title: Examining accommodation effects for equity by overcoming a methodological challenge of sparse data.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  As accommodation itself is an equity issue in varied contexts in and beyond education (e.g., the provision of assistive technology, extended time, or read-aloud), it is critical to examine the equitability of accommodation policies and practices by examining their effects on student performance.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study sought to assess the effectiveness of thirty-one bundled accommodations for students with learning disabilities, emotional or behavioral disorders, or multiple exceptionalities writing a provincial literacy test in Ontario, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  We employed quantitative methods of log-linear analysis and odds ratio to examine the data. To analyze sparse data, we compared three different adjustment methods to meet this methodological challenge.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our findings suggest that the problems with sparse data can be overcome by an adjustment method. We also found that the likelihood of achieving the provincial standards may differ among students with special needs depending on whether they did or did not receive certain combinations of accommodations for the literacy test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We recommend that education stakeholders review the accommodations that produced significant differential effects to address the concerns regarding whether the test results were interpreted validly and fairly for students with special needs.
authors.affiliation: University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Electronic address: pei-ying.lin@usask.ca.
authors.forename: Pei-Ying
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley, United States.
authors.forename: Yu-Cheng
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002170:Canada; D003201:Computers; D004519:Education, Special; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities; D016014:Linear Models; D001523:Mental Disorders; D020380:Needs Assessment; D016017:Odds Ratio; D009864:Ontario; D011932:Reading; D012656:Self-Help Devices; D058013:Test Taking Skills; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Assessment policies and practices; Sparse data; Students with special needs; Test accommodations