Helping Teachers Formulate Sound Test Accommodation Decisions for Students with Learning Disabilities

This paper introduces a data-based approach as an alternative way to help teachers formulate decisions about the validity of test accommodations for students with LD. Three rationales for the approach are provided: (a) an inadequate research base to guide decision-making; (b) the heterogeneity of the LD population; and (c) problems with teachers' use of subjective judgment. Well-controlled studies on test accommodations are too scarce to draw firm conclusions about effects for the group of students labeled learning disabled (LD). Moreover, in light of the heterogeneity of learning disabilities, the individual, rather than the LD label, may be the more appropriate unit for deciding which test accommodations preserve the validity of test scores for students with LD. In this paper, we provide a rationale for a data-based approach to help teachers formulate decisions about the validity of test accommodations for individual students with LD. Then we describe an objective assessment process teachers may use in determining valid test accommodations. We conclude with recommendations for practitioners.