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Candace Cortiella: So why do parents sometimes encounter situations where an accommodation has been allowable in classroom instruction and even classroom testing but is not allowable on state assessments?
Lindy Crawford: First of all, it’s important to differentiate between instructional accommodations that occur in the classroom and classroom tests like teacher-made tests. And I think that parents should only encounter a difference between what happens in the classroom and what happens on state test day if it’s explicitly stated in the child’s IEP.
So decisions about classroom accommodations and allowable accommodations on state tests need to be made at the student’s IEP meeting. If the parent doesn’t understand why some accommodations are allowed during instruction but not on state tests, she should be provided with that information at the IEP [meeting].
Now that applies if there’s a difference between instructional accommodations and state test accommodations. But there really should never be a difference between classroom testing accommodations and state testing accommodations. If students are provided the accommodation on a classroom test, then they must be provided that accommodation on state tests.
This isn’t to say, however, that every instructional accommodation should be allowed on a state test. So again, I’m talking about instruction and not classroom testing, because sometimes the two just may not be compatible. For example, the teacher may allow the student to take home a project and work on it as an instructional accommodation. And you might even note it as a setting accommodation or as extended time. But in a state testing situation, [these accommodations] would obviously affect the validity of the score. A student should never be provided with an accommodation during a state test that they’ve never used in instructional (classroom) setting.
To summarize, state test accommodations must have been used in classroom settings during classroom testing and during instruction, but instructional accommodations do not always have to be on state tests. Any way you slice it, it always has to be decided at the student’s IEP [meeting] and be recorded on the IEP every year.
Candace Cortiella: This information seems to be critical for parents to understand as they navigate the educational progress and program for students with learning disabilities. Thank you for joining us and for sharing your expertise on this important issue.
This transcription was made possible by a grant from the American Legion Child Welfare Foundation.
