SBIR Phase I: Developing, Piloting, and Validating a Flexible Test Delivery System for State Assessment Programs

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段研究项目旨在开发、试验和验证灵活的测试交付系统，该系统以灵活、经济高效和标准化的方式提供多种测试场所。这些便利措施包括：a)朗读文本；b)放大文本和图像；c)回读开放式答案；d)项目掩蔽；以及e)测试材料管理。可用性和初步效度研究将在高中阶段进行，使用发布的数学测试。这项拟议的研究直接回应了《不让一个孩子掉队法案》和《残疾人教育改进法案》带来的需求。这些法案要求残疾学生参加国家管理的教育考试，并要求学校在考试期间为学生提供适当的便利。尽管所有50个州都对3-8年级和高中的学生实施了年度考试计划，但各地的许多学校都在努力为学生在考试期间提供适当的住宿。因此，许多残疾学生的成绩被低估了，根据考试表现做出的决定可能会导致许多残疾学生接受教育的机会减少。目前，国家考试计划修改考试材料或考试管理程序，为学生提供适当的住宿。这些修改是昂贵的，包括打印不同版本的测试材料，制作专门的电子版本，由监考人员单独管理测试，以及要求监考人员将小册子或打字作文的答案转录到答案手册上。虽然很难估计与这些修改相关的时间和成本，但它们已经变得太大，许多学校无法承受。基于十年的研究，很明显，计算机可以有效地和高效地提供考试住宿。这一研究项目将有机会在所有州进行广泛测试。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I research project aims to develop, pilot, and validate a Flexible Test Delivery System that provides multiple test accommodations in a flexible, cost-effective, and standardized manner. The accommodations include: a) read aloud of text; b) magnification of text and images; c) read back of open-ended responses; d) item masking; and e) test materials management. Usability and preliminary validity studies will be conducted at the high school level, using released mathematics tests. The proposed research responds directly to a need that has arisen as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. These acts require that students with disabilities participate in state administered educational tests and that schools provide appropriate accommodations for students during testing. Although all fifty states have implemented annual testing programs for students in grades 3-8 and in high school, many schools across struggle to provide students with appropriate accommodations during testing. As a result, the achievement of many students with disabilities is underestimated and decisions made based on test performance may result in decreased educational opportunities for many of these students.Currently, state testing programs modify test materials or test administration procedures to provide students with appropriate accommodations. These modifications are expensive and include printing different versions of test materials, producing specialized electronic versions, administering tests individually with a proctor, and requiring proctors to transcribe responses from a booklet or typed essay to an answer booklet. Although it is difficult to estimate the time and costs associated with these modifications, they have become too large for many schools to bear. Based on ten years of research, it is evident that computers can be used to effectively and efficiently provide test accommodations. This research project will have the opportunity to broadly testing across all states.