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NCEO Minnesota Assessment Project Reports: Input from the Field on Assessing Students with Limited English Proficiency in Minnesota's Basic Requirements Exams (#2)Formats: OnlineThis year 1996 report summarizes survey data from 22 Minnesota school districts addressing the implementation of the Basic Standards Tests, focusing on the participation and accommodation of English learners.
Published: August 1996
NCEO Reports: Alternate Assessments for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Participation Guidelines and Definitions (#406)This report documents the status of states' assessment participation guidelines and definitions of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities that were in place just prior to the start of the 2017-18 school year. With the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 2015, renewed attention was paid to the importance of guidelines for participation in alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) and to understanding of who the students are who have significant cognitive disabilities. The analysis includes the factors that states indicated should and should not be considered when making decisions about participation in the AA-AAS. It also documents the format of the guidelines that states made available to decision makers. Finally, it examines the extent to which states provided an explicit definition of "students with the most significant cognitive disabilities."
Published: December 2017
Lessons Learned About Instruction from Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in College and Career Ready AssessmentsFormats: PDFThe new large-scale assessments rolled out by consortia and states are designed to measure student achievement of rigorous college- and career-ready (CCR) standards. Recent surveys of teachers in several states indicate that students with disabilities like many features of the new assessments, but that there also are challenges. Many of these challenges are related to instructional issues that need to be addressed to improve student outcomes. This Brief was prepared to provide information and suggestions for state education agencies (SEAs) and other technical assistance (TA) providers who work with local education agencies (LEAs). It highlights four main challenges identified by the teachers, and then addresses the implications for instruction, the relationship to CCR standards, and the implications for TA providers.
Published: January 2016- V4-3: Involving Students for Assessment AccommodationsFormats: Online
A student and her special education teacher talk about the use of a read aloud accommodation in math on the state test.
Published: 2014-05-05 - V4-4: Planning for Assessment Accommodations with StudentsFormats: Online
A special education teacher explains to a student receiving a read-aloud accommodation in math what will happen on test day.
Published: 2014-05-05 
NCEO Newsletter: October 2018 issueFormats: OnlineIn this issue, we highlight a report from the forum on speech-to-text and scribing that was held as a presession to the National Conference on Student Assessment. Several other NCEO reports are highlighted as well, including one on a literature review on measuring ELP progress of ELs with disabilities and ELs, one on publicly reported assessment results, and three on state assessment participation, performance, and accommodations data. Finally, this issue provides information on a new resource that is coming soon from NCEO's TIES Center, an Impact issue on inclusive education for K-8 students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
Published: October 2018
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Characteristics of States' Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards in 2010-2011 (#85)A report tracking test design changes between the alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) and regular assessment, whether states' AA-MAS were computer-based, whether states with computer-based tests (CBTs) included tutorial and practice test opportunities, and whether states' documents included considerations for English Language Learners (ELLs) with disabilities. Federal regulations introduced AA-MAS as another assessment option for students with disabilities in 2007. Eligible students may be from any disability category, and they must be considered unlikely to achieve grade-level proficiency within the time period covered by their Individualized Education Program (IEP) and have IEP goals based on grade-level content standards. NCEO has been tracking the characteristics of states' AA-MAS since 2007. According to the 2009 NCEO update on test characteristics, 13 states had developed what they considered to be an AA-MAS, and three states (Texas, Kansas, and Louisiana) had received federal approval. The further study reported in this publication found 17 states that by the 2010-11 academic school year had developed, or were developing, what they considered to be an AA-MAS, and one additional state (North Carolina) had received federal approval.
Published: September 2011- V5-3: Improving Assessment AccommodationsFormats: Online
The special education teacher meets with the district test coordinator. They talk about the student's experience on test day and possible changes to make next year.
Published: 2014-05-05 
NCEO Reports: 2014-15 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELs with Disabilities (#405)This is the eighteenth report by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) that describes how states publicly report online assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. This report presents information on publicly reported participation and performance data for students with disabilities for the 50 regular states and the 11 unique states (American Samoa, Bureau of Indian Education, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Department of Defense Education Activities, District of Columbia, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Palau, Puerto Rico, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands). Information on public reporting for English Learners (ELs) with disabilities is also included in this report.
Published: May 2017
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Test Security and Students with Disabilities: An Analysis of States' 2013-14 Test Security Policies (#95)A report analyzing how accommodated tests, and students with disabilities and the assessments they take, are addressed in state test security policies - a subject about which little is known. This analysis was conducted to partially fill this gap. The report provides a snapshot of how accommodated tests for students with disabilities, alternate assessments, and other related issues were addressed in states' test security policies in 2013-14. The specific research questions were, "What information do states' test security policies contain about students with disabilities and the assessments they take?" and "How are accommodations included in states test security policies?"
