Universal Design for Learning: Implications for Large-Scale Assessment

by Robert P. Dolan and Tracey E. Hall

Dolan, R. P. and Hall, T. E. (2001). "Universal Design for Learning: Implications for Large-Scale Assessment." IDA Perspectives 27(4): 22-25.
Reprinted with permission

It is a dreadful irony that students with disabilities have better access to school buildings than they do to the curricula within them. Although our culture has made great strides in redesigning school buildings so that they provide alternative means of physical navigation - stairs, ramps, elevators - for students with and without physical disabilities, it has not made comparable gains in redesigning learning materials and methods so that they provide accessible alternatives for students with disabilities. Most schools depend on a single medium - text - for the majority of learning and evaluation. As important to our culture as this medium is, it is not equally accessible to all students. For students with reading-related learning disabilities, this dominant medium of instruction is more of a barrier than a ramp.

This article will describe a way to make strides toward an education system that works for all students, including those with learning disabilities, by applying the concept of universal design to learning and assessment. We will illustrate how the learning needs of different students, including students with dyslexia, can be accommodated through accessible design of educational material, resulting in better learning and more accurate assessments.

Printer friendly version of this article. Opens in new browser window.