A State Math Modified Assessment: An Exploration of Eligible Students and Differential Item Functioning

• In Event: Evaluating Assessments Used in Special Education

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Education provided funding to many states to develop alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). This allowed State Educational Agencies and Local Educational Agencies to include in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) the proficient and advanced scores from these assessments, subject to a cap at 2% of all students enrolled in the grades. The current study explores contextual characteristics of eligible students for the AA-MAS in math in 2011 and investigates the relationships between different assessment options and student characteristics. By calculating item statistics and differential item functioning (DIF) for the AA-MAS in math, we will advance our research to investigate whether test items are equally assessing students’ performance regardless of their contextual characteristics.

Authors

• Mayuko Simon, Data Recognition Corporation

• Satomi K. Shinde, University of Wisconsin - River Falls

• Xiaowen Zhu

• N. Scott Bishop, Data Recognition Corporation