Published: June 2014
NCEO Technical Reports: Public Reporting of 2007-2008 Assessment Information on Students with Disabilities: Progress on the Gap Front (#57)A report analyzing public reporting of disaggregated assessment data for elementary and secondary students with disabilities in the United States - the 12th annual report by NCEO to do so. Reporting disaggregated performance data at the state and district level to the public is required of states by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); the 2007-2008 school year marks the ninth annual reporting period since this requirement was established, and the sixth reporting period since the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The public reporting of participation and performance for 2007-2008 assessments was fairly consistent with the reporting in 2006-2007. There continues to be a need for states to report clearly, to publicly report on accommodations use, and to strive to make the data that are reported accessible to those who seek them via public Web sites.
Published: March 2011
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Who Are the Students Who May Qualify for an Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS)? Focus Group Results (#79)A report summarizing the results of educator focus groups conducted by one state in a consortium dedicated to studying alternate assessments based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) eligibility issues. In 2008 and 2009, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction held three focus groups to accomplish three specific goals: (1) To help educators become familiar with federal regulatory language about students eligible for the AA-MAS; (2) to familiarize educators with issues that must be considered when determining which students might qualify for the AA-MAS; and (3) to help educators identify strategies for improving instruction and assessment practices for struggling learners.
Published: January 2011
PARA Accessible Reading Assessment Reports: Cognitive and Achievement Differences Between Students with Divergent Reading and Oral Comprehension Skills: Implications for Accessible Reading Assessment ResearchA study examining the question, "Are there any analysis of the Woodcock-Johnson III Battery (WJ III) data that might shed light on learner characteristics that differentiate students whose measured reading performance is below what might be considered their optimal/predicted reading performance?" The WJ III norm sample spans preschool through late adulthood and includes a diverse array of individually administered cognitive and achievement tests. Although the data set is not ideally designed for studying LAMR and MAMR (Less and More Accurately Measured Readers) effects, the results of an analysis of the WJ III data are potentially informative for research and development efforts focused on large-scale accessible reading assessment programs.
Published: May 2010- NCEO Newsletter: June 2025 issueFormats: Online
In this newsletter we highlight five key NCEO resources that explore various topics around the Alternate Assessment based on Alternate Academic Achievement Standards (AA-AAAS). Three of these are new resources, while the other two are popular past resources—our “In Case You Missed It” picks. Also, in this issue we provide information on NCEO presentations at the upcoming National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA) and our joint forum with the Council of Chief State School Officers’ (CCSSO) Assessment, Standards, and Education of Students with Disabilities (ASES) collaborative. The Forum, titled At a Crossroads: The Intersection of AT, AAC, and AI in the Education of Diverse Learners, will follow NCSA.
Published: June 2025 
NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2011-2012 APR Snapshot #7: State Assessment Participation and Performance of Students Receiving Special Education Services (#7)Formats: OnlineThis year 2014 report provides participation and performance information for students with disabilities in general assessments used for federal accountability in 2011-2011. Data include information on reading and math, focusing on grade eight.
Published: December 2014- NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2010-2011 APR Snapshot #5: Assessment Accommodations Use by Students Receiving Special Education Services (#5)Formats: Online
This year 2013 report provides information on the number of students with disabilities using accommodations and their performance on general statewide assessments used for federal accountability in 2010-2011. The report focuses on data in reading and math for grades four and eight.
Published: June 2013 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: 2009 State Policies on Assessment Participation and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities (#83)A report updating information on the state policies on assessment participation and accommodations that NCEO has been tracking and analyzing since 1992. NCEO last reported this information on these policies in 2008 (based on 2007 data). Policies from all 50 states and the District of Columbia are included in the report. In addition, current state accommodations policies were analyzed by grade and content area.
Published: September 2011
The Characteristics of Low Performing Students on Large-Scale Assessments (NCEO Brief)Formats: PDFA brief reporting the findings of a longitudinal analysis of three years of student-level demographic and performance data for four states: the 2004-05, 2005-06, and 2006-07 school years. Data sets were compiled for each state for students who were in grades 5 and 8 during the 2006-07 school year, and included student performance data on the regular Reading/English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics assessment. The goal of this analysis was to learn more about the characteristics of low performing students.
Published: 2010
NCEO English Language Learners (ELLs) with Disabilities Reports: Beyond Subgroup Reporting - English Language Learners with Disabilities in 2002-2003 Online State Assessment Reports (#10)This year 2005 report describes the extent that states report participation and performance data for English learners with disabilities for state administered tests in 2002-2003 public assessment reports.
Published: January 2005
NCEO State Surveys: 2001 State Special Education Outcomes - A Report on State Activities at the Beginning of a New DecadeThis year 2001 report summarizes a survey given to all states that addresses participation and performance of students with disabilities in statewide assessments and the first year of administering alternate assessments and including the results in accountability systems. The report is intended to help states view their own progress.
Published: June 2001