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…

Evidence suggests that it is possible to substantially reduce the number of children classified as learning disabled in literacy. The 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act opens opportunities to do so through Response to Intervention (RTI). This article argues that institutional histories, structures, and…

This paper is a reflection on practice. It begins by briefly describing an evaluation of an externally-funded education programme in Kosovo (a new country in south-east Europe). The programme was managed by Save the Children in Kosovo and aimed to develop and promote models of inclusive education through three strands of activity. The first of…

The five papers in this special issue of the "Journal of Applied Testing Technology" address fundamental issues of validity when tests are modified or accommodations are provided to English Language Learners (ELL) or students with disabilities. Three papers employed differential item functioning (DIF) and factor analysis and found the…

Some students are less accurately measured by typical reading tests than other students. By asking teachers to identify students whose performance on state reading tests would likely underestimate their reading skills, this study sought to learn about characteristics of less accurately measured students while also evaluating how well teachers can…

Authentic assessment is a growing alternative to conventional testing. This research-to-practice article describes a framework for implementing authentic assessment. The R-E-A-L framework shows how roles, equipment, assessment tools, and location can be incorporated into early childhood practices.

The inclusion of young children with disabilities has remained a function of the Head Start program since its inception in the 1960s when the United States Congress mandated that children with disabilities comprise 10% of the Head Start enrollment (Zigler & Styfco, 2000). Standardized, norm-referenced tests used to identify children with…

Quality of life issues in social skills assessment of persons with disabilities are discussed in terms of definitions, measures, applications to social skills assessment, and future needs. It is argued that broader measures need to be used in social skills assessment in order to evaluate quality of life changes. (CR)

Conducted 3-year catch-up prospective study of 654 rural special education students. Record review of handicapped students from preschool through secondary school revealed that 32.8 percent had classification change. Changes in type of program occurred for 33.1 percent, and changes in frequency of services occurred for 71.2 percent of students in…

Outlines the history of vocational evaluation and assessment, career assessment, and transition assessment; discusses the relationship among these three areas; and provides recommendations in the area of transition assessment, including the need to start the assessment process at an earlier age and to emphasize performance in the community. (CR)

Challenges faced in the evaluation of programs for the disabled are discussed, focusing on values orientation, key stakeholders, program structure, and measurement issues. Workers in the field are presently witnessing a fundamental change in the philosophy that underlies programs for persons with disabilities. Evaluators must be sensitive to the…

Assessment of preschoolers with handicaps presents a challenge to assessment personnel due to the children's unwillingness to separate from their parents, non-compliant behaviors, short attention spans, limited expressive language, and other problems. Planning and scheduling considerations include scheduling assessments when the child is…

The special educator must be aware of possible sources of error in assessment of children with learning problems. Sources of error can be attributed to unconscious examiner bias, ambiguous test responses, linguistic and cultural differences of the examiner and examinee, previous test-taking experience, and problems with test reliability and…

This study examines the appropriateness of a large-scale state standards-based English-Language Arts (ELA) assessment for students who are deaf or hard of hearing by comparing the internal test structures for these students to students without disabilities. The Grade 4 and 8 ELA assessments were analyzed via a series of parcel-level exploratory…

Examined two groups of applicants with disabilities to determine counselors' judgments about limitations in functional capabilities. Ratings of applicants' functional limitations were partially explained by three latent dimensions derived from applicants' personal history information. Implications for the conduct of the eligibility determination…