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1% Toolkit: A Five-Step Process for Developing and Reviewing District Justifications for Exceeding 1.0% AA-AAAS Participation (NCEO Tool #8)The 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), includes a 1.0% threshold on state-level participation rates in the alternate assessment aligned to alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). This tool presents a five-step process to address the 1.0% threshold requirements for reviewing local education agency (LEA) justifications and providing support, oversight, and technical assistance when appropriate. It includes: (a) three templates for state education agency (SEA) and LEA use; (b) a continuum of support, oversight, and technical assistance SEAs may provide; and (c) additional resources for SEAs and LEAs.
Published: June 2020
NCEO Brief: Five Formative Assessment Strategies to Improve Distance Learning Outcomes for Students with Disabilities (#20)The purpose of this Brief is to describe the use of formative assessment processes with students with disabilities during distance learning. Formative assessment is important for all kinds of learning, and especially focuses students on learning and evidence of learning. This Brief presents five strategies that can be used to support student understanding of their own learning. This has the potential to be a powerful antidote to the “check-box” approach some students may bring to online learning where they focus on compliance with following directions and completing a list of assignments.
Published: May 2020
NCEO Data Analytics: Percentage of Students with IEPs Who Were Assigned Accommodations from 2007-08 to 2016-17 (#13)Formats: OnlineThis interactive report presents data on the number and percentage of students receiving special education services who were assigned accommodations for the state general assessments used for accountability purposes in grades 3-8 and high school from 2007-08 to 2016-17. This report displays data on content area differences, grade level differences, trends over time, accommodations vs. performance, and state profiles.
Published: May 2020
1% Toolkit: Start with the End in Mind: An Infographic to Guide Decisions about Student Participation in the Alternate Assessment (NCEO Tool #7)This Infographic to Guide Decisions about Student Participation in the Alternate Assessment tool is designed to provide guidance about IEP team decision making for a student’s participation in the state's alternate assessment on academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS), which is meant for a very small number of students with significant cognitive disabilities. Developed during NCEO’s Peer Learning Group 3 (PLG 3), the tool explains how this important decision can affect the future opportunities available to a student with a disability. The infographic may be given to teachers in IEP trainings, provided to parents and guardians to read before an IEP team meeting, and used to talk with parents and guardians during an IEP team meeting.
Published: May 2020
1% Toolkit: Who Should Participate in Your State’s Alternate Assessment? A Slide Presentation Tool for Administrators (NCEO Tool #6)This Slide Presentation tool is designed to support the needs that administrators have for brief but substantive information about who should participate in the state’s alternate assessment on academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). In addition to serving as an information resource for administrators, it may be used for in-person or webinar trainings for educators, and as a handout for educators and parents. Developed during NCEO’s Peer Learning Group 3 (PLG 3), they highlight the purpose of the AA-AAAS, the implications of a student taking the AA-AAS, strategies for talking with parents, and identification of students who should participate in this assessment. The slides may be customized.
Published: May 2020
NCEO Newsletter: June 2020 issueFormats: OnlineThis newsletter highlights several new resources that address various aspects of distance learning, including a new brief on formative assessment strategies to improve distance learning outcomes for students with disabilities. We also are highlighting resources in the continually growing series on distance learning that is being developed by TIES Center, which is a NCEO affiliated project. This series is focused on instruction and engagement of students with significant cognitive disabilities in a distance learning environment. This issue also includes an article about a new brief on multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for all students, including students with significant cognitive disabilities, as well as an article about several new interactive Data Analytics which enable users to explore and visualize data about assessment participation and performance. We conclude with two articles about products created by a NCEO affiliated project, the Improving Instruction for English Learners Through Accessibility Decision Making project – a report that presents the findings of a literature review on research on test accommodations for English learners and English learners with disabilities, and information about two new professional development modules on accessibility decision making.
Published: June 2020
TIES Center Reports: Instructional Practices for Students with the Most Significant Disabilities in Inclusive Settings: A Review of the Literature (#104)The purpose of this literature review is to extend previous literature reviews to bring the review of literature up-to-date on pedagogical practices for students with the most significant disabilities in inclusive settings. The use of empirically validated instructional practices is pivotal for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities to make academic progress in inclusive settings. This report combines the data from two prior literature reviews with a current literature review (2013 through August, 2019) on academic interventions in inclusive settings with students with the most significant disabilities. This report details the methodology for conducting the review and the findings from the review. It also provides recommendations and implications for practice from these results.
Published: 3/10/2020- Exploring IEP Transition Planning Experiences and Future Goal Aspirations of ELs and non-ELs with DisabilitiesFormats: PDF
This presentation on IEP transition planning experiences and future goal aspirations of English learners and non-English learners with disabilities was presented at the 2020 National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) annual conference.
