Accessibility, Accommodations & Fairness TWG

Accessibility, Accommodations, and Fairness Technical Working Group

Purpose and charge: This expert working group will advise on issues of accessibility, accommodations, and fairness, and help ensure the PARCC design includes accessible assessments that remain true to the intended vision of the assessment system.

Members of the working group provide technical guidance and expert recommendations to the Governing Board on set of Partnership-wide policies, described in the PARCC Accommodations Manual, to be adopted by each member state for identifying eligible students, selecting acceptable accommodations, and administering accommodations. The working group also will work with member states in the Operational Working Group to ensure that IEP teams in schools across the Partnership receive information about the common assessment components and training to apply common accommodations guidelines.

Committee members: Members have a range of expertise in access and accommodations for English learners (EL), students with disabilities (SWD), underserved populations, as well as an understanding of K-12 academic content.

English Learner Sub-Group of the Accessibility, Accommodations, and Fairness TWG

• Diane August, American Institutes for Research

• H. Gary Cook, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Kenji Hakuta, Stanford University

• Alba Ortiz, The University of Texas at Austin

• Charlene Rivera, George Washington University, Center for Equity and Excellence in Education

Students with Disabilities Sub-Group of the Accessibility, Accommodations, and Fairness TWG

• Dave Edyburn, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

• Claudia Flowers, University of North Carolina – Charlotte

• Diane Spence, Region 4 Education Service Center, Braille Services

• Martha Thurlow, National Center on Educational Outcomes

• Daniel Wiener,* Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Equity and Underserved Populations Sub-Group of the Accessibility, Accommodations, and Fairness TWG

• Amy Epstein, Leadership Public Schools

• Keena Arbuthnot, Louisiana State University

• Edward Bosso, Gallaudet University

• Yvette Jackson, National Urban Alliance for Effective Education

• Carol D. Lee, Northwestern University

• Teresa L. McCarty, Arizona State University

• Dianne Piche, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

Gerunda Hughes will serve as the liaison to the PARCC Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).

* Daniel Wiener serves as the chair of the Accessibility, Accommodations, and Fairness TWG and the liaison between the TWG and the Operational Working Group.