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Definition Panel Meeting
OverviewThe second meeting of the Definition Panel of the National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects (NARAP) was held September 19-20, 2005 in Washington, DC. (See Appendix A for a list of participants.) This meeting was a follow-up to the first Definition Panel meeting held on January 29, 2005, and was the culmination of the activities of the 15-member Definition Panel. The activities were designed to provide input related to the definition of the construct of "reading proficiency" as a basis for research and development for accessible large-scale assessments. The September meeting started with opening remarks from Martha Thurlow and Cara Cahalan-Laitusis and opening comments by the project officer and commissioner of the National Center for Special Education Research in the Institute for Education Sciences. The overall plan for the meeting was outlined. The first half of day one was spent presenting activities and accomplishments since the January meeting, while the second part involved small groups looking at reading standards and considering the implications of these standards for students with specific disabilities. The second day focused on discussion related to future directions and current concerns of the project. WelcomeMartha Thurlow, Director, Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Cara Cahalan-Laitusis, Director, Designing Accessible Reading Assessments Martha Thurlow welcomed Definition Panel members and began the meeting by reviewing project goals. Cara Cahalan-Laitusis introduced herself and reviewed the two-day agenda. Opening CommentsDave Malouf, NationalCenter for Special Education Research, Institute of Educatio Sciences, U.S. Department of Education Ed Kame’enui, NationalCenter for Special Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education Representatives from the new National Center for Special Education Research within the Institute of Education Sciences stressed the importance of the NARAP project to Institute of Educational Sciences (IES). Dave Malouf explained how the research program has been moved from the Office of Special Education Programs to IES. Ed Kame’enui, the first commissioner of the National Center for Special Education Research, welcomed participants. He noted the importance of the projects and challenged the Panel to adhere to the notion of scientific inquiry and to think about the empirical evidence and the validity of the data. Focus Group ReportFred Cline, Designing Accessible Reading Assessments Christopher Johnstone, Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Fred Cline provided an overview of focus group sessions that had been held since the January 29 meeting. The focus groups were designed to obtain feedback on definitions of reading from members of the reading, disability, and educational measurement communities. They were held on a face-to-face basis at large conferences and also through web-based teleconferences. Participants who attended large conferences (International Reading Association, American Educational Research Association, Council for Exceptional Children, Council of Chief State School Officers, National Council on Measurement in Education, Society for the Scientific Study of Reading) were invited to attend the focus group session and give their input. Participants for the web-based focus group were recruited through email from their organization president (National Down Syndrome Society, Center for Applied Linguistics, PACER, American Speech and Hearing Association, TASH and The ARC). Chris Johnstone discussed the protocol and the results of the study. Results were consistent among participants from the large conferences and the web-based teleconferences. Most people preferred having the main emphasis of the definition focused on understanding. They also believed that decoding is important. "Translating text to speech" was viewed as problematic for a variety of readers. In general, auditorization was viewed as problematic for the construct of reading. Definition Panel members discussed the implications of the focus group work and the progress that had been made. Implications for assessment were identified, both in general and for specific groups of students with disabilities. Disability ReportsMartha Thurlow, Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Martha Thurlow presented several disability papers that were developed to address disabilities that affect reading (visual impairments, deaf or hard of hearing, autism, learning disabilities, mental retardation, speech or language impairments, emotional or behavioral disabilities). Although not all these disabilities are the focus of NARAP, they are high interest disabilities for definition clarification. The papers provide brief overviews of some of the issues surrounding reading and students with each disability. Definition Panel members discussed the papers and the information that they contained. Further review procedures were endorsed and will be pursued. Position PaperJohn Sabatini, Designing Accessible Reading Assessments Deborah Dillon, Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment John Sabatini and Deborah Dillon presented an overview of a paper that outlines the position of NARAP related to the use the NCLB definition and principles that NARAP is using to guide research. The paper is a work in progress. Small Group WorkDavid O'Brien, Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Deborah Dillon, Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Deborah Dillon and David O'Brien gave the Definition Panel members and others attending the meeting a small group task for the afternoon. Groups were to discuss what reading looks like in 4th and 8th grade, starting from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) frameworks. They were asked also to sort out implications for the accommodations used to develop a more valid assessment. Panel members provided brief reports by groups before concluding for the day. DAY 2 – September 20, 2005PARA Research Plans and DiscussionMartha Thurlow, Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Chris Johnstone, Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment The Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment (PARA) is a partnership of the National Center on Educational Outcomes and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota, the Center for Research and Evaluation on Standards and Student Testing (CRESST) at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Westat. PARA described its three major research question areas: (a) what characteristics of students require more accessible assessment of reading? (b) what characteristics of current assessment practices hinder accessibility? (c) what characteristics would accessible assessments have? DARA Research Plans and DiscussionLinda Cook, Designing Accessible Reading Assessment Cara Cahalan-Laitusis, Designing Accessible Reading Assessment Cara Cahalan-Laitusis outlined DARA research plans for the upcoming year. DARA has two phases of research, one that examines the validity of current research assessments and one focusing on new types of test questions. The three operational studies were discussed in detail. The studies included (a) an experimentally designed study that examines differential performance gains from read aloud accommodations between a student with and without reading-based learning disabilities, (b) an examination of Differential Item Functioning on a state reading assessment by comparing students with learning disabilities who receive specific testing accommodations to students without disabilities (and students with learning disabilities) who test under standard conditions (no accommodations or modification), and (c) an examination of the factor structure of a state reading assessment for students with and without reading-based learning disabilities. Next StepsCara Cahalan-Laitusis, Designing Accessible Reading Assessments Martha Thurlow, Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Cara Cahalan-Laitusis and Martha Thurlow concluded the meeting by noting that future activities will be summarized on the NARAP Web site and through the NARAP newsletter.
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