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NCEO Policy Directions: Considerations When Including Students with Disabilities in Test Security Policies (#23)A report concluding that assessments better measure what students know and can do when states and consortia thoughtfully consider how to balance test security and accessibility. Many states are concerned that their test security policies may not adequately address accommodated tests, alternate assessments, and other related issues. For example, a survey conducted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (2013) found that 45 states believed that their state test was vulnerable to cheating when testing students in need of accommodations. Test security policies and procedures need to address test administration procedures, accommodations, and other issues related to students with disabilities to help ensure the integrity and validity of a test. A fundamental consideration when evaluating the validity of an assessment is the "fairness" of the test.
Published: February 2015
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
NCEO Technical Reports: Characteristics of Low Performing Special Education and Non-Special Education Students on Large-Scale Assessments (#60)A report investigating whether the characteristics of the lowest performing students in special education differ from the characteristics of the lowest performing students who are not in special education. The investigation in this report used data from low performing students in four states: Alabama, Hawaii, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Achievement data were disaggregated by three demographic characteristics (gender, race/ethnicity, and income status) for students taking the reading or mathematics assessments in fifth or eighth grade. In addition, researchers tracked data for each student over three years to identify how students moved in and out of the low performing category (low performing was defined as the tenth percentile and below for this report) across time.
Published: March 2012
Trends in the Participation and Performance of Students with Disabilities (NCEO Brief)A brief describing the results of an analysis of trends in the public reporting of state assessment results for students with disabilities. The analysis was conducted on a compilation of publicly reported assessment data gathered from state Web sites and personnel during the data collection for four previous analyses completed by the Institute's National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). These data were supplemented with data obtained from current state education Web sites. This trend analysis covered the years 2001-02 to 2004-05, and examined both participation and performance. The goal of the analysis was to determine:
- Whether progress has been made by states in publicly reporting the participation and performance of students with disabilities on state assessments
- The nature of trends in the four years of participation and performance data for students with disabilities.
This brief is based on the 2008 report, Technical Report 50: Trends in the Participation and Performance of Students with Disabilities, published by NCEO.
Published: 2008
Parent Spotlight: Parent Spotlight on 504 Plans and Common Core State Standards and AssessmentsFormats: PDFThis booklet was written to provide information to parents and others about 504 accommodation plans and the newly adopted academic standards, the Common Core State Standards.
Published: April 2014
Parent Spotlight: Parent Spotlight on IEPs and Common Core State Standards and AssessmentsFormats: PDFThis booklet was written to provide information to parents and others about Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and the newly adopted academic standards, the Common Core State Standards.
Published: April 2014
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
NCEO Newsletter: October 2017 issueFormats: OnlineIn this issue, we share several new reports available from NCEO. One is a report on a forum held prior to the National Conference on Students Assessment to discuss text readers and their availability to all students on many assessments. Another report now available on the NCEO website presents the results of the 2016 survey of states. Another report is a brief on making decisions about exiting English learner (EL) services for ELs with disabilities. NCEO also announces a new center on inclusive policies and procedures in this issue. Finally, in this issue we look forward to two future activities. At the end of October, NCEO will attend the annual conference of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education to lead two discussion sessions known as YOU PICKS on the 1% cap and the alternate diploma. And, in November, NCEO will share information on using formative and interim assessments to improve student learning at the annual conference of the Teachers of Education Division of CEC.
Published: October 2017
Forum on Implementing Accessibility Frameworks for ALL StudentsFormats: PDFSixty individuals representing staff from state departments of education, school districts, other countries, testing and testing-related companies, and other educational organizations participated in a forum on June 22, 2015 in San Diego, California, to discuss implementing accessibility frameworks for all students, including students in general education, students who are English language learners (ELLs), and students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans. The forum was a pre-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). Although this report summarizes the introductory information provided to forum participants, its main purpose is to describe the panel presentations and the facilitated forum discussions.
Published: October 2015
NCEO Newsletter: June 2015 issueFormats: OnlineAn issue providing a preview of the National Conference on Student Assessment pre-conference forum that NCEO is holding with the Assessing Special Education Students SCASS - Implementing Accessibility Frameworks for ALL Students. It focuses on the challenges and opportunities of the new context of many assessments - technology based, with new tools available to all students, some accessibility features available to students with documented needs, and accommodations for a defined set of students. The discussion is free and open to the public. Also highlighted in this issue is a new approach that NCEO is taking to present some of its rich data-based reports. NCEO's new series of Data Analytics reports allows the user to obtain customized information about state data and policies. The first report, highlighted in this issue, focuses on graduation requirements for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Look for other topics in the near future! The last article tells how Martha Thurlow was honored at the 2015 Council for Exceptional Children conference in San Diego in April with the CEC Lifetime Achievement Award.
