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- 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 Parent Fact Sheets: Getting Help for Your Child When Taking State Tests (Parent Fact Sheet #1)
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.
Published: 8/14/2023 - NCEO Reports: A Summary of the Research on the Effects of K–12 Test Accommodations: 2019 (#433)
This report provides an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations. Previous reports by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) have covered research published since 1999. In this report, we summarize the research published in 2019. During 2019, 11 research studies were published on the topic of testing accommodations in the U.S. elementary and secondary education system.
Published: May 2022 
NCEO State Surveys: 2014 Survey of States: Initiatives, Trends, and AccomplishmentsA report providing a snapshot of the new initiatives, trends, accomplishments, and emerging issues during this important period of education reform as states documented the academic achievement of students with disabilities. This is the fourteenth such survey of states conducted by NCEO. States were cognizant of the benefits of inclusive assessment and accountability systems, and continued to improve assessment design, participation, accessibility and accommodations policies, monitoring practices, and data reporting.
Published: September, 2015- 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 
NCEO Reports: 2015-16 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELs with Disabilities (#407)This is the nineteenth report by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) that describes how states publicly report online assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. The purpose of this report is to examine the extent to which states reported 2015-16 assessment data for students with disabilities "to the public with the same frequency and in the same detail as it reports on the assessment of nondisabled children," as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It also describes how states report assessment participation and performance data to the public online. It summarizes these data for grades 4 and 8, and high school, with additional analyses that focus on average performance gaps across years. The report also summarizes the extent to which states report participation and performance for English Learners (ELs) with disabilities and examines public reporting of accommodations.
Published: July 2018
NCEO Reports: 2013-14 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELLs with Disabilities (#401)This is the seventeenth report by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) that describes how states publicly report online assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) require states to disaggregate participation and performance data at the state level. The ESEA flexibility waivers that many states received also require states to report for the "all students" group as well as for all of the subgroups, including students in special education, as long as the number of students in a subgroup is equal to or above the minimum reporting number defined by the state. This report presents information on publicly reported participation and performance data for the 50 regular states and the 11 unique states. Recommendations are offered to states for the public reporting of disaggregated data for students with disabilities.
Published: February 2016
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Accommodation Policies for States' Alternate Assessments based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) (#90)A report focusing on accommodation policies for alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). NCEO has analyzed participation and accommodation policies for students with disabilities on state administered assessments since 1992 and this report is part of that long-term study. In addition to presenting a national overview of policies, this report also addresses the results of NCEO's policy analysis by the four content assessment consortia -- Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM), and National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC). The researchers' summary of the results of their analysis of accommodation policies for AA-AAS is organized under three areas of focus: the terms states used to describe changes in assessment administration, the specific accommodations addressed in policies overall, the accommodations addressed for ELLs and accommodation guidelines provided by states. Detailed information overall and by the four consortia are provided in the report appendices.
Published: July 2013
NCEO Synthesis Reports: States' Participation Guidelines for Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) in 2010 (#82)A report updating the information gathered by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) in previous reports. Since 2007, NCEO has annually compiled, analyzed, and summarized states' participation guidelines for the Alternate Assessment based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-MAS). The purpose of this report is to update the information gathered from previous reports. As of November 2010, 17 states - California, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia - had publicly available participation guidelines for an assessment the state considered to be an AA-MAS. As of February 2011, four states - Kansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas - had successfully completed the U.S. Department of Education's peer review process that determines whether the assessment fulfills the necessary requirements for the state to receive federal funds.
Published: May 2011
NCEO Technical Reports: Trends in the Participation and Performance of Students with Disabilities (#50)A report describing the first comprehensive analysis conducted by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) of trends in the public reporting of state assessment results for students with disabilities. The study followed NCEO's four analyses of public reporting since the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. More states are reporting assessment data for students with disabilities disaggregated by grade level and content area. States have also improved their data collection systems that make this type of reporting possible but the number of states for which data were available across the four years was relatively small. Based on the states with data across years, average percentages of students with disabilities performing at the proficient or above level showed moderate increases across the four years for both reading and math in elementary and middle schools but not in high schools. Trend data also showed higher percentages of elementary school students demonstrating proficient or above performance in reading and math than their counterparts in middle and high school. Trends in the Participation and Performance of Students with Disabilities is a brief summary of this report.
