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Educational Policy Reform Research Institute Reports: Topical Review Five: Preparing Educators to Teach Students with Disabilities in an Era of Standards-based Reform and Accountability (#5)Formats: PDFThis year 2003 topical review addresses the knowledge and skills needed by teachers to effectively promote the achievement of students with disabilities within the current era of standards-based reform and accountability.
Published: July 2003- NCEO Brief: Gaps in the Accommodations Research Literature (#31)
Federal and state policymakers, as well as educators, rely on the accommodations research literature to evaluate how accommodations should be used to improve accessibility for students with disabilities. This Brief consolidates information about gaps in this research with the goal of promoting wider interest in and additional research on accommodations. NCEO reviewed the accommodations research literature published between 1999 and 2021. Gaps in the research were identified in those summaries of the literature. The primary audience for this Brief is researchers and other persons or organizations interested in conducting or promoting research that supports a better understanding of accommodations. Graduate students looking to identify potential areas for research may also find this Brief useful.
Published: April 2023 
Forum on Speech-to-Text and Scribing: Getting a Handle on What This MeansFormats: PDFA report on a forum held on June 26, 2018 in San Diego, California that brought together staff from state departments of education, school districts, testing and testing-related companies, and other educational organizations to discuss speech-to-text and scribing, the differences in terminology, challenges associated with speech-to-text, and needed research. The forum was a pre-session to the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA), and was a collaboration of the Assessing Special Education Students (ASES), the State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (SCASS), and the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). This report summarizes both the introductory information provided to forum participants, and the facilitated forum discussions that followed.
Published: September 2018- NCEO Policy Directions: Alternate Assessments for Students with Disabilities (#5)Formats: Online
This year 1996 report describes options for developing an alternate assessment for students unable to participate in the general district and state assessments that are used for accountability purposes. The focus is on large-scale accountability systems, rather than individual accountability measures, that create information on how the school, district, or state is doing in terms of student performance.
Published: October 1996 - NCEO Parent Fact Sheets: Engaging Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families (Fact Sheet #5 - Educator)
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.
Published: 9/21/2023 - Accommodations Toolkit: Magnification: States’ Accessibility Policies, 2023Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for magnification is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 3/5/2024 
NCEO Out-of-Level Testing Project Reports: Testing Students Out of Level in Large-Scale Assessments: What States Perceive and Believe (#5)Formats: OnlineThis year 2001 report describes a study conducted to address the differing opinions, perceptions, and practices involved in testing students out of level in large-scale assessment programs. It focuses on state- level perspectives among those 12 states that allow testing of students with disabilities out-of-level.
Published: March 2001- English Learners with Disabilities Toolkit: Deciding Whether an English Learner with a Disability Should Participate in State Alternate Assessments of Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science (Tool 5)Formats: Online
This tool describes a way to ensure that all potential assessment participation decision makers are informed about the state’s content assessments and considerations for determining whether a student who is an English learner with a disability should participate in the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS) or the general content assessment. A list of resources on decision-making approaches for content assessments is included. States may customize this tool as needed to meet their needs.
Published: May 2026 
NCEO Technical Reports: IEPs and Standards: What They Say for Students with Disabilities (#5)Formats: PDFThis year 1993 report presents a study comparing students' IEPs to national and locally defined standards for mathematics. The IEPs of 76 students with mild disabilities were compared to the National Assessment of Educational Progress proficiency levels for mathematics, local standards, and a taxonomy of dimensions including: Level of Mastery, Nature of the Material, and Operations. The report suggests a widening of the gap between what students with disabilities are taught and the assessments with which they are tested. Implications for actions by the special education and standards-setting communities are discussed.
Published: May 1993- Accommodations Toolkit: Familiar Proctor/Test Administrator: States’ Accessibility Policies, 2023Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for familiar proctor/test administrator is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 3/5/2024 - 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 Data Analytics: State Assessment Participation and Performance of Students with IEPs 2013-2014 (#5)Formats: OnlineThis interactive report presents data on the participation and performance of students receiving special education services in statewide assessments used for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability. Using federally submitted data from the 2013-14 school year, we present information on participation and performance in reading and mathematics statewide assessments. This interactive brief is based on "2013-2014 APR Snapshot #10: State Assessment Participation and Performance of Students Receiving Special Education Services."
Published: February 2017
1% Toolkit: Frequently Asked Questions on AA-AAAS (NCEO Tool #5)The 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) 1.0% cap on state-level participation rates in the alternate assessment aligned to alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS) generated questions answered by the U.S. Department of Education in this Frequently Asked Questions on AA-AAAS. This FAQ tool includes questions that were asked by state personnel during the October 2018 1% Cap National Convening: Supporting States in Implementing ESSA’s 1% State-level Cap on Participation of Students in the AA-AAAS held in Boston, Massachusetts, during the NCEO 1% Community of Practice (CoP) and during NCEO’s Peer Learning Group 2 (PLG 2). The questions are listed in this tool by topic, and include the date the question was answered by the U.S. Department of Education.
