Abstract
Inclusive education depends on the effective implementation of classroom accommodations that allow students with disabilities to access the general education curriculum without altering learning expectations. Although federal legislation, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504, of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, requires equitable access, the evaluation of accommodation effectiveness remains inconsistent in practice, particularly in secondary schools. Secondary general education teachers are central to implementing and monitoring accommodations, yet their perspectives on how accommodations are evaluated have remained underexplored. The purpose of this qualitative and quantitative methods study was to examine secondary general education teachers’ perceptions of their role in implementing and evaluating classroom accommodations for students with disabilities in inclusive secondary settings. Specifically, the study explored teacher perceptions of their role, the factors influencing consistent implementation and evaluation, the processes and challenges teachers described, and the ways teachers believed their evaluation practices influenced accommodation decisions and student outcomes. The study was grounded in Social Constructivism and Data-Based Decision-Making Theory, which together provided a framework for understanding how teachers construct meaning about accommodations and use evidence to inform instructional decisions. Data were collected through a survey of secondary general education teachers and semi-structured interviews with a subset of participants to capture both broad patterns and in-depth perspectives. Findings indicated that teachers generally valued accommodations and viewed them as necessary for equitable access, but many reported lower confidence in evaluating whether accommodations were effective. Evaluation practices were described as largely informal and based on observation, classroom performance, student feedback, and collaboration with special education staff rather than on systematic data collection processes. Teachers also identified major barriers to effective evaluation, including limited training, time constraints, unclear guidance, inconsistent documentation, and underdeveloped schoolwide systems. Overall, the findings suggest that the challenge is not teacher commitment to inclusive practice, but the lack of structured supports needed to evaluate accommodations consistently and meaningfully. This study contributes to the literature by centering the perspectives of secondary general education teachers and offers implications for professional development, collaboration, policy, and the development of stronger data-informed systems for accommodation evaluation in inclusive secondary education.