Testing Students with Disabilities

The assessment of students with disabilities has taken on considerable importance since the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA ) of 1990 , hence there are special considerations when conducting such assessments , namely : test selection , administration , and interpretation

Test selection must be considered when counselors assess either an individual with a disability or a group of individuals that include those with disabilities . However , interpretations of their results should be tentative , and care must be taken to ensure that testing is fair

When regarding test administration , it must be ensured , as much

as possible , that the student is appropriately and meaningfully assessed using the conditions under which the instrument was standardized . It may even be necessary to adapt a professionally developed assessment device for administration to a specific student . However , it must be realized that any serious adaptation can compromise the reliability of the results

In the case of a student with disability who nevertheless took the assessment under standardized conditions , the normal judgment process can be used when interpreting results , although any advice provided in the test manual should be followed

When a counselor has performed an adaptation of an assessment or uses a locally derived adaptation , then extreme caution should rule , as far as test interpretation is concerned . In general , results from such a measure are best interpreted by developing hypotheses as opposed to making decisions (Phillips , 1994 . The goal of any interpretation of a modified assessment should be an expected result on the comparable standardized assessment , i .e . there should be no gross deviation from the standard results

Also , some information on the extent and severity of a student 's disability should be acquired before an assessment is selected or administered . It also may be appropriate to choose and administer measures that assess compensatory skills used by persons with disabilities...