Published: September 2019- NCEO Reports: The Relationship between Student Placement and AA-AAAS Participation Rates (#439)
This report presents the findings of a study that looked at the relationship between states’ percentage of students participating in the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS) and the percentage of students in more restrictive learning environments. The 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), placed a 1% cap for states on student participation in the AA-AAAS. This meant that states, districts, and individualized education program (IEP) teams need to carefully consider which students should be included in these assessments. Data used in this analysis were for 2018-19. This study found that states with higher percentages of students in more restrictive environments tended to have higher percentages of students participating in the AA-AAAS for both mathematics and reading.
Published: June 2023 
NCEO Brief: Performance of Special Education Students: Implications for Common State Assessments (#5)A brief -- the fifth in a series for the Race to the Top Assessment Consortia -- presenting information on the performance of special education students, highlighting the range in performance of these students in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) Consortia states, as well as the nature of gaps between special education and non-special education students. Changes in the percentage of special education students proficient and above on state tests over time are also provided. This brief provides concluding thoughts about the performance of special education students and suggestions for steps that Consortia and states might take to look at their own data. This is one of a series of NCEO Briefs for the Race to the Top (RTTT) Assessment Consortia that address the opportunities, resources, and challenges facing cross-state collaborative assessment efforts as they include students with disabilities and English language learners.
Published: January 2012- TIES Center Briefs: Providing Meaningful General Education Curriculum Access to Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (TIES Center Brief #4)
This brief addresses the question of what access to and progress in the general education curriculum means for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. It provides examples of what content aligned to the grade level looks like for students who participate in the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS), highlighting three principles: (a) the same content standards are used as are used for other students; (b) all subject areas provided to the peers of a student who participates in the AA-AAAS should be provided to that student also; and (c) decisions about modifications and accommodations of assignments and materials are tailored to the individual student. Things to avoid and do’s and don’ts for providing access are provided.
Published: August 2020 
NCEO English Language Learners (ELLs) with Disabilities Reports: A Review of 50 States' Online Large-Scale Assessment Policies - Are English Language Learners with Disabilities Considered? (#5)This year 2004 report provides an assessment policy review on the extent that the needs of English learners with disabilities are considered in public state assessment policy documents.
Published: September 2004
NCEO English Language Learners (ELLs) with Disabilities Reports: 2000-2001 Participation and Performance of English Language Learners with Disabilities on Minnesota Standards-based Assessments (#4)This year 2004 report analyzes the performance of English learners with disabilities on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments in grades 3 and 5, which were used to track progress toward high academic content standards.
Published: June 2004- Proceedings of the NCEO Interim Assessment Convening: Measuring What Students with Disabilities Know and Can Do Using Interim Assessments
This report contains the proceeding of the Interim Assessment Convening on Measuring What Students with Disabilities Know and Can Do Using Interim Assessments that was hosted by NCEO, and held on July 26 and 27, 2021. The purpose of the Convening was to share information about how to enable the participation of all students with disabilities, including students with the most significant cognitive disabilities and English learners with disabilities, in interim assessments in ways that support obtaining valid results of what they know and can do. The Convening also provided an opportunity for State education agency (SEA) teams to develop goals and action items, based on the opportunities and challenges identified, that would result in more valid measurement of what students with disabilities know and can do at both the SEA and local education agency (LEA) levels. This Proceedings document was developed to provide a summary of the Convening. It includes appendices and links to resources that were shared by states and others at the Convening.
Published: December 2021 
Lessons Learned in Federally Funded Projects that Can Improve the Instruction and Assessment of Low Performing Students with DisabilitiesFormats: PDFA report detailing the work of researchers from projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education in 2006-2007 under three funding sources (General Supervision Enhancement Grants, Enhanced Assessment Grants, and Supplemental Funding) who were invited to compile their major findings and discuss the lessons they learned from their studies on alternate assessments based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). The intent of this publication is to carry these lessons forward to the creators of next generation assessments. The timing for this information is critical, as funding for AA-MAS research has ended, and administration of AA-MAS tests is expected to cease in many states when new assessments are ready in 2014-2015. Almost all students with disabilities who were eligible for an AA-MAS will then be participating in the new general assessments. It is imperative that the lessons learned from this group of projects about the students and the barriers they experience during assessment are well understood as these changes occur. Researchers report on 14 separate projects involving 26 states, and the report is organized into four main sections: The Students, Test Development, Technology-enhanced Assessment, and System Implications.
Published: 2013