SAAS Accessibility Helper
Students
1) Learn about the tools
Practice tests:
2) Make your own checklist
Your teacher should give you a Connect Code that you enter on the checklist start page. You'll be able to tell your teacher which tools you think would help you on the NECAP Science Test.
3) Take the Pilot test
When your teacher tells you it's time, take the Pilot test to try out the tools your teacher thinks are right for you. Use your Connect Code to start the test.
Parents & Teachers
The Accessibility Helper is a tool that is focused on helping educators make more informed decisions about assigning access and accommodation tools to students. The use of the Accessibility Helper is voluntary and information from the use of this tool will be used for research purposes only. As part of this tool, educators and parents will be asked to provide information about students' specific learning needs and preferences. When suggesting tools for students, please think carefully about matching students' needs with access tools. Providing students more tools than they need can actually make the test more confusing or difficult.
Students will be asked about their preferences and will also complete short pilot tests to understand more about the impact that tools have on student performance. The end result of this tool will be a final recommendation of accommodation tools that a student can use for the 2012 NECAP Science test.
2) Learn about Accessibility in Assessment
3) Learn about the accessibility tools used in
this study
Tool Descriptions & Orientations
Practice Tests:
4) Make a checklist for your student
Accessibility Helper Overview
Schools Participating in the Accessibility Helper Portion of the Study
A few schools were selected to participate in a sub-component of this project. Your school principal will know whether your school is participating in the Accessibility Helper research.
The Accessibility Helper is a tool that is focused on helping educators make more informed decisions about assigning access and accommodation tools to students. The use of the Accessibility Helper is voluntary and information from the use of this tool will be used for research purposes only. As part of this tool, educators and parents will be asked to provide information about students' specific learning needs and preferences. Students will be asked about their preferences and will also complete short pilot tests to understand more about the impact that tools have on student performance. The end result of this tool will be a final recommendation of accommodation tools that a student can use for the 2012 NECAP Science test.
Adding Students
The Accessibility Helper is part of the Nimble Administrator application, which is used to register and assign tools to students who will be using NimbleTools to take the NECAP Science test. The first step in using the Accessibility Helper is adding students who you would like to have participate in the Accessibility Helper research components.
Connect Code
Each student that is added to the Accessibility Helper list will be assigned a unique 6 digit "Connect Code.” This code will allow students, parents, and support educators to submit their recommended tools for individual students using an online form.
Checklists
The first step in completing the Accessibility Helper recommendation is completion of the checklist. Once students, parents and educators have received the Connect Code they can launch the checklist and enter the 6 digit Connect Code to link the user with the correct student. The checklist consists of five questions that give the user a chance to identify their relationship with the student and their beliefs about the student’s access needs. Checklist users are also asked to provide a rationale for their selection to tools. Multiple support educators and parents can submit checklists for each student.
It is important that parents and educators view information about the available access and accommodation tools on the project website before completing the checklist so that they can appropriately match student needs with available tools. It is also important for checklist users to understand that assigning too many tools to students can make the testing environment confusing – only choose tools that are fit to the students access needs.
Initial and Contrasting Tool Recommendation
After viewing parent, student, and support educator’s tool recommendations that were submitted via checklists, the lead educator then prepares for pilot testing by setting initial tool recommendations and contrast tool recommendations.
Educators make initial tool recommendations by selecting tools that they think are most appropriate for each student, taking into account student, parent, and support educator opinions as expressed through submitted checklists. The access tools in the initial tool recommendation will be activated for the first 10 items of the pilot test.
Educators make contrast tool recommendations by selecting either no tools or a minimal amount of tools for each student. The contrast tool set will be activated for the second 10 items of the pilot test and will help provide a comparison score for the recommended tools.
Pilot Test
After initial and contrast tool recommendations are made by educators, students are ready to take the 20 item pilot test. Pilot test items consist of released multipe choice NECAP Science items. After launching the pilot test, students will be asked to enter their Connect Code. The first set of pilot test questions will use the tools recommended by the teacher and the second set will use the contrasting set. After completion of each set of questions the student will be able to see how many questions he or she answered correctly. This information will also be available to the educator on the Accessibility Helper page.
View Reports/all collected information
The Accessibility Helper allows educators to view all of the information gathered for each student including all of the completed checklists, initial and contrast tool recommendations, comments, and pilot test scores for the initial and contrasting tool set. At this point, the educator should have all of the information needed to make a final tool recommendation.
Final Tool Recommendation
The goal of the Accessibility Helper is to provide educators with more information to make access tool decisions for individual students. The final decision on which tools students should use to take the NECAP Science test is made when educators complete the "final tool recommendation." The tools captured in the final recommendation are transmitted to the Nimble Administrator, which assigns tools to students for the operational NECAP Science test.
Please complete all Checklists and Pilot Tests by May 2, 2012