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Activities
Definition Panel
Focus Groups
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Quarterly Update
October 2008
Contents
National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects
Meetings
Presentations
Papers, Reports, and Publications
DARA - Designing Accessible Reading Assessments Update
Technical Advisory Committee Meetings
Papers, Reports, and Publications
PARA – Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Update
Technical Advisory Committee Meetings
Papers, Reports, and Publications
TARA – Technology Assisted Reading Assessment Update
Technical Advisory Committee Meetings
Papers, Reports, and Publications
National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects
We have been hard at work in 2008 completing the work of Goal 3 of the NARAP which is to develop research-based principles and guidelines for large-scale accessible reading assessments. The planning for Goal 4, to develop and field test an accessible reading assessment, has begun. We also continued to disseminate our research and work on our principles and guidelines. This activity provided very useful feedback and advice on our work. Please continue to read about our activities below.
NARAP Meetings
General Advisory Committee Meeting
The last NARAP General Advisory Committee (GAC) meeting occurred December 7, 2007 in Washington, DC. Notes from this GAC meeting can be found on the NARAP website. The next GAC meeting is tentatively scheduled for Friday, December 12, 2008.
Principles and Guidelines Committee Meeting
The principles and guidelines committee was organized to provide feedback for the work carried out to support the NARAP Goal 3. A one day meeting was held in Washington, DC February 11, 2008. Committee members were presented with each of the principles and supporting guidelines as well as their background and the criteria for levels of support. Members provided valuable feedback on the organization and breadth of the guidelines as well as advice on the best means to disseminate the work. Notes from the meeting are on the NARAP website.
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Presentations
Below are the most recent PARA, DARA, and TARA coordinated presentations, symposia, individual paper and poster sessions. Information from these presentations is organized below by date and by conference. Prior conference presentations can be found on the NARAP website.
Learning Disabilities of America (LDA), February 27, 2008, Chicago, IL, Symposium title: Research Findings and Implications for Reading Assessment and Instruction
(Martha Thurlow and Teresa King)
Presentations:
Association of Test Publishers (ATP) March 3, 2008, Dallas, TX, Workshop title: Designing and Developing Accessible Reading Assessments for Students With Disabilities: The NARAP Experience (Martha Thurlow, Cara Cahalan Laitusis, Christopher Johnstone, Linda Cook, Ross Moen, and Jason Altman)
Presentations:
Annual International Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities (CSUN) Los Angeles, CA, March 15, 2008 (Lois Frankel)
Presentation:
National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) New York, NY, March 25-27, 2008 (Cara Cahalan Laitusis and Linda Cook)
Presentation:
Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) April 3, 2008, Boston, MA, Session Title: Research Findings and Implications for Reading Assessment and Instruction (Cara Cahalan Laitusis and Martha Thurlow)
Presentation:
Josephine L. Taylor Leadership Institute (JLTLI) in affiliation with American Federation for the Blind (AFB), April 4-5, 2008 (Joseph Timmons)
Presentation:
- Technology Assisted Reading Assessment, TARA (Joseph Timmons)
International Reading Association (IRA), May 4-8, 2008, Atlanta, GA (Martha Thurlow, Deborah Dillon, and Linda Cook)
Poster:
The Institute for Educational Sciences (IES) Research conference, June 9-12, 2008 in Washington, DC (Martha Thurlow, Cara Cahalan Laitusis, and Teresa King)
Posters:
The National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA) in affiliation with the Council for Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), June 15-18, 2008, Orlando, FL.
Workshop title: Designing Accessible Reading Assessments for Students with Disabilities – National Interactive Informational Forum (Jamal Abedi, Cara Cahalan-Laitusis, Linda Cook, Deborah Dillon, Ross Moen, David O'Brien, and Martha Thurlow)
Presentations:
Symposium title: Agreeing on the “Principles” of Accessible Reading Assessments—Can We Do It Together? ( Martha Thurlow and Cara Cahalan Laitusis)
Presentations:
The final conference that NARAP staff will be presenting is the Northeastern Educational Research Association (NERA) occurring October 22-24, 2008 in Rocky Hill, CT. The presentation, An Introduction to Cognitive Labs with Students with Disabilities: Methodology, Protocol, and Issues to Consider, is tentatively scheduled to occur Wednesday, October 22. We look forward to seeing you and your colleagues at this and upcoming conferences. Conference locations and dates for 2009 will be posted in the future. Please continue to visit the NARAP website for new details to be added.
