Testing and Accommodations

The NYS Test Access and Accommodations Policy Guide is a comprehensive and well-organized tool
in helping educators in the process of getting students necessary accommodations for state exams. It seems like it would support any future decision making on providing the appropriate test accommodations and modifications for students. My biggest takeaway from the guide was the importance of meaningful selection (by the team, including the student) of appropriate testing accommodations based on the student, not on his disability label. I feel that many times, the accommodations are spoken about as if they are standard for students with a certain disability - "time and a half" - and the guide draws out specific difficulties that educators may be able to address with certain accommodations. What surprised me the most is that the accommodations that we may allow students for classroom assessments may not always be allowed for state exams.

A question of the difference between a testing accommodation v. a testing modification

  was raised, and I think this may explain why some "accommodations" we make for class tests are not allowed on state tests. Accommodations are supports that allow the student to better access the test material, without making any changes to test content. This means we could change the way the test is administered and responses are recorded, but changes to the test questions/information given are not allowed. That, changing test content, would be considered a modification.

Which leads to another important question - Should these policies be applied to teacher-created tests as well? 

I believe there should be a balance between the amount of modifications a teacher should make to a test. Word banks, as the guide explicitly pointed out, are a frequent modification on teacher-created tests, but not allowed on state exams. For example, I understand that giving word banks may be useful for a student with issues in working memory, but I also think that the teacher and the student should explicitly practice strategies to use on state exams the rest of the year to support this need in some other way, so that when the day of the state exam arrives, the student has had ample practice in test-taking skills with the appropriate supports.