A Scattered Approach to Critical Issues

Abstract

This book contains a selection of articles written by educational researchers, legal experts, test developers, an interpreter, and other professionals in the deafness field who have experience related to equal standards and fair assessment of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. The editors organized 15 chapters into five sections: (a) the context, (b) test development issues, (c) administrative issues, (d) cases from specific professions, and (e) summing up. The tests and evaluations that are the focus of these chapters are related to Educational Testing Service (ETS) tests, such as Scholastic Aptitude Tests, Graduate Record Examinations, and licensing tests. One chapter does address the psychometric properties of intelligence tests as related to deaf and hard of hearing. Neuropsychological, social emotional assessment, and other assessment methods of collecting data such as interviews, self-report measures, and behavioral checklists are not the scope of this book. The majority of the authors of the seven chapters that fall in the test development and administrative issues sections introduce their respective chapters with discussions of the historic background of educational assessment with deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals and an overview of the language confounds related to the use of standardized tests with deaf and hard-ofhearing individuals. The authors then make suggestions of possible test accommodations. Some of the language issues that are highlighted are idiomatic English, vocabulary, grammar, multiple meanings, inadequate context, and multiple embedded dependent clauses. Even though a few of the authors of these chapters do take different angles on the subject (e.g., examining whether the test construct is the same for deaf and hearing through differential item functioning) the repetitiveness of the content in these seven chapters makes the reading of the book tedious. This collection of chapters does orient the reader to the relevant ETS testing issues and how to maximize accessibility to ‘‘fair’’ testing and provides criteria regarding how to review test item structure and psychometric properties such as validity issues. The editors explain that ‘‘this book is about difficult choices which face persons who are deaf or hard of hearing and decision makers who must make decisions about their qualifications and futures.’’ For an individual who is unaware of the basic issues regarding assessing deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, this book may be a good entry point; however, for a professional who is familiar with assessing deaf and hard-ofhearing professionals, this book is redundant.