Educators' Perspectives on Classroom Implementation of Accessibility Features and Accommodations

In 2015, the Data-Informed Accessibility--Making Optimal Needs-based Decisions (DIAMOND) project received funding from an Enhanced Assessment Initiative grant to collect information that would support the development of professional development modules for educators making decisions within new acces...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNational Center on Educational Outcomes
Main Authors Albus, Deb, Thurlow, Martha L, Liu, Kristi K, Lazarus, Sheryl S, Larson, Erik D
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published National Center on Educational Outcomes 01.05.2018
Subjects
Academic Accommodations (Disabilities)
Access to Education
Accessibility (for Disabled)
Classroom Techniques
Elementary Secondary Education
English Language Learners
Public School Teachers
Regular and Special Education Relationship
Special Education Teachers
Teacher Attitudes
Testing Accommodations
West Virginia
Connecticut
Minnesota
Ohio
Alabama
Maryland
Wisconsin
Michigan
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Summary:In 2015, the Data-Informed Accessibility--Making Optimal Needs-based Decisions (DIAMOND) project received funding from an Enhanced Assessment Initiative grant to collect information that would support the development of professional development modules for educators making decisions within new accessibility frameworks. More accessibility features and accommodations are available to a wider range of students than ever before, which puts a greater burden on educators. Not only are educators expected to determine which accessibility features and accommodations help their students on state assessments, they are supposed to incorporate these same accessibility features and accommodations into their instruction and formative assessments. Previous research shows that they often struggle to do this (Altman, Lazarus, Quenemoen, Kearns, Quenemoen, & Thurlow, 2010; Langley & Olsen, 2003). To address this issue, the DIAMOND project conducted phone interviews with educators to highlight effective practices being used to implement accessibility features and accommodations in their classrooms during instruction and during assessments. For this study, educators were asked about two kinds of accessibility features (universal features and designated features) and about accommodations. Universal features are accessibility supports that are available to all students as they access instructional or assessment content. Designated features are accessibility supports that are available to any student for whom the need has been indicated by an educator (or team of educators including the parents/guardian and the student if appropriate) who are familiar with the student's characteristics and needs. Accommodations are changes in procedures or materials that ensure equitable access to instructional and assessment content and generate valid assessment results for students who need them.