Research Projects – Dr. Sara Bolt

Test Accommodations for Diverse Learners (in collaboration with Dr. Dawn Decker)

With recent advances in technology, students with disabilities may be able to access instruction and test content with greater ease than ever before. However, the availability and provision of accommodations that facilitate this access may vary across environments (e.g., instruction and testing environments, classroom-based and standardized testing environments, high school and college environments). Using survey methodology, we are exploring the experiences of college students with reading disabilities who use accommodations. The project will seek to identify any challenges associated with aligning accommodations for students with reading disabilities across different environments, as well as explore possible strategies for overcoming those challenges.

Educating Michigan’s students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Initial Exploration of Programming and Student Outcomes (in collaboration with Dr. Sharif Shakrani and Dr. Summer Ferreri)

We are conducting an investigation of the educational services provided to students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in public schools in Michigan. We will review literature on effective strategies and programming for students with ASD, as well as collect information through surveys, interviews, and direction observations to better understand current practices in Michigan. This will be used to provide recommendations to policymakers about how to improve educational services to students with ASD in the future.

Concepts of Comprehension Assessment (COCA™) in Action (in collaboration with Dr. Nell Duke)

All too often tests are administered to students, but the information that is collected is not used to drive instructional changes that can lead to improved student outcomes. Recently, measurement experts have emphasized the need for investigations of the consequential validity of tests – does testing actually benefit students? In this experimental study, we seek to examine whether any instructional and student performance changes occur with multiple administrations of a recently developed test of early informational reading comprehension: the Concepts of Comprehension Assessment (COCA)™.

School Psychologists with Accommodation and Remediation Knowledge to Promote Literacy Everywhere (Project SPARKLE)

With recent changes in federal legislation, particularly the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, there is a need for school professionals to be trained in assessing response-to-intervention and promoting access to the general curriculum among students with disabilities. This project is intended to train school psychologists to take leadership roles in these efforts, particularly as they relate to students with reading difficulties. Thirty graduate students in school psychology will be provided related training. This project is currently funded through the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.