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NCEO Synthesis Reports: Gray Areas of Assessment Systems (#32)Formats: OnlineA 2000 paper clarifying what is meant by "gray areas of assessment" systems, delineating the primary issues that surround and contribute to gray areas, and providing suggestions for developing fully inclusive systems. As part of our nation's educational commitment to equity and excellence for all, we must develop better understanding of what it means to be accountable for all children, and identify more inclusive strategies of assessment and accountability. In response to our national commitment, and to specific legislation such as Title I of the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1997 (IDEA '97), states and school districts are in the midst of developing large-scale assessment systems. Some have considered the challenge of students who do not fit into these assessment systems as one of "gray area students." New understanding is emerging that the problem does not lie with the students, but with the systems. This paper provides brief case studies of the assessment practices in two states, thereby highlighting the reality of gray areas as states implement their assessment systems. After a review of the national reform context, it presents a model that provides a basis for defining and addressing gray area concerns.
Published: March 2000
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Appeals Processes for Students Who Fail Graduation Exams: How Do They Apply to Students with Disabilities? (#36)Formats: OnlineA report of findings about high stakes tests for students with disabilities, as of the year 2000, and the appeals processes for those who need an alternative way of demonstrating skills. High stakes tests that determine whether students earn a standard high school diploma are on the rise. They are viewed as the way to make sure that students meet high standards and graduate with the skills needed to be successful employees. At the same time that more and more states are investing in graduation exams, there are concerns about students who have met high standards, yet are unable to pass a test. To determine the extent to which there are other options for demonstrating skills, and to check the availability of these to students with disabilities, the authors studied state Web sites for information on appeals processes and the availability of waivers. They found only six states with appeals processes, and these varied considerably from locally set procedures to relatively specific requirements. In one state, the appeals process is viewed as the avenue for students with disabilities to have access to accommodations. In most states, there is no evidence that students with disabilities have been considered. Further, states do not have data on the number of students involved in appeals processes, much less disaggregated for students with disabilities. The difficulty they experienced in finding information about an appeals process is certainly encountered by students and families whose lives are affected by graduation exams. Without appeals processes, or easily found information on such processes, the likelihood that lawsuits will be viewed as the only avenue for recourse is dramatically increased.
Published: July 2000
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities on State English Language Proficiency Assessments: A Review of 2011 State PoliciesFormats: PDFA report documenting states' participation and accommodation policies for English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities on their English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessments. The states' online policies from 2011, after state verification, showed that 49 states addressed participation criteria for ELLs with disabilities. Of these states, 36 states allowed for selective participation of students with disabilities on the ELP assessment, meaning that a student may participate in some domains but not others. Most often, ELLs who were deaf/hard of hearing or who had visual impairments or blindness were considered for selective participation. The summary of findings suggests that over time, states have become more detailed in their policies relating to participation and accommodations for ELLs with disabilities on ELP assessments. Continued attention to the participation and performance of ELLs with disabilities in ELP and other state assessments is essential.
Published: August 2013- IEPs for Students Who Participate in the Alternate AssessmentFormats: Online
This presentation, focusing on IEPs for students who participate in the alternate assessment, was presented at the Ohio OCALICON autism and disabilities international conference.
Published: 2020-11-11 - School Leader Series: Understanding the Consequences of Assessment Participation Decisions for Students with Disabilities (School Leader Series Brief #2)
This resource is designed to provide guidance to school leaders about understanding the consequences of assessment participation decisions for students with disabilities. Developed in collaboration with CCSSO, the Assessment, Standards, and Education for Students with Disabilities (ASES) and School Leadership Development and Supports (SLDS) state collaboratives made important contributions to this document. This resource highlights what school leaders can do to ensure IEP teams understand the short-term and long-term consequences of participation decisions for students with disabilities and ensure appropriate assessment participation decisions are made and implemented. It also gives talking points for school leaders to use when addressing key stakeholders on the topic.
Published: 9/28/2021 
Guidance for Examining District Alternate Assessment Participation RatesThis Brief addresses important questions that arise for states as they implement federal alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) participation requirements. Federal policy limits the number of students that a state may assess with an AA-AAS to no more than 1% of all students in the grades assessed in a state. The AA-AAS is intended only for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Given that many states report more than 1% of their student population taking an AA-AAS, there is a need to identify effective and technically defensible practices for monitoring participation rates for alternate assessments.
Published: October 2018- How Do We Lower our Alternate Assessment Participation Rate? Five States Share their StoriesFormats: PDF
This presentation featured five states addressing how to lower alternate assessment participation rates. It was presented to the U.S Departments of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE).
Published: 2020-08-20 - States and Districts Working Together to Make Improved Decisions about Alternate Assessment Participation and Meet the State Level 1% ThresholdFormats: PDF
This presentation, highlighting states and districts working together to make improved decisions about alternate assessment participation and meeting the state level 1% threshold, was presented at the Ohio OCALICON autism and disabilities international conference.
Published: 2020-11-11 
Including Students who are Deaf or Hard-of-hearing in English Language Proficiency Assessments: A Review of State PoliciesFormats: PDFA report documenting participation and accommodation policies for English language learners (ELLs) who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing (HH) on English language proficiency (ELP) assessments used for Title III accountability. Accommodations policies are discussed with reference to five accommodations commonly used by ELLs who are Deaf/HH, including: Sign Interpret Directions, Sign Interpret Questions, Visual Cues, Sign Response, and Amplification Equipment. Over time, states' policies on participation and accommodations on ELP assessments for ELLs who are Deaf/HH have continued to evolve and become more detailed. Still, there is room for improvement. States should continue to evaluate the construct being measured by each domain and evaluate how specific accommodations impact the validity of student scores. Controversial accommodations should be re-evaluated to make sure that the greatest numbers of students have access to the assessment while maintaining the construct being measured. States should also determine whether and in what circumstances selective participation by domain is appropriate for ELLs who are Deaf/HH.
