How does audio work on the Universal Screeners?
What is Oral Administration?
An accessibility feature that provides different levels of reading support to a student completing an assessment.
How Does Oral Administration Work on Universal Screeners?
Reading Screeners
Grades K - 2: Eligible question components are set to oral administration by default. This supports the transition from listening to reading comprehension that students at these grade levels experience.
Grades 3 - 10: For eligible students, oral administration can be activated at an individual student level.
Math Screeners
Grades K - 5: Eligible question components are set to oral administration by default. This supports the transition from listening to reading comprehension that students at these grade levels experience.
Grades 6 - 10: For eligible students, oral administration can be activated at an individual student level.
The audio support is item-specific.
- A grade 1 reading test has items from multiple grade levels. Items written at 1st and 2nd grade will have read aloud elements. Question items written at 3rd or 4th grade will not have elements read aloud. This is by design.
Who Should Have Oral Administration Activated?
A common set of guidelines should be used to determine which students are eligible to have the feature activated. Sample eligibility considerations include:
- Students whose IEP includes Oral Administration support
- Students whose ELL classification includes Oral Administration
- Students with 504 Plans that include Oral Administration
What Question Elements Have Text-To-Speech (Oral Administration)?
The specific elements available differ by question and include the following options:
- Reading Passage
- Question Stem
- Distractors (Multiple Choice Options)
Why are Only Some of the Question Elements Read Aloud?
Not all questions have text-to-speech capability. Each question was evaluated individually to determine the impact text-to-speech has on the validity of a student’s response. Examples are included below:
Assessment Item | Orally Administered Elements | Rationale |
Which pair of words has the same vowel sound? A. pain, pat B. need, nest C. but, cute D. cone, boat | Question Stem Only | The answer choices are not read because they provide the correct answer. |
How many words are in this sentence? The sky is blue. A. 5 B. 6 C. 4 D. 3 | Question Stem, Passage "The sky is blue." and Answer Choices | The question asks students to identify and count words. Hearing the text does not provide this information. Since this question is on the reading test, we are not assessing number recognition. |
Which number below is the same as three thousand five hundred twenty-four? A. 5,432 B. 3,524 C. 2,345 D. 3,425 | Question Stem Only | The answer choices are not read because they provide the correct answer. |
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