Learning Sciences Lunch and Learn with Dr. Ben Lovett: “Educational Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: A Double-Edged Sword?”
Connect with colleagues during this in-person presentation at the GSE (Room 124). Pizza will be provided! Can’t attend in person? Join us remotely via Zoom!
Most students with disabilities receive accommodations—changes to the way that instruction or assessments are delivered. Sometimes, accommodations are helpful and even necessary, but other times accommodations are counterproductive, threatening the validity of test scores and further inequity in educational outcomes. What does evidence-based decision making about accommodations look like, and what should teachers and researchers know about accommodations? Dr. Lovett’s talk explores these issues.
Suggested Reading(s):
- Lovett, B. J. (2020). Disability Identification and Educational Accommodations: Lessons From the 2019 Admissions Scandal. Educational Researcher, 49(2), 125–129.
- Lovett, B. J. (2021). Educational Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Two Equity-Related Concerns. Frontiers in Education, 6, 795266.
Benjamin J. Lovett, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. In the school psychology program, he teaches courses in psychoeducational assessment and legal/ethical issues for school psychologists. His research focuses on three areas: the diagnostic assessment of learning and attention problems; the provision of educational accommodations to students with disabilities; and the nature and management of test anxiety. He has over 100 publications in these and related areas, including 3 books (most recently, Practical Psychometrics: A Guide for Test Users). He is a licensed psychologist and regularly serves as a consultant to schools and testing agencies on assessment and disability issues.