Published: 2020-02-28 - Used vs. Assigned Accommodations and Accessibility Features for English Learners with Disabilities on Statewide AssessmentFormats: PDF
This presentation addressed the difference between used vs. assigned accommodations and accessibility features for English learners with disabilities on statewide assessment. It was presented at the 2020 National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) annual conference.
Published: 2020-02-27 - Accessible Instruction and Assessment for Students with DisabilitiesFormats: PDF
This presentation, focusing on accessible instruction and assessment for students with disabilities, was presented at the 2020 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) annual conference.
Published: 2020-02-07 - What Alternate Assessments and Diplomas Really Mean for Students with Significant DisabilitiesFormats: PDF
This presentation addressed what alternate assessments and diplomas really mean for students with significant disabilities. It was presented at the 2020 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) annual conference.
Published: 2020-02-07 - Online Modules Demonstration on Accessibility Features and Accommodations for EducatorsFormats: PDF
This presentation, showing an online modules demonstration on accessibility features and accommodations for educators, was presented at the 2020 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) annual conference.
Published: 2020-02-06 
TIES Center Briefs: Developing IEPs that Support Inclusive Education for Students with the Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities (#3)This Parent Brief focuses on developing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that support inclusive education for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. IEPs that support inclusion are especially critical for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who participate in a state alternate assessment aligned to alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS), as well as for those in grades PreK-2 who may not yet take state assessments. The purpose of this Brief is to identify specific ways in which the IEPs of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities can be written to support inclusion in the general education curriculum and, ideally, the general education classroom.
Published: 2/5/2020
MTSS for All: Including Students with the Most Significant Cognitive DisabilitiesThe purpose of this Brief is to provide suggestions for ways in which the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), a framework for organizing and providing a tiered instructional continuum to support learning for all students, can include students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Ideas for how to make MTSS fully inclusive of all students are presented following a short history of MTSS and a summary of current MTSS models.
Published: 1/23/2020
NCEO Data Analytics: AA-AAS Participation Rate from 2007-08 to 2016-2017 (#12)Formats: OnlineThis interactive report presents data on the participation rate and percent proficient on the alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) by grade and content across years. This report provides the data with an interactive performance map, trends over time, and state profiles.
Published: 2020-01-22
NCEO Newsletter: February 2020 issueFormats: OnlineThis newsletter highlights several NCEO resources that can be used to learn more about what the research says about the effectiveness of various accommodations. The newsletter also highlights several new publications, including a report on states’ alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS) participation guidelines and definitions of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. A brief on considerations for states providing materials in braille is also highlighted, as well as a parent-educator toolkit developed by an affiliated project, the Improving Instruction for English Learners Through Improved Accessibility Decisions project. Finally, in this issue, we provide information on NCEO presentations and posters at the annual conference of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).
Published: February 2020
A Summary of the Research on Test Accommodations for English Learners and English Learners with Disabilities: 2010-2018The purpose of this literature review is to examine the published English learner (EL) accommodations literature between 2010 and 2018 to provide an updated overview of research trends on this subject. Providing accommodations during assessments for students with disabilities has long been a standard requirement in federal education legislation. Providing assessment accommodations for English learners (ELs), on the other hand, is a newer requirement appearing only over the past few decades. As such, state assessment policies vary widely in terms of what accommodations are permitted for ELs on state assessments. Further, many of the allowable accommodations do not address students’ linguistic needs and there is not a large research base to document their effectiveness. In this review, the researchers examine the purpose of each study, the type of assessment measured, the content area assessed, the type of linguistic support accommodation examined, the characteristics of the research sample and the participants, the type of research design, the findings, and the author-identified limitations.
Published: 1/8/2020
NCEO Data Analytics: 2016-17 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELs with Disabilities (#11)Formats: OnlineThis interactive report presents data on public reporting practices for assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. This brief is based on 2016-17 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELs with Disabilities
. The purpose of this study was to analyze whether states report 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). 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: 2020-01-06
NCEO Data Analytics: State Assessment Participation and Performance of Students with IEPs, 2016-2017 (#10)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 2016-17 school year, the researchers present information on participation and performance in reading and mathematics statewide assessments. This report includes state profiles for students with disabilities’ participation rates and performance.
Published: December 2019
Improving Instruction Briefs: Accessibility Features and Accommodations: Information for Parents or GuardiansThis Brief explains accessibility features and accommodations for parents or guardians of students who are English learners, and also provides guidance on how to talk to teachers to help their child access 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: December 2019