Reports focus on assessment issues for students with disabilities

The National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects (NARAP), three projects that focus on designing accessible reading assessments for students with disabilities, have released two reports, one on defining reading proficiency for accessible large-scale assessments and a second on focus group reactions to three definitions of reading. NARAP is funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

Defining Reading Proficiency for Accessible Large-Scale Assessments: Some Guiding Principles and Issues identifies three principles for defining reading proficiency:

1. Definitions of reading proficiency must be consistent with core NCLB provisions.
2. Reading proficiency must be defined in such a way that flexible expressions of reading are allowed while preserving the essential nature of reading. This is crucial as we seek to make assessments accessible to students with a variety of disabilities.
3. Definitions of reading proficiency must reflect both comprehension and foundational skills.

For further information, visit the NARAP website.