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NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2016-2017 APR Snapshot #20: Students in Special Education Assigned Assessment Accommodations (#20)Formats: OnlineThis brief provides information on the number of students with disabilities assigned 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 2016-2017 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 2019
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 Brief: Considerations for Consortia as States Transition Away from AA-MAS (#7)A brief addressing the need for consortia to assist their member states in moving away from the alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). It focuses on key considerations for consortia as they address the inclusion of low-performing students in all member states, informed by the lessons learned from the AA-MAS. Topics highlighted in this brief are: including low-performing students in field test designs, customizing non-summative assessments to include low-performing students, and collecting and examining data on this group of students.
Published: February 2014
Lessons Learned in Federally Funded Projects that Can Improve the Instruction and Assessment of Low Performing Students with DisabilitiesFormats: PDFA report detailing the work of researchers from projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education in 2006-2007 under three funding sources (General Supervision Enhancement Grants, Enhanced Assessment Grants, and Supplemental Funding) who were invited to compile their major findings and discuss the lessons they learned from their studies on alternate assessments based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). The intent of this publication is to carry these lessons forward to the creators of next generation assessments. The timing for this information is critical, as funding for AA-MAS research has ended, and administration of AA-MAS tests is expected to cease in many states when new assessments are ready in 2014-2015. Almost all students with disabilities who were eligible for an AA-MAS will then be participating in the new general assessments. It is imperative that the lessons learned from this group of projects about the students and the barriers they experience during assessment are well understood as these changes occur. Researchers report on 14 separate projects involving 26 states, and the report is organized into four main sections: The Students, Test Development, Technology-enhanced Assessment, and System Implications.
Published: 2013
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 Synthesis Reports: Earning a High School Diploma through Alternative Routes (#76)A report based on a study examining the alternative routes to passing the high school exit exam that were available during the school year 2008-09 to students to earn a standard high school diploma. It examines alternative routes in the 26 states with active or soon-to-be active exit exams, and documents the alternative routes available for all students and those specifically for students with disabilities. Earning a standard diploma has increased in importance during the past several years. Not only is it a document that improves postschool outcomes, but it also has become a part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability system at the high school level--with the required graduation rate including only those students who have earned a regular/standard high school diploma or higher. Complicating matters in several states is the addition of an exit exam requirement to the traditional coursework requirements. The addition of a testing requirement to other requirements for earning a standard diploma is a challenge for students who do not perform well on assessments. Many, but not all, of these students have disabilities.
Published: June 2010
NCEO Synthesis Reports: A Comparison of IEP/504 Accommodations Under Classroom and Standardized Testing Conditions: A Preliminary Report on SEELS Data (#63)This year 2006 report uses SEELS data to examine accommodation use across different education conditions, comparing IEP and 504 Plan accommodations to what students reportedly received in the classroom and on standardized tests. Findings show a lack of alignment in accommodation use among IEP/504 plans, classroom conditions, and state testing situations. Further, some variability is seen for students with different categorical labels. The author notes that continued monitoring of alignment should continue.
Published: September 2006
NCEO Synthesis Reports: One State's Story: Access and Alignment to the GRADE-LEVEL Content for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (#57)This year 2005 report presents a case study from the state of Massachusetts for providing students with significant cognitive disabilities with grade-level aligned content. It addresses opportunity to learn, and emphasizes the importance of working to get these students as close as possible to the grade-level standards that typical students are learning, as this is important for the student's education and is an important statement to make about the goal of special education. The author then describes how Massachusetts equips special educators with a conceptual standards roadmap of what is expected of all students, a process for customizing that curriculum for each student., and a method of data collection to document a student's progress learning targeted skills in the student's portfolio that gets used in the school, and later submitted to the state as an alternate assessment.
Published: December 2005
NCEO State Surveys: 1997 State Special Education Outcomes: A Report on State Activities During Educational ReformFormats: PDFThis report presents the results of the sixth survey of state activities in the assessment of educational outcomes for students with disabilities conducted by NCEO since 1991. NCEO sent the survey to directors of special education of all the 50 regular states and the 10 unique states that provide special education under the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Results are presented in seven sections: (1) Students with disabilities and standards-based reform, (2) Measuring the participation of students with disabilities in statewide testing, (3) state activities in developing alternate assessments, (4) Using assessment results for students with disabilities, (5) Individualized Educational Programs and assessments, (6) Measuring non-academic outcomes for students with disabilities, and (7) Current issues and technical assistance needs.
