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- Using Formative Assessment Strategies During Hybrid and Distance EducationFormats: PDF
This presentation addressed using formative assessment strategies during hybrid and distance education. It was presented at the 2020 National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) annual conference.
Published: 2020-09-24 - NCEO Data Analytics: Participation Rate for 2007-08 to 2016-17 (#14)Formats: Online
This interactive report presents the annual performance data for students with disabilities on state assessment data for 2007-08 to 2016-17 which were analyzed to investigate trends in participation, performance, and accommodations received by special education students in grades 3-8 and high school for each state. In addition, results included the comparison between states and grade levels, as well as state profile.
Published: September 2020 - 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 - Successfully Making and Implementing Participation and Accommodations Decisions for English Learners with DisabilitiesFormats: PDF
This presentation addressed how to successfully make and implement participation and accommodation decisions for English learners with disabilities. It was presented to the U.S Departments of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE).
Published: 2020-08-27 - TIES Center Briefs: The General Education Curriculum - Not an Alternate Curriculum! (Brief #5)
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.
Published: August 2020 - 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 - Reconsiderandolas expectativas para los estudiantes con discapacidades (NCEO Brief #17) (Spanish)Formats: PDF
The purpose of this brief (translated in Spanish) is to summarize some of the past exclusionary practices that resulted from low expectations for students with disabilities, and how those were addressed in policies related to standards-based reform. The brief is based on a comprehensive paper that takes a cross-disciplinary approach to examining expectations for students with disabilities, “Students with Disabilities in Educational Policy, Practice, and Professional Judgment: What Should We Expect?” (NCEO Report 413). We highlight answers to critical questions about expectations for students with disabilities, including those with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Suggestions are provided for policymakers, states, and technical assistance providers on how to work with districts, schools, and educators to revisit expectations for students with disabilities.
Published: July 2020 - NCEO Reports: A Summary of the Research on the Effects of K–12 Test Accommodations: 2017 (#418)
The purpose of this report is to provide a synthesis of the research on K-12 testing accommodations. In this report, we summarize the research published in 2017. Previous reports by NCEO have covered research published since 1999. During 2017, 14 research studies were published on the topic of testing accommodations in the elementary and secondary education system. The academic literature described here encompasses empirical studies of performance comparability and validity studies as well as investigations into accommodations use, implementation practices, and perceptions of the effectiveness of accommodations.
Published: August 2020 - NCEO Reports: Text-to-Speech Accommodation Policies in 2018-19 (#417)
The purpose of this report is to provide an updated review of state text-to-speech (TTS) policies across general assessments of reading, writing, mathematics, and science. TTS refers to technology that reads aloud digital text. The report provides an analysis of TTS by the support tier in which it is placed (i.e., accommodation, designated feature, or universal feature), by the specific parts of tests for which it is allowed (i.e., directions, passages/stimuli, or questions), and by the population of students who can use it (i.e., students with disabilities, English learners, or students without disabilities who are not English learners). This report also provides recommendations for state TTS policies.
Published: August 2020 - 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 - NCEO Reports: Updated Assessment Principles and Guidelines for English Learners with Disabilities (#424)
This updated report, originally published in 2013, presents five core principles of valid assessments for English learners with disabilities, along with a brief rationale and specific guidelines that reflect each principle. The principles were developed through a Delphi review involving experts in the fields of assessment, instruction of English learners, and special education. Appendices to this report describe the Delphi data collection process, and members of the expert panel. References and selected core resources related to each principle and guidelines are also included in an appendix. This update of the report recognizes the contextual changes that have occurred since 2013, but does not alter the principles themselves.
Published: August 2020 - NCEO Newsletter: October 2020 issueFormats: Online
This issue highlights translations of several NCEO and affiliated center products. One or more publications are now available in each of the following languages: Arabic, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. It also highlights a new guidebook on including students with disabilities and English learners in assessments, and the resources available from several webinars that NCEO conducted for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE). Additionally, this newsletter highlights two new briefs on access to the general education curriculum by students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, as well as several new distance learning resources.
Published: October 2020 
NCEO Reports: State Spotlights: Reducing AA-AAAS State-Level Participation Rates to Meet the 1.0% Threshold, 2016-17 to 2017-18 (#421)This report highlights the work of states in the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) 1% Community of Practice (CoP) that reduced their alternate assessment participation rates from school year 2016-17 to school year 2017-18. Five states volunteered to share information on their approaches to decreasing the state-level participation rate in their states’ alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). The states highlighted in this report are Arkansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Each state provided information on the strategies that it took; several provided examples of some of the materials they used.
Published: July 2020- Meeting Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Requirements: Alternate Assessments and Inclusion of All StudentsFormats: Online
This presentation addressed how to meet Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) requirements on alternate assessments and inclusion of all students. It was presented to the U.S Departments of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE).
Published: 2020-07-15 
Evidence Base on Assessment Accommodations for English LearnersFormats: PDFThis brief summarizes the findings of a 2010-2018 literature review on assessment accommodations conducted by the Improving Instruction for English Learners through Improved Accessibility Decisions project. The complete literature review titled “A Summary of the Research on Test Accommodations for English Learners and English Learners with Disabilities 2010-2018” includes the full list of 11 included studies.
Published: July 2020
TIES Center Briefs: 10 razones para apoyar a las comunidades escolares inclusivas para todos los estudiantesFormats: PDFEducators, 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.
Published: June 2020
NCEO Reports: Guidebook to Including Students with Disabilities and English Learners in Assessments (#420)This report provides 10 lessons about how to ensure inclusive assessment practices for students with disabilities and English learners. In addition to the 10 lessons, it provides foundational information on the characteristics of these students that require consideration during all phases of assessment design, development, and implementation. The focus of the Guidebook is large-scale summative assessments rather than interim and formative assessments; it does not address accountability considerations. The purpose of the Guidebook is to remind all assessment, special education, and other personnel in state departments of education of the lessons that have been learned, and to share those lessons with new personnel in state assessment, special education, Title I, and Title III offices.
Published: June 2020
Improving Instruction Briefs: Working with Language Interpreters: Information for Parents or Guardians (Vietnamese translation)Formats: PDFThis 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.
Published: June 2020
Improving Instruction Briefs: Working with Language Interpreters: Information for Parents or Guardians (Spanish translation)Formats: PDFThis 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.
Published: June 2020
Improving Instruction Briefs: Working with Language Interpreters: Information for Parents or Guardians (Traditional Chinese translation)Formats: PDFThis 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.
Published: June 2020