Time is often an accommodation used to ensure equity during assessments. The assumption is that the provision of additional time would help learners who require accommodations. In this study we examined 29 learners of differing spatial ability on visual learning tasks using static and dynamic digital images. The performance and time required to…

The ability to draw visual representations such as diagrams and graphs is considered fundamental to science learning. Science exams therefore often include questions which require students to draw a visual representation, or to augment a partially provided one. The design features of such questions (e.g., layout of diagrams, amount of answer…

Assessment News outlines findings from an investigation of inequalities in the current use of special assessment conditions (SAC) in NCEA assessments, along with rising demand for their use. The research also explored the potential of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to help improve assessment accessibility, and to reduce the overall demand for…

Both educators and students in the United States feel the continuous pressure to improve achievement scores as a form of validation for their work and success. However, emerging bilingual (EBs) learners encounter barriers within assessments that break the assumptions of validity, reliability, and fairness and prevent them from demonstrating their…

Assessment plays an important role in higher education, both guiding student learning and judging student success. However, assessment that treats all students the same is inequitable, since it ignores differences in students' past and present circumstances. A shift to assessment for inclusion is advocated to promote student equity; one that…

This study examines the underlying mechanisms of ableism and disablism in the assessment of student learning in higher education. Globally, higher education institutions rely strongly on assessment accommodations (e.g., extra time in tests) to ensure disabled students' participation in assessment. This is also the case in Finland. Even though…

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of how students with disabilities, including students with significant cognitive disabilities and English learners with disabilities, can be included in local assessments used for instructional and programmatic decision making--that is, for formative purposes. This article focuses on formative…

This research evaluates the appropriateness of test accommodations among Chinese university students with hearing impairment, using reliability estimates and exploratory factor analysis. Study 1 explores the appropriateness of test directions accommodation for one nonverbal assessment (Group Embedded Figures Test) and two verbal assessments with…

Higher education acknowledges evaluation as a core component in pedagogy. However, K-12 institutions implement different applications of formative evaluation, and Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) still use traditional evaluation almost exclusively. Adjustments made for students with disabilities (SWDs) are often exam accommodations rather than…

Disability-as-diagnosis, disability-as-identity, and disability-as-experience as pressing measurement issues in learning outcomes assessment are described in this paper. Disability represents a critically important latent variable in many learning outcomes assessment plans unless it is a formalized part of analytic plans. Noting the potential for…

Students and adults with intellectual disability experience multiple barriers to taking tests, assessments, evaluations, questionnaires, and surveys. The literacy demands of common formats for soliciting objective and subjective feedback -- particularly written questions and answers -- makes typical assessment processes inaccessible to many people…

This project aimed to explore staff and student opinions on the introduction of choice in assessment, drawing upon the principles of Inclusive Pedagogy, Disability Studies and Universal Design. The mixed methods research explored the possibility that students may feel more positively supported during the assessment and feedback process if a range…

Notwithstanding the introduction of education multilingual policies worldwide, testing and assessment procedures still rely almost exclusively on the monolingual construct. This paper describes a study, part of a larger project fostering a new multilingual education policy in Israeli schools, exploring bi/multilingual assessment. It included two…

Standardised and other multiple-choice examinations often require the use of an answer sheet with fill-in bubbles (i.e. "bubble" or Scantron sheet). Students with disabilities causing impairments in attention, learning and/or visual-motor skill may have difficulties with multiple-choice examinations that employ such a response style.…

Out-of-level testing is an underused strategy for addressing the needs of students who score in the extremes, and when used wisely, it could provide educators with a much more accurate picture of what students know. Out-of-level testing has been shown to be an effective assessment strategy with high-achieving students; however, out-of-level…