Testing for All: An Exploration of Disproportionality in the Georgia Alternate Assessments
Public schools use standardized testing to measure students’ academic achievement at the conclusion of each school year. Students with severe cognitive disabilities are evaluated through the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA). The purpose of this descriptive study was to describe the demographic cha...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Georgia Southern University
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Georgia Educational Researcher |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gerjournal/vol17/iss1/3 |
| _version_ | 1818972287631622144 |
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| author | Kelly Childers Meagan Arrastia-Chisholm Katharine Adams Heather Kelley |
| author_facet | Kelly Childers Meagan Arrastia-Chisholm Katharine Adams Heather Kelley |
| author_sort | Kelly Childers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Public schools use standardized testing to measure students’ academic achievement at the conclusion of each school year. Students with severe cognitive disabilities are evaluated through the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA). The purpose of this descriptive study was to describe the demographic characteristics of students who took the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA) and students who took the Georgia Milestones End of Grade Assessment (EOG) in English/Language Arts using publicly available data from the 2014-2015 academic year. Additionally, the study investigated disproportionality of certain student groups who took the GAA and EOG in English/Language Arts. A series of chi-square analyses resulted in significant overrepresentation of male, Black or African American, and economically disadvantaged students on the GAA. Our results indicated underrepresentation of migrant, limited English proficient, and Hispanic students on the GAA. Results of the present study have important implications for the student referral process and inclusion criteria for alternate assessment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T15:05:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-48e1d60c72f24ccc871c8bdb644eab69 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2471-0059 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T15:05:52Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Georgia Southern University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Georgia Educational Researcher |
| spelling | doaj.art-48e1d60c72f24ccc871c8bdb644eab692022-12-21T19:36:30ZengGeorgia Southern UniversityGeorgia Educational Researcher2471-00592020-01-0117110.20429/ger.2020.170103Testing for All: An Exploration of Disproportionality in the Georgia Alternate AssessmentsKelly ChildersMeagan Arrastia-ChisholmKatharine AdamsHeather KelleyPublic schools use standardized testing to measure students’ academic achievement at the conclusion of each school year. Students with severe cognitive disabilities are evaluated through the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA). The purpose of this descriptive study was to describe the demographic characteristics of students who took the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA) and students who took the Georgia Milestones End of Grade Assessment (EOG) in English/Language Arts using publicly available data from the 2014-2015 academic year. Additionally, the study investigated disproportionality of certain student groups who took the GAA and EOG in English/Language Arts. A series of chi-square analyses resulted in significant overrepresentation of male, Black or African American, and economically disadvantaged students on the GAA. Our results indicated underrepresentation of migrant, limited English proficient, and Hispanic students on the GAA. Results of the present study have important implications for the student referral process and inclusion criteria for alternate assessment.https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gerjournal/vol17/iss1/3georgia alternate assessmentstandardized testingdemographicsbias |
| spellingShingle | Kelly Childers Meagan Arrastia-Chisholm Katharine Adams Heather Kelley Testing for All: An Exploration of Disproportionality in the Georgia Alternate Assessments Georgia Educational Researcher georgia alternate assessment standardized testing demographics bias |
| title | Testing for All: An Exploration of Disproportionality in the Georgia Alternate Assessments |
| title_full | Testing for All: An Exploration of Disproportionality in the Georgia Alternate Assessments |
| title_fullStr | Testing for All: An Exploration of Disproportionality in the Georgia Alternate Assessments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Testing for All: An Exploration of Disproportionality in the Georgia Alternate Assessments |
| title_short | Testing for All: An Exploration of Disproportionality in the Georgia Alternate Assessments |
| title_sort | testing for all an exploration of disproportionality in the georgia alternate assessments |
| topic | georgia alternate assessment standardized testing demographics bias |
| url | https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gerjournal/vol17/iss1/3 |
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