Effects of Computer-Based Test Accommodations on Mathematics Performance Assessments for Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of computer-based test accommodations to a noncomputer-based test accommodation and to no accommodation on mathematics performance assessment (PA) scores for secondary students with learning disabilities. Over four weeks, each student (N = 81) was tested on four parallel PAs, each time under a different condition: (a) standard administration (SA), (b) teacher-read (TR), (c) computer-read (CR), and (d) CR with video (CRV). PA alternate forms and order of conditions were counterbalanced across classrooms. After each PA administration, a student questionnaire assessed perceptions of the benefits of the testing condition. Results indicated that providing a reader, either human or computer, increases scores, but no significant difference was seen among TR, CR, and CRV. Implications are discussed with respect to reading accommodations, computerized testing, and the effects of reading accommodations on students with differing reading achievement levels.

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