Do Bagrut Exam Accommodations  Level the Playing Field or Magnify  the Achievement Gap?
Creators: name: Silverman, Sarit
name: Weinreb, Alexander
name: Blass, Nachum
Publisher: name: The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel
Year: 2024

description: Over the past decade, the percentage of students receiving accommodations for learning disabilities during bagrut exams has steadily increased. As the upcoming bagrut exam season approaches, the Taub Center has released a new study examining how these accommodations, along with differences in their rates by school socioeconomic status, affect school achievement. Taub researchers Dr. Sarit Silverman, Prof. Alex Weinreb, and Nachum Blass highlight the weaknesses in the current accommodation system and propose two steps that would make most accommodations unnecessary. 

 

The percentage of Israeli high school students receiving Bagrut accommodations for learning disabilities exceeds international prevalence rates and continues to rise.

 

The percentage of Israeli students receiving accommodations significantly exceeds the international prevalence rate for learning disabilities, which is approximately 15%. Over the past decade, this share has risen from 35% in 2011 to 54% in 2021. This trend suggests that factors beyond the actual prevalence of learning disabilities are influencing the number of students granted accommodations for bagrut exams in Israel.

Accommodations given in bagrut exams vary according to the student’s difficulty and the approving authority, and are divided into three levels:  Level 1 modifies only the test conditions, such as extended time; Level 2 modifies test conditions, presentation, and mode of response, such as dictation or transcription; level 3 modifies test conditions, presentation, mode of response, and content, such as a modified exam. Unlike Level 2 and 3 accommodations, which require expensive evaluations and approval by the district committees, most Level 1 accommodations no longer require evaluations. In 2015, the Ministry of Education changed its policy to allow school committees to grant Level 1 accommodations based solely on teacher recommendations. This change led to a sharp increase in Level 1 accommodations, rising from 8% in 2016 to nearly 40% in 2021. Consequently, most of the increase in bagrut exam accommodations over the past decade can be attributed to the rise in Level 1 accommodations. 

 

Higher socioeconomic districts see a surge in “free” school-granted accommodations 

 

Between 2011 and 2021, Level-3 accommodation rates remained stable while Level-2 accommodation rates decreased. Initially, there was a notable socioeconomic gap for Level-2 and Level-3 accommodations, but by the end of the decade, this gap had narrowed. In contrast, Level-1 accommodation rates, predominantly school-granted, increased across all socioeconomic levels, with the sharpest rise observed in high socioeconomic districts. Interestingly, this means that students in wealthier districts have higher rates of 'free' accommodations, potentially giving them an advantage over their peers from less affluent areas. Similar trends were observed when comparing accommodation rates based on maternal education, with higher maternal education levels corresponding with increased rates of Level-1 school-granted accommodations.

 

Rise in bagrut qualification rates linked to accommodations, not improved achievement 

 

Taub Center researchers examined the relationship between accommodation rates and school achievements and discovered notable distinctions between school-granted (Level 1) and district-granted accommodations (Levels 2 and 3). They found that in schools with higher rates of Level 1 accommodations, the average scores for bagrut exams in math and English were also higher. Conversely, for district-granted accommodations, the situation was reversed: schools with higher rates tended to have lower average grades. 

 

Further findings of the study indicate that the increase in the rate of school-granted accommodations explains the entire rise in bagrut qualification rates between 2016 and 2020. Moreover, nearly 40% of the increase in bagrut with honors qualification rates, and the majority of improvements in school’s bagrut scores in math and English, can be attributed to the rise in school-granted accommodation rates. 

 

These findings can be explained by the fact that district-granted accommodations, which require evaluations, more reliably reflect the proportion of students with learning disabilities. Consequently, they are consistent with lower school achievement. Conversely, the sharp increase in the rate of school-granted accommodations in schools that serve more affluent districts may indicate that they often use school accommodations as a means to boost the school's grade average, rather than solely addressing the needs of students with learning disabilities.

 

Dr. Sarit Silverman, one of the study's authors, voiced her concerns, stating: "The current approach to accommodations in matriculation exams, as adopted by the Ministry of Education, fails to fulfill its intended purpose. Rather than leveling the playing field for students with learning disabilities, it exacerbates socioeconomic disparities by allowing schools in affluent areas to unfairly favor their students at the expense of others."

The researchers propose two practical steps to address the situation: transitioning to digital exams, which could make most accommodations accessible to all students, and eliminating time limits on the tests. Implementing these changes alone could significantly improve the current bagrut system, enable more students to reach their educational potential, and narrow education gaps.