If this sounds absurd, it is. This however, is what happens when we do not allow students to use accommodations for assessments. In this example, you needed the corrective lenses and wearing them did not in any way change what was being measured. We must provide assessment accommodations based on students needs. Denying students the use of accommodations because of the fairness argument doesn t make sense.
Some people argue that accommodations automatically invalidate student scores.
The truth is that decision-making teams must be knowledgeable in the constructs or skills the test is attempting to measure if they are to make appropriate decisions. A blanket decision that the use of a calculator on a mathematics test would invalidate the assessment may be inaccurate. If the assessment is measuring basic computation skills then the use of a calculator might result in invalid results. Using a calculator on an item that is measuring a student s understanding of a theorem, steps or procedures would be appropriate. Knowing the test and understanding what each subtest is measuring is the only way a team can make sound decisions.