Abstract
The introductory chapter of the Handbook of Accessible Instruction and Testing Practices focuses on accessibility issues along the journey from an individual content standard or set of standards to the inferences that can be drawn from an item or test score about the performance of a student, teacher, and school. We highlight accessibility to instruction and testing, as well as the barriers that preclude this access, using the Interpretation of Achievement Test Scores (IATS) Paradigm. Accessibility in this context is defined as the extent to which a product, environment, or system eliminates barriers and permits equal use of components and services for a diverse population of individuals. The theoretical and empirical concepts addressed in this chapter are illustrated using a case example of a student who has difficulty with mathematics interacting with a multiple-choice item. In addition, the chapter provides a context of legal and policy issues around accessibility, along with methods of measuring relevant components. In closing, we introduce the sections and chapters of the handbook.
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Kettler, R.J., Elliott, S.N., Beddow, P.A., Kurz, A. (2018). Accessible Instruction and Testing Today. In: Elliott, S., Kettler, R., Beddow, P., Kurz, A. (eds) Handbook of Accessible Instruction and Testing Practices. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71126-3_1
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