Universal Design for Assessment (UDA): Considerations for Increasing Assessment Access Among Learners in General Education Classrooms

• In Event: Innovative Foundation Literacy and Language Assessments

Proposal

As governments, donors, and implementers have increasingly begun to embrace principles of inclusion and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) within the education sector—principles that support the variable ways that children learn (Meyer, Rose & Gordan, 2014)—these stakeholders are, in turn, also realizing the importance of aligning learning assessment with the same inclusive approaches being promoted in classrooms, to the extent that a standardized measurement approach allows. While some learners with specific disabilities require modified assessment instruments in order to equitably express their knowledge and skills (e.g., language and literacy assessments in braille or sign language for learners who are blind or deaf), most learners in general education classrooms who are selected for assessment will receive a non-modified version that is assumed to be accessible to all.

Universal Design for Assessment (UDA) pushes educators, implementers, and evaluators to examine long-standing assessment protocols through the lens of potential access barriers and to consider changes to instrument content or administration protocols that eliminate or mitigate these barriers in order to maximize learners’ opportunities to demonstrate their process (Hanna, 2005). This is done while taking care to maintain the core skill or construct that needs to be measured. Such changes can serve to accommodate the needs of more learners, including those with hidden or invisible (and undiagnosed) disabilities, those with mild to moderate disabilities who are learning in general education settings, and those who face other barriers to performing at their best during an assessment (such as language barriers). Even seemingly minor changes related to assessment factors such as presentation of content, explanation of content, timing, expectations of the learner, or response modalities have the potential to allow more learners the opportunity to express what they know and, thereby, lead to more accurate and representative learning data (Johnstone, 2003; Downing, 2005; Haladyna & Downing, 2004).

This presentation will provide a brief overview of UDA before describing several recent efforts to align learning assessments with UDA principles across several contexts and content areas, including available pilot data. It will address design considerations and lessons learned, such as the inherent tension of introducing variation or choice into a standardized assessment and implications for preparation, planning, and administration during the various stages of conducting an assessment. As the field is continually evolving, the presentation will also suggest outstanding questions that will require more research.

Authors

• Emily Kochetkova, Inclusive Development Partners

• Valerie Karr, Inclusive Development Partners