Standardized Testing and Students with Disabilities

Standardized tests are a controversial topic in the education field. Some argue that they are a great way to gauge where students are performing compared to their peers, and others argue that a standardized test is not a sufficient way to collect reliable and meaningful data. Students with disabilities must participate in taking most standardized tests, even though these types of exams are not appropriate for this group of students. Findings from documents from the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NEO) and the National Center of Systemic Improvement (NCSI) show that students with disabilities continually fail standardized tests because they are not receiving instruction that would prepare them to pass this type of exam. Furthermore, this group of students could know the material, but need a different way of expressing their knowledge. However, multiple choice and writing essays is not conducive to these needs.

A hand holding a pencil and filling in bubbles
on a multiple choice exam.

Personally, I do not believe that standardized tests are a good measure of knowledge for any student, whether they have a disability or not. These kinds of high-stakes exams put a lot of pressure on students to perform well, as well as putting a great deal of pressure on teachers to prepare their students for the exam. Teachers should be teaching their students to answer correctly on a standardized test, rather than teaching them and assessing them in ways that suite their needs best. However, it is common to see teachers delivering exams in the format standardized exams are delivered in so that their students become used to taking those tests. For students with high-incidence disabilities, standardized tests are even less appropriate. The state mandates that appropriate accommodations be allowed for those students, but these accommodations barely scratch the surface of leveling the playing field. For students with moderate to significant disabilities, standardized tests are absolutely not appropriate. As the NEO and NCSI found, this group of students is not engaging in the same academic content as their peers, and therefore will not be familiar with the items on the standardized exams. Furthermore, many of these students have experiential deficits where they have not had the life experiences that would give them the background knowledge needed to be successful on the exam.