Which accommodation for reading assessments would invalidate the purpose of determining a student's decoding competency?

Which accommodation for reading assessments would invalidate the purpose of determining a student's decoding competency?

• A. Regular print with optical aids
• B. Braille text for tactile reading
• C. Text-to-speech software
• D. Large print with glasses

Answer: (C)

Decoding printed text means translating letters into sounds. An accommodation that reads the text aloud eliminates this step, so the student isn’t actually demonstrating decoding ability. Text-to-speech software allows the student to hear the words instead of sounding them out, shifting the focus to listening comprehension or overall fluency rather than the decoding process itself. That’s why it undermines the purpose of measuring decoding competency. The other options-preserve the decoding task in some form. Regular print with optical aids still requires decoding, even if visual access is aided. Braille text supports decoding in a tactile code, which is a valid way to assess decoding in a different modality. Large print with glasses simply improves visibility but doesn’t remove the need to map print to sounds.

Decoding printed text means translating letters into sounds. An accommodation that reads the text aloud eliminates this step, so the student isn’t actually demonstrating decoding ability. Text-to-speech software allows the student to hear the words instead of sounding them out, shifting the focus to listening comprehension or overall fluency rather than the decoding process itself. That’s why it undermines the purpose of measuring decoding competency.

The other options-preserve the decoding task in some form. Regular print with optical aids still requires decoding, even if visual access is aided. Braille text supports decoding in a tactile code, which is a valid way to assess decoding in a different modality. Large print with glasses simply improves visibility but doesn’t remove the need to map print to sounds.