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Papers, Reports, and Publications
The principles and guidelines and the supporting evidence document are nearly complete. We are in the process of revising the principles using the advice obtained from our many constituents. The reports will be available online as soon as they are finalized. Previously published NARAP reports can be found on the NARAP website.
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DARA – Designing Accessible Reading Assessments Update
Technical Advisory Committee Meetings
The most recent DARA Technical Advisory Committee meeting occurred on May 30, 2008 in Washington DC. Presentations included an overview of Goal 3, a review of each of the 5 principles and their guidelines, a review of the support for the guidelines, and the conference plans for 2008-2009. The DARA TAC provided their feedback on the principles, guidelines, and evidence documents. The meeting notes and PowerPoint presentations are available on the DARA website.
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Papers, Reports, and Publications
The Sample Cognitive Interview Protocol by Teresa King and Cara Laitusis is now available on the DARA website.
Previously published DARA reports can be found on the DARA website.
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PARA – Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment Update
Technical Advisory Committee Meetings
The most recent PARA Technical Advisory Committee meeting occurred on October 9, 2008, in Washington, DC.
Presentations included an update on dissemination of PARA findings, overviews of the Motivation Study and the Reading Pen Study, and a
description of the PARA field trial. The PARA TAC
provided their feedback on the principles, guidelines, and supporting evidence documents. The meeting notes and
PowerPoint presentations can be found on the PARA website.
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Papers, Reports, and Publications
In addition to the presentations that PARA staff made in collaboration with other NARAP staff that are listed in the NARAP section of this report, PARA staff had two other presentations:
National Association of School Psychologists Annual Conference, February 05, 2008, New Orleans, LA.
Paper:
- What the Research Says about the Role of Motivation in Designing Effective Reading Instruction and Assessment (Deborah Dillon)
University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development Research Day, February 27, 2008, Minneapolis, MN
Poster:
- Test Accessibility and Less Accurately Measured Students (Ross Moen, Sarah Scullin, and Adam Lekwa )
The National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA) in affiliation with the Council for Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), June 15-18, 2008, Orlando, FL
Symposium title: Making Reading Tests Accessible by Affecting Student Test-taking Motivation (Ross Moen, Jamal Abedi, and Kristin Liu)
Presentations:
- Non-Cognitive Factors in Less Accurately Measured Students (Ross Moen, Kristin Liu, Martha Thurlow, Adam Lekwa, Sarah Scullin, and Kristin Eisenbraun Hausmann)
Effects of Segmenting Reading Comprehension Passages on Students’ Level of Motivation (Jamal Abedi, Seth Leon, and Jenny Kao)
- Motivation: The Role of Choice, Interest, and Text Type (Kristin Liu for Deborah R. Dillon, and David G. O’Brien)
Minnesota Reading Research Center’s “Research into Practice” Series, August, 2008, Minneapolis, MN
Poster:
- Addressing Accessibility in Large Scale Reading Assessments (Adam Lekwa)
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TARA – Technology Assisted Reading Assessment Update
Technical Advisory Committee Meetings
The most recent TARA Technical Advisory Committee meeting occurred August 15, 2008, in Washington, DC. Presentations included the results of the teacher interview study, plans for the observational student interviews, a review of the principles and guidelines, a review of the support for the principles and guidelines, a brief review of the plans for the field test, and a wrap up with the upcoming plans for the project. The TARA TAC provided their feedback on the principles, guidelines and evidence documents. Notes and the PowerPoint slides from the meeting can be found on the TARA website.
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Papers, Reports, and Publications
Two reports have been written in 2008 to describe the work of the TARA project. Copies of two of the reports can be found on the TARA website.
- Field-based Perspectives on Technology Assisted Reading Assessments: Results of an Interview Study with Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVIs) (Christopher Johnstone, Jason Altman, Joseph Timmons, Martha Thurlow, and Cara Laitusis)
- Survey of Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments: Students Served and Their Access to State Assessments of Reading (Martha Thurlow, Christopher Johnstone, Joseph Timmons, and Jason Altman)
Next Steps
This fall, the TARA project is undertaking a “cognitive interview” study of students with visual impairments’ use of assistive technologies for reading. The study will provide students an opportunity to demonstrate how they use assistive technologies on project laptops that feature a variety of technology tools. The purpose of the study is to determine the level of exposure and fluency students have with various assistive technologies used in reading instruction and assessment.
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Please be sure to let us know if you have any questions about the content of this newsletter or suggestions for improving the newsletter. You can contact us with your questions and suggestions at: narap@umn.edu or readingassessment@ets.org.
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