Response: Verbal Response

Response: Verbal Response

Related References

Types of Assessment Accommodations Accommodation Objectives Guiding Principles Case Studies Glossary

This accommodation allows the student to respond verbally to the written test items.The most common ways a student may respond are:

• The student speaks to an adult, who records the answer.
• The student speaks into a tape recorder and an adult marks the answer sheet ata later time.

Procedure

1. This accommodation usually requires a separate setting for the student.
2. If a taperecorder is used, it is important to make sure the equipment is available and workingproperly.
3. Adult listeners should become familiar with the test so they can record students'responses easily.
4. If a tape recorder is used, the student should be taught a routine for recordinganswers.

Cautions

With verbal responses, it is difficult for the student to return to an item to recheckan answer. It also may be difficult to return to an item that was skipped. In caseswhere the student is speaking into a tape recorder, there also is a possibility that thestudent may confuse answers (i.e., forget to state that he or she skipped an item).The transcriber may not keep up with the student's speed of talking when transcribing a long answer. Asking the student to talk slowly may cause the student to become distracted.

Transcribing audiotapes also can be difficult if the student speaks quietly, or if anoise interferes with an answer (e.g., when external sounds such as a lawn mower orsiren are louder than the student's voice).

Excerpted from Assessment Accommodations Toolkit.