Dr. Stephanie Cawthon is the lead author of two new publications that address the unique challenges that deaf students face when it comes to testing and offer steps on how to improve accessibility and equity of assessments.
Accessibility Planning for Postsecondary Entrance and Placement Exams for Deaf Students by Stephanie W. Cawthon, Linda Goldstone, Jennifer Higgins, and Martha Thurlow was published by Teaching Exceptional Children, the official journal of the Council for Exceptional Children.
This journal article is summarized in Steps to Equitably Include Deaf Students in Assessments, a new brief co-published by the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes and National Center for Educational Outcomes.
In the article, the authors explain how postsecondary entrance and placement tests provide critical information that shapes the trajectory of the transition from secondary to postsecondary education. For deaf students, test accommodations can play an important role in reducing barriers they face during high-stakes testing.
Decisions about access and accommodations for standardized assessment typically involve an Individualized Education Program (IEP) team. Deaf students’ access needs are not homogeneous, and decisions include a variety of factors including student characteristics, the content of the test, and test accommodations policies.
In the article and brief, the authors provide suggestions for ways to help to ensure that deaf students receive accommodations that better allow them to show what they know and can do — steps that can improve accessibility and support equity in postsecondary pathways for deaf students.
To find more articles about evidence-based practices in assessment with deaf students, see Dr. Cawthon’s CV.