Published: 2014
Proceedings of the 1% Cap National Convening: Supporting States in Implementing ESSA's 1% State-level Cap on Participation of Students in the AA-AAASThis Proceedings document was developed to provide a summary of the 1% National Convening that took place in Boston on October 18 and 19, 2018. More than 200 individuals gathered to listen to each other, share ideas, and develop state-level action plans. The purpose of the Convening was to support states as they work with local education agencies to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirement of a 1% cap on the participation of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in the alternate assessment aligned with alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). The Proceedings document includes appendices and links to resources that were shared by states and others at the Convening.
Published: December, 2018- Policy Pushing Measurement Expertise for the Inclusion of ALL Students in Testing for AccountabilityFormats: PDF
This presentation addressed the role of policy in pushing measurement expertise for the inclusion of all students in testing for accountability. It was presented at the 2020 National Council on Measurement in Education annual conference, held virtually.
Published: 2020-09-11 - MIDAS Project Reports: A Mixed Methods Study on Teaching Students Who Moved From the AA-AAAS to General State Assessment (#102)Formats: PDF
This report presents the findings of a study that examined the successes and barriers that teachers faced when instructing students with disabilities who have moved from the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS) to the general state assessment. For this study, classroom observations and teacher interviews were conducted in three states.
Published: July 2024 
Including Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired in English Language Proficiency Assessments: A Review of State PoliciesFormats: PDFA report updating information on state participation and accommodations policies for English language learners (ELLs) who are Blind/Visually Impaired (VI) on English language proficiency (ELP) assessments used for Title III accountability. Accommodations policies are discussed with reference to seven accommodations in three categories that are commonly used by ELLs who are Blind/VI. Included are five accommodations from the Presentation category (Braille, Large Print, Read Aloud Directions, Read Aloud Questions, Screen Reader/Text to Speech), one accommodation from the Response category (Brailler), and one accommodation from the Equipment category (Magnification Equipment).
Published: August 2014
Parent Spotlight: Enfoque de los Padres de Familia en los Planes IEP y los Estándares Académicos Esenciales y las Evaluaciones del EstadoFormats: PDFEste folleto fue redactado para proveer información a los padres de familia y a otros con respecto a los Programas Individualizados de Educación (IEPs por sus siglas en inglés) y los estándares académicos recientemente adoptados llamados Estándares Académicos Esenciales y las Evaluaciones del Estado.
Published: April 2014
White Paper on English Language Learners with Significant Cognitive DisabilitiesFormats: PDFThis White Paper was developed by the Administration, Accessibility, and Accommodations Task Management Team (AAA TMT) to provide the English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21) states with recommendations for ways to include their English language learners (ELLs) with the most significant cognitive disabilities in an assessment of their English language proficiency. The ELPA21 states are developing a college- and career-ready assessment of English language proficiency (ELP). This assessment is designed for all ELLs except those who have the most significant cognitive disabilities.
Published: January 2016
Instructing and Assessing English Learners with Significant Cognitive DisabilitiesFormats: PDFThe purpose of this report is to identify an evidence base on best practices in English language arts instruction for English learners (ELs) with significant cognitive disabilities whose family may use another language in the home. This report also provides recommendations for important first steps to ensure that ELs with significant cognitive disabilities have access to grade-level curriculum and instruction.
Published: September, 2015
Parent Spotlight: Enfoque de los Padres de Familia en los Planes 504 y los Estándares Académicos Esenciales y las Evaluaciones del EstadoFormats: PDFEste folleto fue redactado para proveer información a los padres de familia y a otros con respecto a los planes de adaptaciones 504 y los estándares académicos recientemente adoptados llamados Estándares Académicos Esenciales del Estado.
Published: April 2014
Voices From the Field: Making State Assessment Decisions for English Language Learners With DisabilitiesFormats: PDFA report describing an activity undertaken by the Improving the Validity of Assessment Results for ELLs with Disabilities (IVARED) project, which is a consortium of the five states of Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington, led by Minnesota. In collaboration with the National Center on Educational Outcomes, these states sought to understand ways to make state accountability assessments more valid and reliable for English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities. This report describes how IVARED tried to better understand the current assessment and accommodation decision-making process, test score use practices, and issues and challenges educators face in making appropriate decisions for ELLs with disabilities. Online focus groups were conducted in each of the five states with a total of 232 school, district, and state practitioners who had expertise in working with this population of students.
Published: 2013- MIDAS Project Reports: Parents’ Perspectives on Their Child’s Move from the AA-AAAS to the General Assessment (#104)Formats: PDF
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.
Published: August 2024 
Student Demonstrations of their Use of Accessibility Features and AccommodationsThis report presents information from a study by the Data Informed Accessibility—Making Optimal Needs-based Decisions (DIAMOND) project that examined classroom use of accessibility features and accommodations gathered through in-person interviews with teachers and in-person demonstrations with students. The report catalogs the accessibility features and accommodations used in class that were helpful to students, identifies reasons that certain accessibility features and accommodations were and were not used, and explores barriers to the effective use of accessibility features and accommodations.
Published: June 2019