NCEO Resources for Parents and Families

This tool contains information that states can use to ensure their parent-focused assessment information is inclusive of assessments taken by English learners with disabilities. It also contains information on how to ensure that these parent resources are shared with local education agency staff who can distribute information to parents. States may customize this tool as needed to meet their needs.

This tool describes a planning process for determining the access needs of an individual student who is an English learner with a disability and will take state alternate assessments. It includes components of a sample accessibility plan for an English learner with a disability who participates in alternate assessments and a model of a completed plan. The sample accessibility plan is designed to supplement the IEP. States may customize this tool as needed to meet their needs.

This tool describes a planning process for determining the access needs of an individual student who is an English learner with a disability and will take state general assessments. It includes components of a sample accessibility plan for an English learner with a disability and a model of a completed plan. The sample accessibility plan is designed to supplement the IEP. States may customize this tool as needed to meet their needs.

This report presents the findings of interviews that were conducted with parents of students who moved from the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS) to the general state assessment used for accountability. The purpose of the interviews was to learn more about their experiences as parents of students on the cusp between the two assessments.

Effective communication is a cornerstone for fostering collaboration, understanding, and ultimately, student success. Recognizing the importance of communication, we are featuring in this newsletter some of NCEO’s resources for parents and families. This newsletter presents articles on NCEO’s new Empowering Parents Toolkit; several powerful fact sheets that state education agencies, districts, and schools can use to engage parents and families and enhance their understanding of state assessments; NCEO parents resources you may have missed; and other recently published NCEO resources.

This Fact Sheet provides educators with strategies that will help them engage culturally and linguistically diverse families and their children. These strategies can help overcome the challenges of gaps in communication, cultural differences, culturally responsive teaching, and understanding home culture and individual students’ characteristics, including disability and English learner status. Additional strategies are provided for working with culturally and linguistically diverse families whose children have disabilities or are receiving English language development services.

This video explains how the review of test data at State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) stakeholder meetings by parents and other stakeholders can support the development and implementation of plans that lead to improved outcomes for their children and all students with disabilities. The video also provides tips on how to be active participants in stakeholder meetings. This video is part of the Empowering Families Toolkit developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about assessment topics.

This video provides a family-friendly definition of the State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) and explains how states, educators, and families can work together to ensure their SSIP addresses the needs of students with disabilities in order to improve their educational outcomes. This video is part of the Empowering Families Toolkit developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about assessment topics.

This video discusses different types of tests and their objectives. It describes various test purposes, and their role in improving instruction and outcomes for students with disabilities through the state’s State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP). This video is part of the Empowering Families Toolkit developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about assessment topics.

This video was designed to help families understand why assessments are a good opportunity for their children to show what they know, and for schools to better understand their children’s needs. It also includes tips for families on how to better support their children when they take assessments. This “Version 2” video has the same content as “Version 1” but features an authentic parent and her children and additionally is in Spanish. The video is part of the Empowering Families Toolkit developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about assessment topics.

This video was designed to help families understand why assessments are a good opportunity for their children to show what they know, and for schools to better understand their children’s needs. It also includes tips for families on how to better support their children when they take assessments. This “Version 2” video has the same content as “Version 1” but features an authentic parent and her children. The video is part of the Empowering Families Toolkit developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about assessment topics.

This video was designed to help families understand why assessments are a good opportunity for their children to show what they know, and for schools to better understand their children’s needs. It also includes tips for families on how to better support their children when they take assessments. This “Version 1” video is professionally created and is part of the Empowering Families Toolkit developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about assessment topics.

This Empowering Families Toolkit was developed by National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) to provide accessible materials for parents about topics related to assessment-related State Systemic Improvement Plans (SSIP) and State-Identified Measurable Results that states commit to reaching. These materials are designed to help support their participation in stakeholder meetings. The toolkit includes short video clips and printed flyers. The materials are designed for dissemination through social media, state websites, and at meetings.

This Fact Sheet summarizes the resources that are available specifically to students who are English learners who take state tests. The more parents know about these test resources, the more they can ensure that their child’s test performance contributes to measures of how well the school has met the needs of all children in the school. This Fact Sheet offers tips on how to be involved in decisions about providing resources to one’s child, and also how to prepare a child for state tests in academic subjects. It is is part of a set of Fact Sheets developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about state assessments.

