Considerations in the Use of Nonapproved Accommodations

The use of accommodations during state and district assessments by students with disabilities is now generally accepted. Still, controversy surrounds specific accommodations that policymakers have determined change the construct measured or the comparability of scores. States and districts have given these accommodations various names, such as nonallowed accommodations, nonstandard accommodations, or modifications, to indicate that either they are not to be used or, if used, scores from them are to be treated differently. The purpose of this article is to identify the problems associated with excluding the scores of students who need nonapproved accommodations and to explore the ways in which scores from assessments taken with these accommodations can be included in system and student accountability systems.