Modifications and accommodations: a preliminary investigation into changes in classroom artifact quality

Abstract

ABSTRACTTeachers are ultimately responsible for implementing school policy changes, including those driven by current United States (US) mandates that emphasize rigorous career and college readiness standards requiring high expectations for all students. In order to create multiple entryways to instruction for students with disabilities, teachers are faced with an amalgam of possible accommodations and modifications, while simultaneously being expected to assure high standards. This study seeks to provide insight into how teachers in the US are adapting instruction for students who have federally legislated supports and services including modifications or accommodations and are instructed within general education classrooms. Thirty-five unique classroom artifacts (i.e. assignments and assessments) were analyzed for the type of accommodation/modification and alignment to the Next Generation Science Standards, a movement to increase the quality of science instruction. Results indicate that this group of students was assigned tasks that were substantially different from their peers, were afforded fewer opportunities to access challenging, rigorous work, and that teachers may require further support to differentiate instruction. This preliminary investigation within a specific US context raises questions about equitable access to quality instruction that merit further exploration.