This Fact Sheet summarizes the resources that are available specifically to students who have a disability, an Individualized Education Program (IEP), or a 504 plan when they take state tests. The more parents know about these test resources, the more they can ensure that their child’s test performance contributes to measures of how well the school has met the needs of all children in the school. This Fact Sheet offers tips on how to be involved in decisions about providing resources to one’s child, and also how to prepare a child for state tests in academic subjects. It is part of a set of Fact Sheets developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about state assessments.

This Fact Sheet helps parents improve two-way communication with teachers, including guidance for families with students with disabilities and English learners. This Fact Sheet provides to help parents improve two-communication with teachers, including guidance for families with students with disabilities and English learners. It is part of a set of Fact Sheets developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about state assessments.

This Fact Sheet summarizes the purpose of state tests, and describes test resources that students may need. This Fact Sheet also provides parents with tips on how to work with teachers to access these resources. It is part of a set of Fact Sheets developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about state assessments.

This flyer explains how the review of test data at State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) stakeholder meetings by parents and other stakeholders can support the development and implementation of plans that lead to improved outcomes for their children and all students with disabilities. The flyer also provides tips on how to be active participants in stakeholder meetings. This flyer is part of the Empowering Families Toolkit developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about assessment topics.

This flyer provides a family-friendly definition of the State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) and explains how states, educators, and families can work together to ensure their SSIP addresses the needs of students with disabilities in order to improve their educational outcomes. This flyer is part of the Empowering Families Toolkit developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about assessment topics.

This flyer define the different types of tests and their objectives. It describes various test purposes, and their role in improving instruction and outcomes for all students. This flyer is part of the Empowering Families Toolkit developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about assessment topics.

This flyer was designed to help families understand why assessments are a good opportunity for their children to show what they know, and for schools to better understand their children’s needs. It also includes tips for families on how to better support their children when they take assessments. This flyer is part of the Empowering Families Toolkit developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about assessment topics.

The purpose of this “ready-to-go” flyer is to provide concise resources about why it is so important that all students participate in state testing. Written for families, it also provides strategies to reduce student test anxiety. The flyer can be displayed during state testing windows, shared during parent-teacher meetings, and distributed during school events. The flyer is part of the Participation Communication Toolkit developed by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) to identify and describe reasons why all students, including students with disabilities, English learners, and English learners with disabilities should take state tests. This flyer can be used as is with no changes.

The parents of English learners need to be involved in decisions about accessibility features for their children. The multilingual Parent-Educator Toolkit consists of several concise briefs to guide parents through this process. This Spanish-language video shows how parents can work with their child’s teacher to make decisions in using accessibility features for their child.

The parents of English learners need to be involved in decisions about accessibility features for their children. The multilingual Parent-Educator Toolkit consists of several concise briefs to guide parents through this process. This video shows how parents can work with their child’s teacher to make decisions in using accessibility features for their child. This English-language video provides subtitles in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese that can be turned on in the Settings feature.

The parents of English learners need to be involved in decisions about accessibility features for their children. The multilingual Parent-Educator Toolkit consists of several concise briefs to guide parents through this process. This Spanish-language video helps parents understand what the resources are and how to use them.

The parents of English learners need to be involved in decisions about accessibility features for their children. The multilingual Parent-Educator Toolkit consists of several concise briefs to guide parents through this process. This video helps parents understand what the resources are and how to use them. This English-language video provides subtitles in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese that can be turned on in the Settings feature.

This Brief describes how families and other members of Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams can help students get the supports they need to build their communicative competence in inclusive classrooms. All students communicate, but some students may need options other than oral speech, or in addition to oral speech. Being able to communicate is an important skill for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Communication does not need to be oral. But it should be sufficient for conveying messages to others.    

Controversy often surrounds the inclusion of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in the general education classroom and curriculum. This is the case even though the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is clear in its Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) provisions that the presumed education setting for all students with disabilities is the general education classroom. There are many myths about including students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in general education classrooms. This Brief debunks six of them. At the end of each myth there is a short list of related resources.

Paraprofessionals should be available to students with significant cognitive disabilities in the inclusive classroom. Depending on each student’s needs, paraprofessionals may provide supports, including supports for instruction, communication, or movement. The purpose of this Brief is to address what qualities, knowledge, and skills paraprofessionals must have; what paraprofessionals should be expected to do; and what supports paraprofessionals need for success. This Brief also provides examples of appropriate use of paraprofessionals in inclusive classrooms and some red flags that might indicate a need to adjust paraprofessional support or training.

