Secondary content-area teachers’ perceptions of English learner accommodations in classroom assessments

Abstract

Measuring    content    knowledge    of    English    learners    (ELs)    whose    English    skills    are    still    developing    has    generated    questions    of    test    validity, particularly    those    surrounding    large-scale,    high-stakes    standardized    tests.    Though    using    special    accommodations    is    one    way    to    increase    the    validity    of    tests,    little    is    known    about    the    ways    in    which    content-area    teachers    accommodate    ELs    in    classroom-based    assessments.    In    order    to    address    this    gap,    this    study    investigated    a    group    of secondary    content-area    teachers’    (n    =    52)    sense    of    fairness    on    the    subject    of    accommodations    in    classroom    assessments.    Drawing    from    the    survey    data,    this    study    found    that    secondary    content-area    teachers    viewed    some    accommodation decisions    as fairer    than    others,    and    subgroup    variances,    
such    as    the    teaching    level    and    the    content    areas    they    teach, appeared    to    have    an    influence    on    their    perceptions    of    fair    accommodation    to    some    degree.    These    findings    imply    that    there    is    a    great    need    for    discipline-specific    guidelines    that    are combined    with    teacher    training    to    help    motivate    establishing    fair    classroom    assessment   accommodation    strategies    for    ELs.