Published: June 2015
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Characteristics of States' Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards in 2009-2010 (#80)A report tracking the characteristics of states' alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-MAS) that the National Center on Educational Outcomes has been following since 2007. The current report found 13 states that by the 2009-10 school year had developed, or were developing, what they considered to be an AA-MAS, and two additional states (Kansas and Louisiana) had received federal approval. This study also tracked whether states' AA-MAS were computer-based and whether the states' documents included considerations for English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities. Four of the thirteen states had a computer-based test. Documents from six states suggested that the needs of ELL students participating in the AA-MAS were considered.
Published: November 2010
NCEO State Surveys: 2016 Survey of States: State Activities Amid Evolving Educational PoliciesA report providing a snapshot of the new initiatives, trends, accomplishments, and emerging issues during a period of new education laws and initiatives. This is the fifteenth such survey of states conducted by NCEO. States were continuing to address the need for inclusive assessments while facing new requirements for assessments and accountability systems.
Published: September 2017
NCEO Policy Directions: Non-Approved Accommodations: Recommendations for Use and Reporting (#11)Formats: OnlineThis year 2000 report is intended to help states and districts consider the issues surrounding the use of non-approved accommodations. Recommendations are provided for ways to use and report data from assessments taken with non-approved accommodations.
Published: May 2000
NCEO Technical Reports: State Reports on the Participation and Performance of English Language Learners with Disabilities in 2006-2007 (#54)A report reviewing state reports on the participation and performance of English Language Learners (ELLs) with Disabilities in 2006-2007. Previous data reports suggested that ELLs with disabilities tend to have a lower percentage of students scoring proficient than their English proficient peers on regular assessments. But in 2006-2007, ELLs with disabilities out-performed the total number of students taking alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards. This improvement surprised researchers, leading them to speculate on possible causes. However, not all states reported this data and, even among those that did, the number of students in these data is low, leading the researchers to urge caution in interpreting the practical significance of the differences in performance. On English language proficiency assessments, ELLs with disabilities usually scored lower than ELLs without disabilities on measures of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
Published: May 2009- NCEO Newsletter: February 2024 issueFormats: Online
NCEO’s February 2024 newsletter features several NCEO resources that address English learners with disabilities. The number of school-age English learners with disabilities is increasing, and greater attention is being given to their inclusion in state and district assessments. Articles highlight NCEO’s publications and webpages that focus on English learners with disabilities. The newsletter also has an article on considerations for the inclusion of students with disabilities in large-scale assessment in the past, present, and future, and upcoming presentations that NCEO staff will present.
Published: February 2024 
NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2008-2009 APR Snapshot #3: AA-AAS Participation and Performance (#3)Formats: OnlineThis year 2012 report summarizes the participation and performance of students with significant cognitive disabilities on Alternate Assessments based on Alternate Achievement Standards used by states for federal accountability, in 2008-2009.
Published: December 2012
TARA Reports: Students with Visual Impairments and Assistive Technology: Results from a Cognitive Interview Study in Five StatesFormats: PDFThe purpose of this study was to better understand use of assistive technology in instruction and assessment by students with visual impairments. The aim was to gather information that would be relevant to the creation of a new large-scale assessment that addressed reading as an activity that involved the use of a variety of technologies. In order to adequately determine assistive technology (AT) use, students themselves were interviewed and observed.
Published: August 2009
NCEO Minnesota Assessment Project Reports: Accommodations for Students with Limited English Proficiency: Analysis of Guidelines from States with Graduation Exams (#6)Formats: OnlineThis year 1996 report examines high stakes graduation testing guidelines, in states with these assessments, and describes trends in the types of testing accommodations allowed for English learners.
Published: August 1996- English Learners with Disabilities Toolkit: Using Data to Understand the Characteristics of English Learners with Disabilities in Your State (Tool 1)Formats: PDF
This tool is designed to provide state education agencies (SEAs), particularly assessment staff, with templates to use to display data on the characteristics of English learners with disabilities. The tool includes templates for examining languages spoken at home, disability categories, and English language proficiency (ELP) levels on both the general and alternate ELP assessments. States may customize this tool as needed to meet their needs.
Published: August 2024 - NCEO Participation Communication Toolkit: Communicating about Annual State Assessment Participation for All Students: A Communication Toolkit—PhotosFormats: Word
A collection of images that state education agencies, districts, and schools can use in social media to connect directly with families, educators, policymakers, and students. This collection of images is part of the Participation Communication Toolkit developed by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) to identify and describe reasons why all students, including students with disabilities, English learners, and English learners with disabilities should take state tests.
Published: 11/9/2021