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Literature Review of Testing Accommodations and Accessibility Tools for Students with Disabilities
Critical to the development of any assessment is the ability to make claims about what students know and can do. The purpose of this literature review is to summarize existing research on controversial and innovative accommodations (and accessibility tools) to inform policy decisions. This document includes an overview of research on the following testing accommodations and accessibility features for students with disabilities: 1) Audio presentation for mathematics; 2) Audio presentation for English language arts; 3) Refreshable braille for mathematics and English language arts; 4) American sign language for mathematics; 5) Calculator for mathematics; and 6) Writing tools for English language arts. The document is organized by accommodation/accessibility features and includes a short summary of each feature followed by an annotated bibliography and a summary table.
The purpose of this literature review is to summarize existing research on controversial and innovative accommodations (and accessibility tools) to inform policy decisions. This literature review was very well-organized with various sections focusing on a review of studies related to specific accommodations. While it provides valuable information to inform policy decisions, it is somewhat technical in its presentation which might limit the audience that would find it useful. Review of literature reinforces the need for more technical studies to help provide additional data to inform policies relative to use of accommodations and accessibility tools.