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Parent Training & Information Center Webinar on Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement StandardsA Webinar providing information about Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) to Parent Training and Information Centers & Community Parent Resource Centers. AA-MAS are assessments that some states use to evaluate the performance of a small group of students with disabilities. Most states offering AA-MAS had phased it out by 2014.
Federal legislation requires that all students be included in accountability systems, but some students with disabilities need accommodations to access assessments. AA-MAS is an assessment option for some students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) whose progress to date, in response to appropriate instruction, is unlikely to achieve grade-level proficiency within the school year covered by the IEP. Students who are assessed with this option are required to have instruction in grade-level content. Students qualifying for an AA-MAS may be from any disability category.
Published: October 9, 2007
Learning Opportunities for Your Child Through Alternate Assessments: Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement StandardsFormats: PDFA guide helping parents of students with disabilities understand a new state alternate assessment allowable under No Child Left Behind. While few states are currently offering this assessment option, some will be developing it in the coming years. Parents will need to understand what it is and how to decide if it is the right option for their child.
Published: 2007- NCEO Annual Performance Reports and State Performance Plans: 2004-2005 State Assessment DataFormats: PDF
A report summarizing assessment data from State Performance Plans.
Published: June 2007 
NCEO Technical Reports: Nearing the Target in Disaggregated Subgroup Reporting to the Public on 2004-2005 Assessment Results (#46)This year 2007 report describes the public reporting of participation and performance data for students with disabilities published on state department of education web sites for the 2004-2005 school year. It describes the state assessment systems, how data were reported, and achievement gaps. It concludes with recommendations for public reporting.
Published: April 2007- NCEO Annual Performance Reports and State Performance Plans: 2003-2004 State Assessment DataFormats: PDF
A report summarizing assessment data from State Performance Plans.
Published: June 2006 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Dealing with Flexibility in Assessments for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (#60)This year 2006 report presents an analysis of where flexibility is allowed or controlled (standardized) in the development of alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards for students with significant cognitive disabilities. The authors identify key challenges in evaluating data and technical quality given the flexibility of this population's instructional goals. Further, they address specific points for policymakers and assessment leaders to consider regarding the degree of flexibility or standardization they might design into these alternate assessment systems, including clarifying state values and goals, research and development, assessment format, and evaluating technical quality.
Published: June 2006
NCEO Technical Reports: Uneven Transparency: NCLB Tests Take Precedence in Public Assessment Reporting for Students with Disabilities (#43)This year 2006 report describes the extent that states publicly reported assessment data for students with disabilities for 2003-2004. It describes the assessment systems of states, reporting practices for participation and performance, and achievement gap data. Recommendations for clear reporting are also provided.
Published: March 2006
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Alternate Assessments Measured Against Grade-Level Achievement Standards: The Massachusetts "Competency Portfolio" (#59)This year 2006 report discusses Massachusett's alternate based on grade-level achievement standards. It describes the students who require these alternate assessments based on grade-level achievement standards (structured portfolio), and how such alternate assessments can reliably measure achievement in an equivalent manner to those students taking regular assessments for a grade level, and how the assessment may fulfill both system accountability and diploma purposes. The author also discusses how the model for a competency portfolio was developed and validated.
Published: January 2006
NCEO Synthesis Reports: One State's Story: Access and Alignment to the GRADE-LEVEL Content for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (#57)This year 2005 report presents a case study from the state of Massachusetts for providing students with significant cognitive disabilities with grade-level aligned content. It addresses opportunity to learn, and emphasizes the importance of working to get these students as close as possible to the grade-level standards that typical students are learning, as this is important for the student's education and is an important statement to make about the goal of special education. The author then describes how Massachusetts equips special educators with a conceptual standards roadmap of what is expected of all students, a process for customizing that curriculum for each student., and a method of data collection to document a student's progress learning targeted skills in the student's portfolio that gets used in the school, and later submitted to the state as an alternate assessment.
