Parent/Guardian Information Letter

Impact Study:

High School Instruction with Problem-Based Economics

PARENT/GUARDIAN INFORMATION LETTER

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Your child has been selected to be part of a study on testing accommodations sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and carried out by WestEd’s Regional Educational Laboratory Program (REL West). This study will take place in elementary school classrooms throughout California. Your child's math teacher has given us permission to provide you with more information about the study.

Accommodations are changes that we make to tests to make them more fair for certain groups of students.

For this study, researchers have developed two different versions of the same math test—one with items that have been changed so that the language is simpler (accommodated) and one with items that have not been changed (not accommodated). As part of the study, your child will be asked to take a short math test (either with or without accommodations) and answer 12 questions about his/her language background.

In addition, your child’s school will provide us with the most recent information about your child’s standardized test scores and math grades.

Your child is not required to participate in this study, and participation will not affect his/her grade in his/her class. There will be no actions or penalties against your child for not participating in the study. He/she may ask questions during testing and/or refuse to answer any question on the tests.

We estimate the maximum number of hours for student testing associated with the study is 1 hour. As a thank you to your child for participating, he/she will receive a pen. Testing will take place in your child's math classroom during school hours.

Your child's responses will be used for research purposes only. All information about your child will be kept confidential. We will not report information that identifies your child's name. Only trained WestEd researchers will see information about your child, except as required by law. There are no known risks of harm to your child

If you have questions about this study, about your child’s rights, or would prefer that your child not participate, please call Carole Gallagher at 415.615.3211 or 1.877.4-WestEd, x3211 (1.877.493.7833, x3211). If you have questions or concerns you cannot resolve, you may contact Independent Review Consulting staff at 800.472.3241.

Thank you for your consideration!

Best regards,

Stanley Rabinowitz, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator

REL West at WestEd

srabino@wested.org

415.615.3154