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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 
TIES Center Reports: Communication Competence in the Inclusive Setting: A Review of the Literature (#103)This report presents findings from a literature review that was conducted to identify evidenced-based approaches to supporting the development of communicative competence for K-8 students in inclusive educational settings. Specifically, the review examined whether communication programming employing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is being successfully used in inclusive elementary and middle school settings, and what elements of the communication program are most likely to affect students’ communicative competence.
Published: June 2019- 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
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Science Assessments for Students with Disabilities in School Year 2006-2007: What We Know about Participation, Performance, and Accommodations (#77)A report documenting the inclusion of students with disabilities in state science assessments in 2006-2007, the period just before the required implementation of statewide science assessments. The success of all students, including students with disabilities, on statewide assessments in mathematics and reading/English language arts has been examined closely, partly due to the role of these content areas in school accountability for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) known as "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB). States also were expected to establish science content standards by 2005-2006, and to develop assessments in science by 2007-2008.
Published: August 2010
Improving Instruction Briefs: Building Successful Communication Between Teacher and Parent or Guardian: Information for TeachersThis Brief for teachers answers questions about communicating with parents or guardians for whom communicating in English is a challenge. Good parent-educator communication is key to determining appropriate accessibility features and accommodations for students. 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- TIES Center Briefs: Communication Supports for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: What Parents Need to Know (TIES Center Brief #9)
This Brief describes how families and other members of Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams can help students get the supports they need to build their communicative competence in inclusive classrooms. All students communicate, but some students may need options other than oral speech, or in addition to oral speech. Being able to communicate is an important skill for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Communication does not need to be oral. But it should be sufficient for conveying messages to others.
Published: June 2022 
Improving Instruction Briefs: Building Successful Partnerships Between the School Principal, Families, and Communities: information for PrincipalsThis Brief for principals answers questions about communicating with parents or guardians for whom communicating in English is a challenge. Good parent-educator communication is key to determining appropriate accessibility features and accommodations for students. 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
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
Improving Instruction Briefs: Building Successful Communication Between Parent or Guardian and Teacher: Information for Parents or GuardiansThis Brief for parents or guardians of students who are English learners answers questions about communicating with teachers when English is a challenge, and the benefits of successful communication. Good parent-educator communication is key to determining appropriate accessibility features and accommodations for students. 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- Assessment Today: How We Got Here and Where We are GoingFormats: Online
In this presentation Dr. Martha Thurlow, Executive Director of the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) traces the history of the inclusion of students with disabilities in large-scale assessments, addressing the history of assessment for students with disabilities and how the current assessment context and projected future events relate to this history.
Published: 2016-06-30 - NCEO Reports: 2018-19 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and English Learners with Disabilities (#428)
This is the 22nd report by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) that describes how states publicly report assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. The purpose of this report is to examine the extent to which states reported 2018–19 assessment 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). It also describes how states report assessment participation and performance data to the public online. It summarizes these data for grades 4 and 8, and high school, with additional analyses that focus on average performance gaps across years. 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: December 2021 - NCEO Reports: 2017-18 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and English Learners with Disabilities (#419)
This is the 21st report by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) that describes how states publicly report assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. The purpose of this report is to examine the extent to which states reported 2017–18 assessment 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). It also describes how states report assessment participation and performance data to the public online. It summarizes these data for grades 4 and 8, and high school, with additional analyses that focus on average performance gaps across years. 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: December 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 
NCEO Reports: 2016-17 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELs with Disabilities (#411)This is the 20th report by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) that describes how states publicly report assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. The purpose of this report is to examine the extent to which states reported 2016-17 assessment 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). It also describes how states report assessment participation and performance data to the public online. It summarizes these data for grades 4 and 8, and high school, with additional analyses that focus on average performance gaps across years. 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: October 2019