This video describes easy ways for parents to check on their child's progress in academics and behavior while learning at home.  It also suggests ways to talk to the school about a child's progress and to ask for suggestions on changing the learning supports provided at home.

This video describes practical ways to support students with significant cognitive disabilities as they grow in their writing skills. It also describes the types of supports a parent can ask for from a teacher or instructional team.

This presentation, focusing on parents’ expectations about post-school outcomes for English learners with disabilities, was presented at the 2021 National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) annual conference.

Parents of English learners need to be involved in decisions about accessibility features for their children. This Toolkit created by the Improving Instruction project provides several concise briefs to guide parents through this process. Print and audio versions of these briefs are available in Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Arabic. Additional briefs for teachers and principals give advice on how to make sure parents are included and listened to.

Grades are assigned and report cards given in inclusive classrooms. It is important that thought has been given to how work from students with significant cognitive disabilities will be graded and what will be in the report card. The purpose of this parent Brief is to (a) identify the IEP team’s role in grading and report cards, (b) provide ideas for how to talk to teachers about grades and their meaning, and (c) suggest what to do if the school or district has not yet identified grading and report card considerations for students with significant cognitive disabilities in inclusive classrooms.

This page describes the people involved in the beginning of NCEO’s work and the breadth and growth of that work over the years.

This page provides links to NCEO’s E-newsletters from 2013 to the present.

This page describes the important policy milestones related to students with disabilities in education over time.

This IEP team resource is designed to support IEP team members, including teachers, school psychologists, English language development specialists, speech language therapists, occupational therapists, paraprofessionals, parents, administrators, and others who may participate in the IEP team meeting. It provides supports for the decision about whether a student with a disability should participate in a general assessment or an AA-AAAS. States can modify the tool as needed to reflect any differences in their IEPs or to link to their own guidelines for participation in the AA-AAAS.

This resource was developed by NCEO to identify and describe reasons why students with disabilities should take state tests. The purpose of the tool is to provide a concise resource that administrators, teachers, and other educators can use when communicating with parents and families about why it is so important that their children with disabilities participate in state assessments. It also provides strategies to reduce student test anxiety.

This presentation on partnering with parents of English learners with and without disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic. It was presented at the 2020 Minnesota Department of Education's Minnesota English Learner Education conference (MELEd).

This video helps support parents of students with disabilities in establishing routines at home, in order to promote better behaviors and communications. It also provides other sources for more information.

This video provides parents and siblings of students with disabilities with tips on how they can support the development of communication skills of their child (or sibling) at home, and provides other sources for more information.

This video describes ways that parents with students with disabilities can help support their child’s communication development at home, and provides sources for more information.

This video provides parents of students with disabilities, specifically those with the most significant cognitive disabilities, with tips on how to support their child’s standards-based instruction at home.

This parent brief was developed to help parents determine whether their child with significant cognitive disabilities is provided meaningful access to the general education curriculum. It addresses the myth that students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who take the state’s alternate assessment based on the alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). It provides characteristics of an alternate curriculum and the general education curriculum as well as some “look fors,” which are quick ways for parents to determine whether their child with significant cognitive disabilities is being provided meaningful access to the general education curriculum.

Educators, students, and families have found many compelling reasons to support inclusive education for students with and without disabilities. This Brief, translated into Spanish, delineates ten reasons that supporting inclusive school communities for ALL students is important, but in a nutshell, inclusive learning communities are better, richer, and more effective when all students, including those with disabilities, are full participants. Content is in Spanish.

This Brief, translated into Vietnamese, answers questions about working with a language interpreter that parents or guardians of students who are English learners might have. Clear, comprehensible communication between parents and educators is key to making appropriate decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. This Brief was developed by NCEO’s “Improving Instruction for English Learners Through Improved Accessibility Decisions,” in collaboration with the West Virginia Department of Education.

This Brief, translated into Spanish, answers questions about working with a language interpreter that parents or guardians of students who are English learners might have. Clear, comprehensible communication between parents and educators is key to making appropriate decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. This Brief was developed by NCEO’s “Improving Instruction for English Learners Through Improved Accessibility Decisions,” in collaboration with the West Virginia Department of Education.

This Brief, translated into Traditional Chinese, answers questions about working with a language interpreter that parents or guardians of students who are English learners might have. Clear, comprehensible communication between parents and educators is key to making appropriate decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. This Brief was developed by NCEO’s “Improving Instruction for English Learners Through Improved Accessibility Decisions,” in collaboration with the West Virginia Department of Education.