Resources
Search Filters
Search Results
- Selected filters():
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Models for Reporting the Results of Alternate Assessments Within State Accountability Systems (#39)Formats: OnlineA report summarizing six models for reporting the scores of students with disabilities participating in alternate assessments that existed in the year 2001. Reporting the scores of students with disabilities participating in alternate assessments raises a number of challenges, including those surrounding concerns about statistical soundness, as well as those related to the different purposes and focuses that characterize current alternate assessments. At the time of this report, across the nation, states had reached different decisions about how to report the results of their alternate assessments.
Published: September 2001- NCEO Reports: A Historical Review of Alternate Assessment and 1% Cap (#450)Formats: Online
The history of alternate assessments and the 1.0 percent participation cap on state-level participation rates is deeply rooted in federal education legislation. From 1994 to 2025, federal legislation, regulations, and Department of Education guidance to states aimed to ensure that all students, including those with the most significant cognitive disabilities, are included in state accountability systems while maintaining appropriate standards and oversight. This report traces this policy history and the ways in which states have responded through evolving practices, waivers, and compliance strategies. We provide a list of resources, many of which were developed by NCEO, that can help educators implement the federal requirements of the 1.0 percent cap rule.
Published: October 2025 - NCEO Newsletter: June 2022 issueFormats: Online
This issue highlights several new products available from NCEO including the updated guide to universally designed assessments, an analysis of how states include students with disabilities in test security policies, and the findings of a survey on how states monitor alternate assessment participation decisions. There is also an article about two resources that address the role of related service providers in making accessibility and accommodations decisions. This issue includes a summary of all the sessions in which NCEO is participating during the National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA). Finally, there is an article on the forum that follows NCSA on assistive technology interoperability with online assessment platforms, and other technology and services.
Published: 6/1/2022 
Forum on States and Districts Working Together on the 1.0% ThresholdA report on a forum held on June 26, 2019 in Orlando, Florida to discuss how states and districts can work together to meet the 1.0% threshold on participation in the alternate assessment aligned to alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). The forum was a post-session to the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA), and was a collaboration of the Assessing Special Education Students (ASES) State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (SCASS) and the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). This report summarizes both the introductory information provided to forum participants, and the facilitated forum discussions that followed.
Published: September 2019
NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2011-2012 APR Snapshot #8: Assessment Accommodations Use by Students Receiving Special Education Services (#8)Formats: OnlineThis report provides a snapshot of the participation and performance of student receiving special education services in statewide assessments used for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability. Using federally submitted data from the 2011-2012 school year, we present information on accommodations for reading and mathematics statewide assessments administered to grade 8 students (and grade 4 to show a comparison to grade 8 data).
Published: May 2016
Forum on Addressing Performance Gaps of Low-performing Students: Implications for Assessment and InstructionFormats: PDFA report describing the facilitated discussions and the consensus reached at a forum on June 19, 2013, in National Harbor, Maryland, to discuss the performance gaps of low-performing students and their implications for assessment and instruction. The forum was a pre-session at the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) National Conference on Student Assessment (NSCA) where 62 individuals representing 16 states, three school districts, 11 testing and testing-related companies, and 11 other organizations participated. Summaries of the discussions were developed from notes taken by notetakers, and action plans were synthesized through the consensus-building process. The report also summarizes the introductory information provided to forum participants.
Published: September 2013
NCEO Technical Reports: An Analysis of State Approaches to Including Students with Disabilities in Assessments Implemented During Educational Reform (#18)Formats: PDFThis year 1997 report evaluates states' policies on the inclusion, accommodations and reporting of students with disabilities in statewide assessments. It describes the input and consensus process used by the National Center on Educational Outcomes to develop evaluation elements designed to maximize participation of students with disabilities, and presents the results of applying these elements to states' written guidelines on participation, accommodations, and reporting. The findings of this analysis suggest a number of implementation and training issues, especially for IEP teams.
Published: September 1997- 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 - NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2014-2015 APR Snapshot #14: Assessment Accommodations Use by Students Receiving Special Education Services (#14)Formats: Online
This report provides information on the number of students with disabilities using accommodations and the performance of these students on the general statewide assessment used for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability. Using federally submitted data from the 2014-2015 school year, we present information on accommodations for reading and mathematics statewide assessments administered to grade 8 students (and grade 4 to show a comparison to grade 8 data).
