Measured Progress Hosts Universal Design Workshop

Measured Progress hosted a universal design workshop in New Hampshire on July 18. Among the attendees were representatives from the departments of education of Vermont, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, and from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The workshop focused on the design of assessments that from their initiation are accessible to as many students as possible. Universal design attempts to avoid subsequent retrofitting of tests to students’ special needs.

The workshop presenters included Stuart Kahl, president and CEO of Measured Progress, and several managers in the areas of test and item development, publishing, and special education. In addition, Bob Dolan, senior research fellow at the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), participated in the program. He provided a background overview of universal design and described its application to student learning, demonstrating some new software products with the potential to make curriculum materials more accessible to a greater number of students.

Measured Progress staff discussed a range of practical issues involved with universal design for assessment, including

• the application of universal design principles to assessment,
• assessment design and psychometric issues,
• presentation issues,
• media and technology, and
• item development and content.

Attendees learned about many practical considerations and opportunities to incorporate universal design into assessments. One consideration is cost. In some cases—such as the composition of Bias and Sensitivity Committees, which review assessment items—little, if any, extra cost is involved. In other cases, however, costs vary and could be quite high. The challenge faced by states and contractors is the paucity of research in this area, which would help to determine the best and most effective practices. Working with some of its clients, Measured Progress plans to research the practical issues raised during the workshop.

We at Measured Progress hope that workshop participants left with a clearer understanding of universal design, a sense of the possibilities, ideas for making the concept a reality, and an appreciation for the research that remains to be done.