PARA Research Activities

As part of Goal 2, the Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Project (PARA) is conducting a series of independent research studies designed to address critical issues that need to be studied before the definition of reading proficiency can be applied to a large-scale assessment. Four primary studies are reflected in the research agenda of PARA. CRESST will lead the research activities of PARA.

Study 1. Sampling Issues

Research Question: Which students need which kinds of assistance to access the types of reading assessments that states currently administer?

Performance of students across three groups (experimental with disabilities, experimental without disabilities, control) will be compared on several measures of reading, including scores on standard achievement tests, grade point averages in reading, and reading testlets developed using definitions from Goal 1.

Study 2. Validity of Accessible Assessments for Students with Disabilities

Research Question: How can a valid assessment be developed that will permit students with disabilities that affect reading to demonstrate their reading proficiency?

Think aloud and cognitive laboratory procedures will be used to identify major sources of construct-irrelevant variance in both traditional tests and those designed using Goal 1 definitions, as well as to examine validity effectiveness of the potential assessment strategies identified in Goal 1. Differences among tests assessing a narrow range of concepts versus those assessing a wide range of concepts will be noted. We will focus on four aspects of accessible assessments: (a) effectiveness, (b) validity, (c) feasibility, and (d) differential impact of assessment formats.

Study 3. Universal Design and Individual Student Characteristics

Research Question: What common forms of assessment are appropriate for group testing that are accessible to students with disabilities that affect reading?

The purpose of this study is to establish a balance between individual students’ needs and group testing. The possibility of universally accepted access tools that would be relevant for different groups of students, depending on ability to access print, will be explored. The specific design of the testlets used during this study will be created as a result of discussions in the TAC and GAC meetings, and will be created by staff during the last half of Year 1.

Study 4. Instructional Sensitivity/Opportunity for Use of Access Tools

Research Question: What opportunities do students with disabilities that affect reading have to access reading through alternatives to print in the classroom?

Teachers and their students with disabilities will be interviewed and students will be observed during regular classroom instruction, focusing on the reading concepts students with print difficulties are taught. An opportunity to learn (OTL) questionnaire also will be used with teachers and students.

Details of the research plans of the PARA project are available for review.
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