Performance of Students With and Without Disabilities Under Modified Conditions

Abstract

This study examines the effects of two test modifications—resource guide and read-aloud—on the reading performance of students within the context of a large-scale statewide assessment in Georgia. Schools were both randomly selected and assigned to one of three possible test conditions: resource guide, read-aloud, or standard test condition. Students in the participating schools took the standardized operational version of the assessment in Grades 3 ( n = 945) and 6 ( n = 995), and then they were retested the following spring in Grades 4 and 7 under one of the three test conditions. Results suggest that the use of resource guides was not effective and that they may have been distracting for the students. The findings also indicate that the use of the read-aloud test modification provided a differential boost in reading performance for students with disabilities in the fourth grade but not for seventh-grade students.