The Use of Accommodations Among Students with Deafblindness in Large-Scale Assessment Systems

Abstract

The provision of accommodations for students with disabilities is mandated by amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 1997) and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB; 2002); and as states are moving to adapt their assessment practices to include all students, it is essential that appropriate accommodations be determined. Implementing the appropriate accommodations serves to maximize the student's performance, while also providing fair access to the general curriculum and statewide assessment measures.This study attempted to describe the use of accommodations among students with deafblindness, both in the general curriculum and during statewide assessments, to illustrate how policy affects practice. The three major findings to emerge were that (a) students were provided accommodations that were not specifically tailored to their needs; (b) self-determination among students with deaf-blindness was not actively observed in the classroom; and (c) there was a lack of congruence among accommodations used in class, during assessment, and among those documented on the IEP or 504 Plan.