Testing Students with Disabilities

Introduction to the Issues

As increasing numbers of students with disabilities apply for admission to institutions of higher education, many are seeking modifications during admissions testing to accommodate for their disabilities. Many of these accommodations are granted.

The most common modification is extended time for test administration, although large print versions of tests, readers for tests, and other types of accommodations are also provided.

When these accommodations are granted, many of those taking the tests with modifications are unaware that the score reports for such testing usually are sent to colleges or universities with a "flag" or other designation indicating that the test was given under nonstandard conditions.

This nation currently embraces important social policy goals of allowing persons with disabilities to participate as fully as possible in society without having to face negative bias or stereotypes. For too long, many individuals with disabilities have had to confront unfair presumptions about their abilities to succeed in education and employment.

There are now laws in many states and two federal laws designed to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are two federal laws that apply to higher education and are designed to bar discrimination on the basis of disability.

The use of flagged scores on admission tests presents a troublesome problem for students with disabilities, educators, admissions officers, and advocates.

There are important educational and social policy reasons for granting modifications in testing for individuals with disabilities. There are also good reasons why testing programs feel that they must notify test score recipients when tests are given in nonstandard formats.

However, the placement of a flag on a test score results in an opportunity for unfair and discriminatory treatment by educational institutions.

Under the ADA, organizations giving tests are barred from discriminating against persons with disabilities. By law, individuals with disabilities cannot be required to disclose the existence of a disability before applying to an educational institution.

However, once a college or university receives a test score with a flag on it, they have a reasonable basis for assuming that the test-taker was disabled and may, as a result, engage in discriminatory conduct against that applicant for admission.

Since the accommodations that colleges and universities must provide for students with disabilities can sometimes be expensive, there may be incentives to deny admission to these students.

Persons with disabilities who take admissions tests want to receive the modifications they need in order to perform as well as they can. Testing companies usually provide these modifications, but feel that they must alert score recipients when a test was given under nonstandard conditions since the test score may not be comparable to those given under standard conditions.

The laws governing admissions testing and higher education bar any labeling that could create potential opportunities for discrimination against persons with disabilities. Educational and testing practices and our legal and social policy goals are clearly in conflict here.

Official Documents

"Accommodations, Flags and Other Dilemmas: Disability Rights and Admissions Testing ," Educational Assessment, v. 5, n. 2 (1998) pp. 71-93 Kevin J. Heaney, J.D. and Diana C. Pullin, J.D., Ph.D.

• As the number of students with disabilities applying for admission and enrolling in educational institutions continues to increase, educators need to be aware of how to evaluate their admissions applications and standardized test scores fairly and in compliance with the federal disability laws.
  
  One goal of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and of the Americans with Disabilities Act is to provide protection against societal stigmas that undermine the perceived capabilities and qualifications of disabled persons.
  
  Providing reasonable accommodations during testing procedures can allow students with disabilities a fairer opportunity to demonstrate their actual knowledge. However, these accommodations most often lead to the placement of a "flag" on the reported score from the test. Some argue that flagged test scores unfairly stigmatize these students. The dilemma then is to balance responsible testing and score reporting with informed interpretation by educators.
  
  This article discusses the provision of accommodations in admissions testing and in educational programs, the test score flagging practices that impact admissions testing, and the legal issues surrounding the use of such practices. In addition, it will offer some conclusions about the legality of the use of flagged test scores, as well as some recommendations concerning testing and evaluating students with disabilities for admissions.

"The use of 'Flagged' Test Scores in College and University Admissions: Issues and Implications Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, "Journal of College and University Law (Spring, 1997). Diana C. Pullin, J.D., Ph.D. and Kevin J. Heaney, J.D.

• The dramatic rise in the percentage of college applicants with disabilities, partly as a result of the implementation of federal disability rights statutes, has brought legal issues surrounding special education to the forefront of elementary and secondary education concerns.
  
  Many of the applicants with disabilities will take the usual large-scale admissions examinations such as the SAT or the LSAT that are marketed by testing companies. Eligible students receive special accommodations during testing to address needs associated with their disabilities. Their test results are reported with a special "flag" to indicate that the test administration was not conducted in the usual standardized format.
  
