How should districts decide if a student should be given a test with an accommodation or modification?
Assessment options that provide valid information for the student, the school, district and state should always be considered the primary participation option for all students. Accommodations on the state’s Accommodations Table allow for participation in the statewide assessment with a valid score. Modifications selected from the state’s Modification table allow the student to take the test with his or her peers; however, the student’s scores are no longer valid with respect to state accountability measures that provide important feedback to the state and to the federal government about a district’s overall performance and participation. In all instances, schools and districts should be considering the test that provides the valid score. In some very rare instances after a thorough review of all the relevant information, an IEP team may decide that among all assessment options there is not a single option that is more appropriate for a student than to take the general assessment with a