Published: December 2008
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Assessing Educational Outcomes: State Activity and Literature Integration (#1)Formats: PDFIn October 1990 the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) for Students with Disabilities was established at the University of Minnesota. Its mission is to provide national leadership in the development of educational outcomes and a system of indicators for students with disabilities. For NCEO it is necessary to give attention not only to the most recent research related to outcomes indicators in general but also to research that has been conducted in special education. The purpose of this document is to provide a synthesis of information that is available in the current literature. Topics of relevance to this literature review include (1) Educational reform and its current status in the United States, (2) Definitions of key terms, (3) Current models of educational indicators in both general education and special education, (4) Current states of outcomes indicators activities in both general education and special education, and (5) Critical issues in the development of a comprehensive system of educational indicators. This document will be revised annually in order to incorporate new literature and current events that pertain to the educational outcomes of students with disabilities.
Published: July 1991- NCEO Participation Communication Toolkit: One-Page “Ready-to-go” Policymaker FlyerFormats: PDF
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 policymakers, it also provides strategies to support students and their families in the policymaker’s state. 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.
Published: 3/8/2023 - NCEO Brief: Steps to Equitably Include Deaf Students in Assessments (#25)
Standardized tests have many uses in education. For example, they are used to document student achievement, measure progress, and determine readiness for postsecondary education or employment. However, deaf students often do not have equitable access to standardized tests. This Brief is jointly written by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) and the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Education (NDC). It provides three key steps to support deaf students in standardized testing.
Published: December 2021 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: 2013 State Policies for Selected Response Accommodations on Statewide Assessments (#93)A report providing information on selected response accommodations (i.e., Human Scribe, Speech to Text, Audio Transcription, Grammar Checker, Spell Checker, Calculator) that were included in state policies in 2013 for reading/ELA, math, and writing assessments. NCEO has been tracking and analyzing states' policies on assessment accommodations since 1992.
Published: September 2014
Hints and Tips for Addressing Accommodations Issues for Peer ReviewFormats: PDFA report examining the key accommodations issues that have arisen for states in the recent federal standards and assessments peer review process. The report by the Institute's National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) was developed in collaboration with the Assessing Special Education Students (ASES) State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (SCASS), and results from an analysis of peer review comments on accommodations. This publication highlights examples of assessment accommodations that were considered acceptable and unacceptable for peer review and includes NCEO recommendations for best practices with regard to assessment accommodations.
Published: 2007- NCEO Parent Fact Sheets: Participating in What your Child is Being Taught and is Learning in School (Parent Fact Sheet #2)
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.
Published: 8/14/2023 - NCEO Brief: Suggestions for Involving Students in Selecting and Implementing Accommodations (#30)
This Brief provides an overview of how students’ insights on the usefulness and feasibility of various accessibility features and accommodations should be taken into account when identifying accessibility features and accommodations for instruction and assessment. Students are often the best source of information about their strengths and needs, and what helps. This Brief uses synthesized and summarized research NCEO conducted on the perceptions of students with disabilities regarding accommodations between 1999 and 2021, and provides suggestions for soliciting students’ perceptions on accommodations and involving them in advocating for their needs.
Published: January 2023 - NCEO Participation Communication Toolkit: Customizable Participation Communication Toolkit Educator FlyerFormats: Word
The purpose of this flyer is to provide concise resources about why it is so important that all students participate in state testing. Written for teachers, 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.
Published: 2021-11-11 - NCEO Participation Communication Toolkit: Customizable Participation Communication Toolkit Family FlyerFormats: Word
The purpose of this 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.
Published: 2021-11-11 - NCEO Participation Communication Toolkit: Customizable Participation Communication Toolkit IEP Team Discussion GuideFormats: Word
This discussion guide for IEP teams is designed to provide information about the different test options for students with disabilities, and the implications of those decisions. This resource also explains why it is so important that students with disabilities participate in state testing. The tool may be customized by a state, district, or school. The discussion guide 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.
Published: 2021-11-11