The Effects of Testing Accommodations Usage on Students' Standardized Test Scores for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students in Arizona Public Schools

Abstract

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act mandate all children be included in state and district assessments to measure their progress. IDEA, NCLB, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require students have access to accommodations necessary for their participation in mandated testing. Due to problems secondary to their disability, students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) may have difficulty participating in testing programs designed for the general population. In order to have equal access to standardized testing, D/HH students may need to use testing accommodations.The purposes of this study were to: a) document the use of testing accommodations by students who are D/HH, b) identify the types and frequency of testing accommodations required by D/HH students attending general education classes in Arizona public schools, and c) to analyze the relationships between type and degree of hearing loss and SAT-9 achievement for students who are D/HH in Arizona public schools.The participants included 62 students in the first year of the study, and 53 students in the second year. All participants had diagnosed hearing losses and attended general education classes with support from teachers of the D/HH and/or other support personnel.Extended Time was the most frequently required accommodation. Principal components analysis resulted in clustering of accommodations variables into three components in 2002: Time and Administration, Presentation, and Student Directed, and four components in 2003: Presentation and Administration, Time and Materials, Response, and Student Directed. The accommodations used and their clustering were similar to those reported in the literature. Type of hearing loss was found to significantly affect reading achievement even when controlling for testing accommodations. The interaction between type and degree of loss significantly affected language achievement. Results demonstrated the reading and language achievement performance of students with mild and high frequency hearing loss fell behind students having greater levels of hearing loss. The use of testing accommodations resulted in mixed effects on student reading and language achievement performance. Changes in language scores, but not in reading scores, were found.