A Longitudinal Analysis of State Accommodations Policies

State accommodations policies affect the way that students with disabilities are included in large-scale assessments. This articles uses information collected by the National Center on Educational Outcomes to analyze how accommodations policies changed between 1993 and 2005. Throughout the 1990s, state accommodations policies often sought to level the playing field for students with disabilities. In recent years, more emphasis has been placed on seeking to ensure that the accommodations permit valid measurement of test constructs. Accommodations that involve the use of technology and the extended time accommodation are generally better accepted now than in the past. There continues to be no consensus across states about how several accommodations, including calculator, read aloud questions, sign interpret questions, and spell-checker, should be included in the policies, and states may want to consider focusing on the creation of high-quality, universally designed assessments that minimize the need for accommodations.