Participation in State or District Assessments of Student Achievement
Consistent with Title 34, Code of Federal Regulations Section 300.138(a) [34 CFR § 300.138(a)], including a presumption that all children with disabilities will be included in state and district assessment programs and provided with appropriate accommodations if necessary, 34 CFR § 300.347(a)(5) requires that the IEP for each student include:
(i) a statement of any individual modifications in the administration of State or district-wide assessments of student achievement that are needed in order for the child to participate in the assessment; and
(ii) if the IEP team determines that the child will not participate in a particular State or district-wide assessment of student achievement (or part of an assessment of student achievement), a statement of—
(A) Why that assessment is not appropriate for the child; and
(B) How the child will be assessed.
According to the Conduct of Evaluation in Title 20 United States Code (USC) Section 1414 [20 USC § 1414(b)]:
(2) Conduct of Evaluation.—In conducting the evaluation, the local education agency shall—
(A) use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant
functional and developmental academic information, including information provided by the parent, that may assist in determining—
(i) whether the child is a child with a disability; and
(ii) the content of the child’s individualized education
program, including information related to enabling the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum or, for preschool children, to participate in appropriate activities
The use of testing accommodations will enable a significant percentage, maybe 85 percent of students with disabilities to meaningfully participate in a large-scale assessment. Some students with disabilities will not need any accommodations, simply encouragement, to participate.
New Statewide Assessment Terminology
The following terminology describes adaptations related to the testing of students with disabilities in California.
Accommodation: An accommodation is a change in how a test is presented, how a test is administered, or how a test taker responds, which is necessary to allow the student to participate in the test but does not fundamentally alter what the test measures or affect the comparability of scores.
An accommodation includes any variation of the assessment environment. Some examples of accommodations are: a large print version of a test, a Braille transcription, or an oral presentation of mathematics questions.
Modification: A modification is a change in how a test is presented, how a test is administered, or how the test taker is allowed to respond that fundamentally alters what the test measures or affects the comparability of scores.
A modification includes an variation of the assessment environment or process. Some examples of modifications are: using a calculator in mathematics problems or presenting reading questions orally.
In order to maintain consistency across the major state assessments, testing adaptations have been classified as either accommodations or modifications. The paper-and-pencil tests generally allow the same test adaptations. Variations arise when tests measure different constructs.
California Department of Education has provided the following definitions for statewide assessment:
All: These test variations may be provided to all students.
Test Variation (1): Eligible students may have testing variations if the variations are regularly used in the classroom.
Accommodation (2): Eligible students shall be permitted to take the examination/test with accommodations if specified in the eligible student’s IEP or Section 504 Plan for use on the examination, on standardized testing, or for use during classroom instruction and assessment.
Modification (3): For the STAR Program and California English Language Development Test (CELDT), eligible students shall be permitted to take the tests with modifications if specified in the eligible students’ IEP or Section 504 Plan.
Eligible students are permitted to take the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) with modifications, if specified in the eligible student’s IEP or Section 504 Plan. These modifications can be used on the examination, during standardized testing, or during classroom instruction and assessment.
Specific examples of accommodations and modifications may be found on the California Department of Education's website, Accommodation/Modifications Matrix.
Federal law 20 USC § 1412(16)(C)(ii) addresses guidelines for participation in alternate assessments that are aligned to the state’s challenging academic content and challenging student academic achievement standards.