We introduce a short answer scoring engine made up of an ensemble of deep neural networks and a Latent Semantic Analysis-based model to score short constructed responses for a large suite of questions from a national assessment program. We evaluate the performance of the engine and show that the engine achieves above-human-level performance on a…

Prescreening children for specific learning disabilities, e.g., dyslexia, is essential for effective intervention. With a quick and reliable prescreening result, special education coordinators (SENCOs) can provide students with early intervention and relieve their learning pressure. Unfortunately, due to the limited resources, many students in…

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapid change, unprecedented in higher education. One such change has been the almost complete shift to online assessment. The simultaneous employment of online assessment and proctoring has not enjoyed the rigorous academic debate and research traditionally associated with such shifts in academia. This engagement…

As schools move into a new era of technology, assessment is evolving as well. With the introduction of high-stakes tests based on the Common Core State Standards, annual assessments are increasingly delivered via computer-based systems. This method of delivery could have a significant effect on students with learning disabilities. This column…

Whenever a major intelligence or achievement test is revised, there is always renewed interest in the underlying structure of the test as well as a renewed interest in the scoring, administration, and interpretation changes. In this interview, Amy Gabel discusses the most recent revision of the "Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth…

Recent years have seen unprecedented growth in the size, diversity and academic orientation of undergraduate student populations. There is evidence that the use of innovative pedagogies using information and communications technology has the potential to address such student diversity by offering opportunities for a more personalised student…

Many children born with severe and multiple disabilities have complex communication needs and may use no speech or only minimal speech to communicate. Meaningful assessment of their expressive skills to identify communication strengths along a developmental trajectory is an essential first step toward appropriate intervention. This article…

Among the several forms of accommodations used in the assessment of English language learners (ELLs), language-based accommodations are the most effective in making assessments linguistically accessible to these students. However, there are significant challenges associated with the implementation of many of these accommodations. This article…

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a state-led consortium designed to create next-generation assessments that, compared to traditional K-12 assessments, more accurately measure student progress toward college and career readiness. The PARCC assessments are aligned to the Common Core State Standards…

This chapter addresses the psychometric challenges in assessing English language learners (ELLs) and students with disabilities (SWDs). The first section addresses some general considerations in the assessment of ELLs and SWDs, including the prevalence of ELLs and SWDs in the student population, federal and state legislation that requires the…

Aim: The purpose of this study was to characterize handwriting deficits in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) using computerized movement analyses. Method: Seventy-two children (40 females, 32 males; mean age 7y, SD 7mo; range 6y 2mo to 7y 11mo) with handwriting deficits (33 with DCD, 39 without DCD); and 22 age- and…

This study investigated whether scores obtained from the online and paper-and-pencil administrations of the statewide end-of-course English test were equivalent for students with and without disabilities. Score comparability was evaluated by examining equivalence of factor structure (measurement invariance) and differential item and bundle…

Computer-based testing (CBT) has emerged as one of the recent "innovative" approaches to assessments most pursued by states. CBT is lauded as the answer to having cheaper and speedier test delivery for state and district-wide assessments. It is also seen by some as an avenue toward greater accessibility for students with disabilities. In…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the handwriting characteristics of secondary school students with and without physical disabilities (PD). With the use of a computerized Chinese Handwriting Assessment Tool (CHAT), it was made possible to objectively assess and analyze in detail the handwriting characteristics of individual…

This paper represents one outcome from the "Invitational Research Symposium on Technology-Enabled and Universally Designed Assessments," which examined technology-enabled assessments (TEA) and universal design (UD) as they relate to students with disabilities (SWD). It was developed to stimulate research into TEAs designed to make tests…