommodations for mathematics and reading assessments were evident in more than 20 states. Seven states reported a difference in accommodation rates between content areas of more than 10 percentage points, and in all cases smaller percentages of students with disabilities used reading accommodations than math accommodations. The figure also shows that in 11 states, more than 80 percent of students with disabilities used accommodations during both the statewide reading and mathematics assessments; in three states, fewer than one in four students used accommodations during testing in both reading and math. One state reported no students receiving accommodations (see data available at https://nceo.info/Resources/publications/APRsnapshot/data/). Figure 1. Percentage of Grade 8 Students with Disabilities Using Accommodations in 2011-2012 Reading and Mathematics Assessment in 50 States
Grade 3-7 and High School. Click the below images to enlarge.
Differences between reading and mathematics accommodations among the unique states that reported data in grade 8 (n = 9) was less than 6 percentage points. In the nine unique states, five had more than 80 percent of students using accommodations for both reading and mathematics. These states are not included in Figure 1, but are included in the data tables that are available at https://nceo.info/Resources/publications/APRsnapshot/data/. Accommodations Use in Grades 4 and 8Figure 2 shows the percentage of students with disabilities using accommodations during statewide reading assessments in grade 4 and grade 8 in the 50 regular states. The figure shows states ordered by their grade 4 rates of students using accommodations for the regular reading assessment. The figure indicates visible differences between the percentages of students with disabilities using accommodations in the two grade levels. In the 17 states with differences greater than 10 percentage points, 13 had lower percentages of students with disabilities using reading accommodations in grade 4 than in grade 8. The figure also shows that in 9 states, more than 75 percent of students with disabilities used accommodations during the statewide reading assessment in both grade 4 and grade 8; in eight states, fewer than one in four students used accommodations during reading assessment in grade 4 and grade 8. One state reported no students using accommodations (see data available at www.nceo.info/APRsnapshot/data). Figure 2. Percentage of Grade 8 and Grade 4 Students with Disabilities Using Accommodations in 2011-2012 Reading Assessments in 50 States
Figure 3 shows the percentage of students with disabilities using accommodations during statewide mathematics assessments in grade 4 and grade 8 in the 50 regular states. The figure shows states ordered by their grade 4 rates of students using accommodations for the regular mathematics assessment. Thirty out of 50 states showed that more 8th graders received accommodations than 4th graders did. In the 22 states with differences greater than 10 percentage points, 8 had lower percentages of students with disabilities using mathematics accommodations in grade 4 than in grade 8. Figure 3. Percentage of Grade 8 and Grade 4 Students with Disabilities Using Accommodations in 2011-2012 Mathematics Assessments in 50 States
Differences in accommodation rates in unique states that reported data were generally smaller than in regular states, with two unique states showing a difference of as much as 10 percentage points between grade 4 and grade 8 data on reading assessments and only one state on the mathematics assessments. These states are not included in Figure 2, but are included in data tables available at https://nceo.info/Resources/publications/APRsnapshot/data/). Rates for accommodations on the reading assessment ranged from -36.4 percent to 0 percent across grade 4 and grade 8 in unique states (from -40.0 percent to 0 percent for mathematics). Use of Accommodations and Proficiency RatesFigure 4 shows performance of students with disabilities on grade 8 statewide reading regular assessments (in terms of the percentage of students performing at a proficient or above level) along with the percentage of students using accommodations. This figure indicates that there is no evident relationship between the percentage of students using accommodations and performance. This conclusion should be interpreted with caution because it refers only to overall relationships. It does not speak to the performance of individual students who used accommodations. Figure 4. Percentage of Grade 8 Students with Disabilities Scoring Proficient or Above and Percentage of Grade 8 Students with Disabilities Using Accommodations in 2011-2012 Reading Regular Assessments in 50 States
Grade 3 - 7 and High School Reading. Click the below images to enlarge.
Grades 3 - High School Math. Click the below images to enlarge.
The same finding was true in unique states, though they are not included in Figure 3. State data for unique states (n = 6) with both proficiency rate and the use of accommodations are available in data tables available at https://nceo.info/Resources/publications/APRsnapshot/data/. Unique state regular assessment proficiency rates ranged from as low as 8.3 percent to as high as 20.2 percent while accommodation rates varied. Top of page | Table of Contents ConclusionsThe information presented in this report summarized the accommodations data submitted by states to the U.S. Department of Education for the year 2011-2012. Considerable variability among states was evident in the percentage of students with disabilities using accommodations on the grade 8 reading and mathematics statewide assessments. Further, in most states more students with disabilities received accommodations for the mathematics assessment than received them for the reading assessment. Also evident were differences in many states between the percentages of students using accommodations in grade 8 compared to grade 4 Finally, there appeared to be no relation between the percentage of students with disabilities using accommodations and the percentage proficient on the grade 8 regular reading assessment. Top of page | Table of Contents ResourcesLazarus, S. S., Thurlow, M. L., Lail, K. E., & Christensen, L. (2009). A longitudinal analysis of state accommodations policies: Twelve years of change, 1993-2005. Journal of Special Education, 43(2), 67-80. Lindstrom, J. H. (2010). Mathematics assessment accommodations: Implications of differential boost for students with learning disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 46(1), 5-12. NCEO. (2011, April). Developing common accommodations policies: Discussion points for consortia (NCEO Brief #2). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, National Center on Educational Outcomes. Rogers, C. M., Lazarus, S. S., & Thurlow, M. L. (2014). A summary of the research on the effects of test accommodations, 2011-2012 (Synthesis Report 94). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, National Center on Educational Outcomes. |
