Development and Examination of a Tool to Assess Score Report Quality

The need for quality in score reporting practices is represented in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (American Educational Research Association American Psychological Association National Council on Measurement in Education, 2014). The purpose of this study was to introduce a ratings-based instrument to assess the quality of score reports and examine the reliability of scores obtained. Quality criteria were derived from best-practices published within the literature (Hambleton and Zenisky, 2013). The rating scale was used to assess a sample of 40 English-language individual student score reports for K-12 accountability tests representing 42 states and five provinces in the United States and Canada. A two-facet generalizability study (i.e., sr x d x r) was completed with an overall reliability coefficient of G = 0.78. Application of the rating scale may provide a means to support empirical study of relationships between score report quality and stakeholder outcomes including interpretation, use, and impact

Udl In The Middle School Science Classroom: Can Video Games And Alternative Text Heighten Engagement And Learning For Students With Learning Disabilities?

This article examined the performance of 57 students with learning disabilities (LD) from four middle schools. Students were followed over the course of a school year in their inclusive science classrooms as they alternated between the use of traditional curricular materials for some units of study and materials that were supplemented with video games and alternative print-based texts to more closely align with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines during other units. Findings indicate that video games and supplemental text were effective at providing students with multiple means of representation and expression. The UDL-aligned units led to heightened levels of student engagement. There were no significant differences on posttest scores when students with LD were compared with peers without LD. Students\u27 performance did not indicate significant differences between UDL-aligned units and those taught using traditional curricular materials. Findings suggest a need for alternative assessments to measure learning outcomes during UDL-aligned units. Implications for practice and areas of future research are discussed. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013