Published: July 2017 - Assistive Technology Interoperability with Online Assessment Platforms and Other Technology Products and Services: Making it All Work!
This report contains the proceedings of a forum held on June 29, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia to discuss issues surrounding the use of personal student assistive technology and online assessment participation. A specific goal of the forum was to gather representatives from state departments of education, assessment vendors, and technology companies to discuss challenges students face when using their personal assistive technology supports to participate in online assessments and to identify possible solutions. The forum was a post-session to the Council of Chief State School Officers’ (CCSSO) National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA) and was a collaboration of the Assessment, Standards, and Education for Students with Disabilities (ASES) Collaborative and the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: September 2022 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Characteristics of States' Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards in 2008 (#72)A report describing an assessment option permitted by federal regulations that give states the flexibility to offer an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). This assessment option is for a small group of students with disabilities who can make significant progress but may not reach grade-level proficiency within the time period covered by their Individualized Education Program. Students who participate in an AA-MAS must have access to grade-level content. States are not required to offer this option. This report compiles, analyzes, and summarizes states' participation guidelines for the AA-MAS.
Published: September 2009
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- 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 
NCEO State Surveys: State Special Education Outcomes 1994: A Report on How States are Assessing Educational Outcomes for Students with DisabilitiesFormats: PDFA report on NCEO's survey of states conducted in 1993 to address the needs of state directors, policymakers and others for information about current state activities in multiple outcomes areas: Knowledge, skills, status, and attitudes of students with disabilities. It also addresses issues related to change over time in accountability and assessment activities. The specific questions this survey focused on were: (1) What effect the activities outlined in Goals 2000: The Educate America Act have on state special education service delivery systems, (2) What efforts states are making to develop learner goals and related assessments, (3) How broadly the NCEO model of educational outcomes and indicators has been disseminated and used within state and local educational agencies, and (4) The extent to which students with disabilities are participating in statewide achievement assessments now being used by states.
Published: March 1995
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Opportunity-to-Learn Standards (#14)Formats: PDFThis report provides an overview of the use of the term "Opportunity to learn (OTL) standards in recent (1994) legislation, alternative perspectives on OTL standards, and state practices in the implementation of OTL standards. We examine how students with disabilities are treated in discussion of OTL standards, how people propose to measure OTL, and major issues surrounding the concept of OTL standards. Implications for students with disabilities are discussed, and we conclude with several recommendations.
Published: July 1994
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Making Decisions About the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Large-Scale Assessments: A Report on a Working Conference to Develop Guidelines on Inclusion and Accommodations (#13)Formats: PDFThis report is a summary of a meeting held in Washington, D.C. on March 9-10, 1994. Much of the focus of this meeting was on the challenges faced in making decisions about inclusion and accommodations for students with disabilities on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The content of this report and the recommended guidelines also have applicability for state large-scale assessments.
Published: April 1994
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Implementation of Alternative Methods for Making Educational Accountability Decisions for Students with Disabilities (#12)Formats: PDFThis report examines some of the issues and challenges in gathering data for purposes of making accountability decisions for students with disabilities (1994). The report (1) describes the alternative methods that are being used, (2) describes the student population and accountability decision-making practices in representative states, (3) describes the kinds of issues State Education Agency (SEA) personnel encounter, (4) identifies the kinds of data SEA and national education policy personnel say would be needed to demonstrate that education works for students with disabilities, (5) describes ways in which SEA personnel have been successful in overcoming barriers, and (6) makes recommendations of promising practices for making accountability decisions.
Published: March 1994
NCEO Synthesis Reports: The Effects of Standards and Assessment on Students in Special Education (#10)Formats: PDFIn this report, the author examines accountability and assessment issues that are relevant to students in special education.
Published: October 1993
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Can "All" Ever Really Mean "All" in Defining and Assessing Student Outcomes? (#5)Formats: PDFThis report explores what what "all" means in defining student outcomes in educational assessment systems.
Published: March 1993
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Testing Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: A Review of the Literature (#4)Formats: PDFThis report is a review of literature (1993) pertaining to testing accommodations for people with disabilities. It draws on a wide range of information, from empirical studies conducted by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and by the American College Testing (ACT) Program, to policies for state assessment programs. Addressed in this report are policy and legal considerations, technical concerns, minimum competency and certification/licensure testing efforts, existing standards and accommodations allowed in state assessment systems.
Published: March 1993