1. National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment (PARA) Martha Thurlow

2. National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects Background: PARA Partners Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment (PARA) consists of: University of Minnesota - NCEO (National Center on Educational Outcomes) and Department of Curriculum and Instruction CRESST (Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing - University of California, Los Angeles) and University of California, Davis Westat

3. National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects Disability Focus Learning Disability Speech/Language Impairment Mental Retardation Deaf/Hard of Hearing

4. National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects PARA Research Program Assumptions Assumption #1: We do not know everything about what goes into accessible reading assessment yet. Assumption #2: Preliminary research must inform design of accessible assessment. Assumption #3: Both preliminary and experimental research will inform development of Principles and Guidelines for future assessments.

5. National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects Three Major Research Question Areas What characteristics of current assessment practices hinder accessibility? What characteristics of students require more accessible assessment of reading? What characteristics would accessible assessment have?

6. National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects Two Research Phases Exploration Accessible Assessment Characteristics Student Characteristics Current Assessment Characteristics Study Phases Confirmation

7. National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects Sample of Studies Exploration Accessible Assessment Characteristics Student Characteristics Current Assessment Characteristics Study Phases Confirmation State Documents Analysis – Identifying what is assessed in reading relative to state standards (via test specifications), analyzing accommodation policies for reading assessments, and examining current test forms for characteristics that promote and hinder accessibility. State Documents

8. National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects Sample of Studies Exploration Accessible Assessment Characteristics Student Characteristics Current Assessment Characteristics Study Phases Confirmation Nomination + Scrutiny Study – Information gathered from exploration phase used to solicit teacher nominations of students who are poorly assessed under current assessment practices. Students will be observed, individual assessment data examined, and think aloud procedures used to confirm the need for accessible assessment. Nomination + Scrutiny