Educational Researcher

Accommodations to standard test administrations are granted on many tests for students who have one or more disabling conditions. In some instances, students’ scores from these nonstandard administrations are “flagged” to caution those who interpret the test score that the test was not administered under typical conditions. The practice of flagging such test scores is contentious. Some argue that it essentially informs others that a student has a disability and creates the opportunity for bias against the student. Others argue that such scores must be flagged to be fair to those who took the test under standard conditions and to promote valid test score interpretations. This article reviews the psychometric issues regarding the flagging issue and discusses the guidance provided by the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. Research in this area related to college admissions testing is also reviewed and suggestions for avoiding the flagging issue in the future are provided. This review lends support to the recent decisions by several testing agencies to discontinue flagging practices.

The authors suggest that the recess period serves a positive purpose in the primary school curriculum, counter to the current practice of minimizing recess in many schools across North America and the United Kingdom. The authors' position is embedded in the larger debate about school accountability; they argue that school policy should be based on the best theory and empirical evidence available. They support their argument for the importance of recess with theory and with experimental and longitudinal data showing how recess breaks maximize children's cognitive performance and adjustment to school.