Published: December 2005
NCEO State Surveys: 2005 State Special Education Outcomes - Steps Forward in a Decade of ChangeThis year 2005 report summarizes a state survey given to all states addressing participation rates, use of accommodations, the number of students achieving grade level proficiency, and more.
Published: November 2005- NCEO Annual Performance Reports and State Performance Plans: 2002-2003 State Assessment DataFormats: PDF
A report summarizing assessment data from State Performance Plans.
Published: June 2005 
NCEO Technical Reports: Steady Progress: State Public Reporting Practices for Students with Disabilities After the First Year of NCLB (2002-2003) (#40)This 2005 report examines the extent to which states report to the public on the participation and performance of students with disabilities for year 2002-2003. It provides descriptions of state assessment systems, summarizes achievement gaps by content and grade level, and provides recommendations for clear reporting.
Published: May 2005
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Expectations for Students with Cognitive Disabilities: Is the Cup Half Empty or Half Full? Can the Cup Flow Over? (#55)Formats: OnlineThis year 2004 report addresses making informed decisions about the best instruction and assessments for students with cognitive disabilities. It includes an analysis of nationally representative cognitive and achievement data to illustrate the dangers of blanket assumptions about appropriate achievement expectations for individuals based on his or her cognitive ability or diagnostic label. Further, the report reviews research on achievement patterns of students with cognitive disabilities and the effects of teacher expectations.
Published: December 2004
NCEO Technical Reports: Almost There in Public Reporting of Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities (#39)This year 2004 report examines the extent that states reported participation and performance data for students with disabilities in the 2001-2002 school year. The report describes state assessment systems, summarizes how states reported disaggregated data for students with disabilities by test, and presents achievement gap information by content area and grades 4, 8 and 10. Recommendations for clear reporting are provided.
Published: August 2004
NCEO State Surveys: 2003 State Special Education Outcomes - Marching OnThis year 2003 report summarizes findings of a survey given to all states that addresses new initiatives, trends, accomplishments, and emerging issues as states document the academic achievement of students with disabilities.
Published: December 2003
NCEO Policy Directions: Putting it All Together - Including Students with Disabilities in Assessment and Accountability Systems (#16)This year 2003 report provides an overview of key components of inclusive assessment and accountability systems and to highlight how they fit together to form a cohesive whole that facilitates the intended benefits of standards-based reform.
Published: October 2003
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Washington Alternate Assessment System Technical Report on Standard Setting for the 2002 Portfolio (#52)This year 2003 report presents information on Washington's standard setting procedure for its portfolio alternate assessment for students with significant disabilities. It also gives information on the perception of the standard setting panel regarding the decisions that were made, thereby providing documentation and validation of the standard setting process to establish alternate academic achievement standards for this population.
Published: October 2003
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Measuring Academic Achievement of Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Building Understanding of Alternate Assessment Scoring Criteria (#50)This year 2003 report, compares and contrasts the assumptions and values embedded in scoring criteria used in five states for their alternate assessments. It discusses how the selected states are addressed the challenge of defining successful outcomes for students with significant disabilities as reflected in state criteria for scoring alternate assessment responses or evidence and how these definitions of successful outcomes have been refined over time. The five states use different alternate assessment approaches, including portfolio assessment, performance assessment, IEP linked body of evidence, and traditional test formats. Findings showed a great deal of overlap across the alternate assessment approaches, as they tended to represent a continuum of approaches as opposed to discrete categories.
Published: June 2003
NCEO Technical Reports: Going public: What 2000-2001 Reports Tell Us about the Performance of Students with Disabilities (#35)This year 2003 report examines the extent to which states publicly reported information about students with disabilities in statewide assessments in 2000-2001. The report describes state assessment systems and examines published state department of education reports for participation and performance data disaggregated by students with disabilities. It also includes analyses of achievement gaps by content area for grades 4, 8 and 10. Recommendations on reporting are also provided.
Published: April 2003- NCEO Annual Performance Reports and State Performance Plans: Biennial Performance Reports: 2000-2001 State Assessment DataFormats: PDF
A report summarizing assessment data from State Performance Plans.
Published: December 2002