Not So Accommodating

Assistive Technology Approaches for Large-Scale Assessment:

Perceptions of Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments

Christopher Johnstone, Martha Thurlow, Jason Altman, Joe Timmons, and Kentaro Kato

The authors of this article conducted research surrounding the use of assistive technology by visually impaired students and teachers. The study tries to examine why an achievement gap remains between students with visual impairments and their peers who do not have visual impairments. The authors cite the results of a recent large scale assessment study that indicated that students with visual impairments are achieving at a lower rate than the general population. The authors suggest two reasons for this discrepancy. One being that the students may not be getting an opportunity to learn, the other explanation is that the assessments themselves may not be appropriate for the needs of the visually impaired.

This study examined how assistive technologies are used in schools for instructional purposes and for assessment purposes. The authors of this study specifically wanted to research how assistive technology was used for language arts instruction and assessment for visually impaired students in grades 7-10. As this is a study that was completed in the United States, there was some discrepancy as far as allowable accommodations. Some states allowed different accommodations on their large scale assessments compared to other states. The authors stated that speech technology would allow for greater standardization of accommodations.

Results from this study indicate that what might be considered “accommodations” on a large scale assessment are commonplace in the visually impaired classroom. It is the use of AT during the large scale assessments that are causing problems for some bureaucrats. I don't feel that the discrepancy between the visually impaired large scale assessment results and those of their non- visually impaired peers results are due to lack of opportunity. It has to do with the individual states not allowing the same accommodations that are allowed in the classroom to be allowed on the large scale assessments. The authors remind us that the use of AT during a state assessment would depend on the specific state's accommodations policy. Which just blows my mind. It reminds me of the comic that shows five different animals, one of which is an elephant, and the individual behind the desk says, “For your final exam, all of you are to climb that tree.” Sounds like there are a lot of states out there that need to get on board.