Testing for All: An Exploration of Disproportionality in the Georgia Alternate Assessments

Authors

Kelly D. Childers, Valdosta State UniversityFollow
Meagan Arrastia-Chisholm, Valdosta State UniversityFollow
Katharine S. Adams, Valdosta State UniversityFollow
Heather M. Kelley Ph.D., Valdosta State UniversityFollow

Abstract

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.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Childers, Kelly D.; Arrastia-Chisholm, Meagan; Adams, Katharine S.; and Kelley, Heather M. Ph.D. (2020) "Testing for All: An Exploration of Disproportionality in the Georgia Alternate Assessments," Georgia Educational Researcher: Vol. 17: Iss. 1, Article 3.
DOI: 10.20429/ger.2020.170103
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gerjournal/vol17/iss1/3