Patterns of Errors Made by Students with Disabilities on a Reading Test with Oral Reading Administration

Abstract

This study focused on differences in the types of errors made by students with disabilities on a multiple choice reading test administered under oral reading accommodations. The sample was composed of students with physical, emotional, learning, and mental disabilities, as well as students with no recorded disabilities. It was first found that, for the majority of items, students in various disability groups varied slightly in their choice for the distractors. Distractors were then classified in four major categories: Diversion, Misapplication, Delimiting, and Out of Bounds. No visible relationship was found between the chosen distractors and the category of errors. Some small group differences, however, were found in the number of errors in the categories of Misapplication and Delimiting. Taken together, the study indicates that when errors are used as an extra factor in exploring the nature of proficiency, the reading construct varies only slightly across disability groups. The results indicate that it is safe to adhere the same meaning to test scores for these groups even when the test is administered under different accommodations.