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- NCEO Newsletter: October 2025 issueFormats: Online
This October issue of NCEO’s newsletter focuses on renewal, highlighting NCEO's 35-year history, commitment to innovation, and future partnerships. The article "35 Years of Impact" celebrates NCEO's three and a half decades as a national leader in assessment and outcomes for students with disabilities, noting our influence on policy and legislation. Our "New Web Publications" article details our move to an enhanced web-based format. This change significantly improves accessibility and adds user-friendly features. We also share "Technical Assistance Opportunities" for state education agencies (SEAs) seeking support to meet their assessment and outcomes goals. Finally, we feature three new NCEO reports (450–452) covering alternate assessments, communicating SSIP data, and current research on K–12 test accommodations.
Published: October 2025 - NCEO Reports: A Historical Review of Alternate Assessment and 1% Cap (#450)Formats: Online
The history of alternate assessments and the 1.0 percent participation cap on state-level participation rates is deeply rooted in federal education legislation. From 1994 to 2025, federal legislation, regulations, and Department of Education guidance to states aimed to ensure that all students, including those with the most significant cognitive disabilities, are included in state accountability systems while maintaining appropriate standards and oversight. This report traces this policy history and the ways in which states have responded through evolving practices, waivers, and compliance strategies. We provide a list of resources, many of which were developed by NCEO, that can help educators implement the federal requirements of the 1.0 percent cap rule.
Published: October 2025 - NCEO Reports: State Discussion Guide for Communicating SSIP Data with Stakeholders (#452)Formats: Online
Federal law requires states to engage stakeholders in the State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR), especially for the State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP). A communication plan is a crucial tool for this process, helping teams effectively share data and information. NCEO facilitated a Peer Learning Group with 58 participants from 26 states to collaboratively develop a planning guide, ensuring messaging is accessible and meaningful, fostering transparency and trust. Teams can use this guide to create targeted strategies for different audiences and we include a sample SSIP Data Communication Plan that teams can use.
Published: September 2025 - NCEO Reports: A Summary of the Research on the Effects of K–12 Test Accommodations: 2023 (#451)Formats: Online
This report presents a synthesis of the research literature published in 2023 on testing accommodations for U.S. elementary and secondary students with disabilities. Most studies examined implementation practices and stakeholder perceptions of accommodations. Technology-based accommodations like magnification devices and text-to-speech were frequently studied. Key findings highlighted that accommodations were most effective when tailored to individual needs, and that teachers often lacked training despite feeling supported in decision-making.
Published: September 2025 - NCEO Newsletter: June 2025 issueFormats: Online
In this newsletter we highlight five key NCEO resources that explore various topics around the Alternate Assessment based on Alternate Academic Achievement Standards (AA-AAAS). Three of these are new resources, while the other two are popular past resources—our “In Case You Missed It” picks. Also, in this issue we provide information on NCEO presentations at the upcoming National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA) and our joint forum with the Council of Chief State School Officers’ (CCSSO) Assessment, Standards, and Education of Students with Disabilities (ASES) collaborative. The Forum, titled At a Crossroads: The Intersection of AT, AAC, and AI in the Education of Diverse Learners, will follow NCSA.
Published: June 2025 - NCEO Reports: How Students Who Take the AA-AAAS Are Included in State Systemic Improvement Plans (SSIP): An Analysis of FFY 2021 SSIPs (#449)
This report presents the findings of an analysis of states’ FFY 2021 State Systemic Improvement Plans (SSIPs) that examined how students who participate in the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS) were included in State-identified Measurable Results (SiMRs) related to student performance. Students who take the AA-AAAS have the most significant cognitive disabilities. This analysis revealed significant gaps in how students who take the AA-AAAS were included in these improvement efforts.
Published: April 2025 - NCEO Reports: Updated State Discussion Guide: Communicating Assessment Data to Empower SSIP Stakeholders (#448)
The purpose of this discussion guide is to support SEAs and local education agencies (LEAs) in states with assessment-related State-Identified Measurable Results (SiMRs) in communicating assessment data in ways that are useful to stakeholders, and in improving data literacy among stakeholders so they can meaningfully participate in key State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) improvement efforts. States are required to develop and implement an SSIP, which is a multi-year plan designed to improve outcomes for students with disabilities, and to commit to a SiMR focused on student outcomes. The guide is organized around five steps that SEAs can take to better communicate data to stakeholders involved in the SSIP process.
Published: April 2025 - NCEO Reports: State Policies and Research on Alternate Assessment Accommodations (#446)Formats: PDF
This report presents findings from two studies examining accommodations policies and research on alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). This policy analysis and literature review revealed several key insights about accommodations for AA-AAAS, with far-reaching implications for policy, practice, and future research. These findings underscore the need for a comprehensive and coordinated approach to improving assessment practices for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
Published: March 2025 - NCEO Reports: The Development of Common Terminology (Updated Edition): Adding Accessibility Features to the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) (#447)Formats: PDF
The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) collaborated with the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) initiative to standardize accessibility feature terms for assessments. Historically, terminology varied, so NCEO and the CEDS initiative worked with state education agencies, test vendors, and assessment consortia to create common definitions. This effort aimed to improve communication and ensure equitable assessment opportunities for students, particularly for students with disabilities, English learners, and English learners with disabilities. Once finalized, the definitions were submitted to the CEDS initiative for inclusion in their data elements. This report presents the final list of standardized accessibility feature definitions.
Published: March 2025 - NCEO Newsletter: February 2025 issueFormats: Online
NCEO’s February 2025 newsletter focuses on providing essential resources to support decision making around assessment participation. We highlight briefs on determining appropriate assessment paths for students along with tools to help teams select and implement accessibility features that best meet individual student needs. Articles also highlight some of NCEO’s newest resources on assessment participation and accessibility features decisions and a few of NCEO’s favorite resources on accessibility features. There is also an article on NCEO's presence at several major spring conferences.
Published: February 2025 - NCEO Reports: Developing Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for Interim Assessments that Include All Students (#445)
This report provides a resource for state and district assessment staff as they develop requests for proposals (RFPs) for interim assessments for all of their students, including those who require accessibility features, to demonstrate their knowledge and skills as well as those who may need an alternate assessment because of their significant cognitive disability. This report provides ideas for ensuring that bids for interim assessments address the needs of all students, including students with disabilities and English learners.
Published: January 2025 - Accommodations Toolkit: Text-to-Speech: States’ Accessibility Policies, 2023Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for text-to-speech is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 12/16/2024 - Accommodations Toolkit: Test Breaks: States' Accessibility Policies, 2023Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for test breaks is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 12/16/2024 - Accommodations Toolkit: Tactile Graphics: States' Accessibility Policies, 2023Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for tactile graphics is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 12/16/2024 - Accommodations Toolkit: Student Reads Aloud to Self: States' Accessibility Policies, 2023Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for student reads aloud to self is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 12/16/2024 - Accommodations Toolkit: Spell Check: States' Accessibility Policies, 2023Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for spell check is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 12/16/2024 - Accommodations Toolkit: Speech-to-Text: States' Accessibility Policies, 2023Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for speech-to-text is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 12/16/2024 - Accommodations Toolkit: Small Group and Individual Administration: States’ Accessibility Policies, 2023Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for small group and individual administration is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 12/16/2024 - Accommodations Toolkit: Signed Administration: States' Accessibility Policies, 2023Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for signed administration is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 12/16/2024 - Accommodations Toolkit: Scribe: States' Accessibility Policies, 2023Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for scribe is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 12/16/2024