Rationale for Systems Change

        Creating a system for teachers to have access to information on testing accommodations will require a systemic change. There are several rationales for creating such a proposed system change. The most important rationale for the proposed systems change is the lack of teacher knowledge in assessment and allowable accommodations as documented by Hollenbeck (1998). This research found that most teachers have little knowledge of appropriate accommodations to be used for students with disabilities and this lack of knowledge jeopardizes the validity of score interpretation for lack of test administration reliability. These conclusions were also reflected by other researchers (Hollenbeck, 1998) and support the finding that greater emphasis must be placed on training teachers at the classroom level to eliminate the exclusion or inconsistent application of testing accommodations (Hollenbeck, 1998). The proposed system change will provide both tools and training opportunities to educate teachers on the appropriate and allowable testing accommodations for students with disabilities.

        This leads to the second rationale for the proposed system change which is that increasing teacher knowledge of testing accommodations will increase the use of accommodations for students with disabilities and therefore increase the reliability and validity of the tests. Providing testing accommodations to students with disabilities involves the rationale of comparability of the testing outcome. Psychometric constructs, particularly validity, must be considered to assure accommodations have produced the desired goal. Extensive analysis of this rationale for the systems change will require more empirical research to determine the effects of various accommodations on test validity (Geisinger, 1994). If the scores of students with disabilities are comparable to their general education peers standardized scores, they must reflect aptitude or ability rather than extraneous limitations or impairments (Hollenbeck, 1998). The goal for the systems change will be to increase the reliability and validity of the test scores by providing training and access to teachers on appropriate accommodations that must be used for students with disabilities.

        Finally, increasing teacher knowledge of testing accommodations that are appropriate for students with disabilities will assure that the legal right of individuals with disabilities to receive accommodations is provided. The reauthorization of IDEA mandates the participation of students with disabilities in large-scale assessment programs. Only a small percentage of students with disabilities will participate in alternate assessments. IDEA mandates the use of accommodations to maximize the participation of students with disabilities in assessments and to ensure that the test results lead to valid decisions (Hollenbeck, 1998). A system change of providing teachers with access to training and information on accommodations available for students with disabilities will increase teacher knowledge and use of accommodations and will assure compliance to the legal mandate of IDEA.