  Testing companies have the responsibility to ensure fairness and validity in reporting scores. The students whose scores are flagged face the possibly negative consequences of interpretation of scores by educational administrators.
  
  This article discusses the educational, public policy, and legal issues arising from the use of flagged scores on admissions tests.

Flagging Test Scores: Policy, Practice and Research. Summary for planning meeting on test score flagging policies. William A. Mehrens, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

• Flagging of scores from nonstandard test administration appears to violate the ban on pre-admission inquiry. An interim policy allows results to be flagged until it can be demostrated that those scores are comparable to scores obtain under regular test administration procedures.
  
  Existing research suggests that task comparability is high for many types of accomodations but that correlations between test scores and college grades are lower for tests given under accommodated conditions and there is some overprediction of college grades for some accomodations.
  
  Research also suggests that flagging has had little impact on the process or outcome of admission decisions. Currently, test companies continue to flag scores, however the type of accommodation is not noted and interpretative guidelines are either absent or a suggestion is made that increased attention should be paid to other application data.

Martha Thurlow, Judy Elliott, & James Ysseldyke, TESTING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES; PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR COMPLYING WITH DISTRICT AND STATE REQUIREMENTS.

• dealing with the consequences of implementation of standards-based reform for students with disabilities.

Newspaper Articles

03/12/98; Houston Chronicle Interactive
By Carlos Byars

http://www.chron.com:80/cgi-bin/auth/story.mpl/content/chronicle/page1/98/03/13/schools.2-0.html

• In a dramatic move to improve academic performance, Houston school Superintendent Rod Paige said Thursday he wants to end the practice of exempting some students from standardized testing. Paige said he will ask the Houston Independent School District board to approve the measure. The district and the state rank schools' academic performance in part on students' scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills test. But state law allows districts to exempt special education students and students with limited English proficiency from the final calculation of a school's rating.

03/09/98; Newsday.com
By Jerry Markon; Staff Writer

http://www.newsday.com:80/news/nsecsun.htm

• Barely half of Long Island's sixth-grade special education students read at the most rudimentary level, according to special education data included for the first time in state report cards. The numbers, while showing improvement over data previously collected but not publicly released, remain far below the state's goal of teaching 85 percent of disabled youngsters to read. The reading problem shows up as early as third grade, where more than a third of special education students fall below state minimums. At the elementary and high school levels, reading deficiencies cut across the Island's 125 districts, ranging from the high-achieving Three Village district on Suffolk's North Shore to low-wealth Wyandanch.

10/29/97;  Education Week on the Web

http://www.edweek.org/htbin/fastweb?getdoc+view4+ew1997+1689+0+wAAA+%26%28Proposed%26IDEA%26Rules%26Target%26Testing,%26Accountability%29%26AND%26%28Proposed%26IDEA%26Rules%26Target%26Testing,%26Accountability%29%3AKEYWORDS%26OR%26%28Proposed%26IDEA%26Rul

• Emphasizing high-quality academics and testing for students with disabilities in regular education classes, the Department of Education issued proposed new rules last week for the recently amended Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The regulations clarify portions of the new law, most of which took effect when it was signed by President Clinton in June. Following a 90-day comment period and subsequent revisions, the Education Department plans to have final rules out by April, in time for the 1998-99 school year. Changes to the law included adding requirements for the individualized education plan that each disabled student must have and the inclusion of disabled students in academic assessments.

Web sites covering Special Needs Students

http://www.hood.edu/seri/serihome.htm

• Special Education Resources on the Internet (SERI) is a collection of Internet accessible information resources of interest to those involved in the fields related to Special Education. This collection exists in order to make on-line Special Education resources more easily and readily available in one location. This site will continually modify, update, and add additional informative links.

http://www.familyeducation.com/articlepage.asp?ch_no=14&it_no=3683

• The Family Education Network is a website whose aim is to give parents, teachers, administrators, and students a network of resources to tap into regarding educational issues. This particular link leads to the resources they have compiled for Learning Disabled students.

http://www.familyeducation.com/discussions.asp?ch_no=20

• A link to a special needs discussion group administered by the Family Education Network.

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