Obviously, it is not fair to try to test a student on their comprehension of material in a manner that gives them a disadvantage. As a science teacher, and as someone who has gone through these classes previously, I know that written tests cannot always be dependable to measure a student's comprehension. In science, hands on experience is often crucial to a student's understanding of a concept. Even after 18 years of education, I still cannot fully grasp or explain some concepts without using hands on materials; so this can aid in better forming assesments.
Assistive Technology can greatly aid someone who has difficulties reading as quickly as other students. It can level the testing and minimize problems associated with difficulties a studnet might have. One technology that might be useful is pre-recorded tests on personal headsets so other students in the classroom do not have to be distracted by reading the questions a load. The students could skip forward and backward through the questions and work on them at their own comfort level. These could easily be made available to all students. I would also include some hand on identifications when possible and quations that are simply worded and as short as possible.
Hands on experience is crucial, but to find out what the students have gained from that requires them to write up on it (lab report, answer questions, etc.) - which requires reading skills.
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