Published: November 1997- NCEO State Surveys: 2023 Survey of States: Trends, Accomplishments, and Challenges
This report highlights the findings of the sixteenth survey of states conducted by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). It has been administered for more than three decades to collect information from states about the participation and performance of students with disabilities in the assessments that comprise the comprehensive assessment system. Topics addressed included: accessibility and accommodations, alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS), interim assessments, accountability, English learners with disabilities, technology, graduation requirements, State Systemic Improvement Plans (SSIPs) / State-identified Measurable Results (SiMRs), family engagement, and technical assistance needs.
Published: February 2024 
NCEO Newsletter: February 2019 issueFormats: OnlineIn this newsletter, we highlight several publications that have been released since our October, 2018 newsletter. They include a brief on approaches to examining district alternate assessment participation rates, a proceedings document on the 1% Cap National Convening, and a brief on suggestions for showing that proficiency on a state’s alternate achievement standards are consistent with the requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Also in this issue is an update on news from the TIES project (including recent publications and the project’s Facebook page). Finally, in this issue, we provide information on sessions at the annual conferences of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME).
Published: February 2019
NCEO Newsletter: June 2018 issueFormats: OnlineIn this issue, we highlight several upcoming events, plus a couple of new reports available from NCEO. First, the upcoming pre-conference session to the National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA) in June in San Diego. The pre-conference session will focus on the use of speech-to-text. Following that is a listing of the sessions in which NCEO staff are participating during the NCSA conference, as well as at the International Test Commission Conference in Montreal at the beginning of July. Also highlighted in this issue are two new reports.
Published: June 2018
NCEO Newsletter: October 2015 issueFormats: OnlineAn issue providing a link to the new NCEO Web site, with many new topics and lots of new information, plus summaries of, and links to, several new NCEO products. Among them is the report on the National Conference on Student Assessment pre-conference forum, titled Implementing Accessibility Frameworks for ALL Students, which focuses on the challenges and opportunities of the new context of many new assessments. This issue also highlights the results from the 2014 Survey of States, a report on graduation policies for students with disabilities who participate instates' general assessments, and the latest Data Analytics report on public reporting of state assessment data on students with disabilities.
Published: October 2015
NCEO Newsletter: February 2015 issueFormats: OnlineAn issue highlighting findings from a recent National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) report on graduation requirements for students with significant cognitive disabilities who participate in the alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). This issue also provides snapshots of updates on the six assessments consortia - PARCC, Smarter Balanced, DLM, NCSC, ASSETS, and ELPA21! These snapshots focus on the consortia's efforts for students with disabilities and ELLs, including ELLs with disabilities. Finally, if you will be in Palm Springs for the ATP Conference, or in San Diego for the CEC Conference, or in Chicago for the AERA/NCME Conferences, NCEO has for you a list of the sessions that will be delivered, moderated, or chaired by Center staff.
Published: February 2015
NCEO Technical Reports: A Summary of the Research on the Effects of Test Accommodations: 2007-2008 (#56)The use of accommodations for both instruction and assessment continues to be of great importance for students with disabilities. Numerous efforts are underway to ensure that students with disabilities participate meaningfully in more inclusive classrooms and large-scale assessments. Still, there is a need for greater understanding of the ways in which accommodations are selected and implemented during classroom instruction and assessments. The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations, as well as to identify promising areas of research likely to contribute to understanding of current and emerging issues.
Published: May 2010- NCEO Annual Performance Reports and State Performance Plans: 2006-2007 State Assessment DataFormats: PDF
A report summarizing the 2006-2007 state assessment information that was submitted by states in their Annual Performance Reports. States and other educational entities receiving Part B funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) submitted their Annual Performance Reports and Section 618 Table 6 data together to the U.S. Secretary of Education on or before February 2008. This report contains information on large-scale assessment participation and performance data for the 2006-2007 school year.
Published: July 2009 
NCEO Technical Reports: Nearing the Target in Disaggregated Subgroup Reporting to the Public on 2004-2005 Assessment Results (#46)This year 2007 report describes the public reporting of participation and performance data for students with disabilities published on state department of education web sites for the 2004-2005 school year. It describes the state assessment systems, how data were reported, and achievement gaps. It concludes with recommendations for public reporting.
Published: April 2007
Self-Study Guide for the Development of Statewide Assessments that Include Students with DisabilitiesFormats: OnlineThis year 1996 self-study guide is designed to help state education agency (SEA) staff evaluate and revise their assessment policies and procedures in a way that promotes the participation of all students in some form of their state assessment programs. More specifically, it is intended for staff responsible for the state assessment system and staff responsible for the education of students with disabilities. It also could be used by test development contractors and stakeholders who are serving on state task forces to develop state assessment systems. And, this guide should be helpful to local education agency staff who wish to revise their own assessments to include all students.
Published: 1996- MIDAS Project Reports: Teachers’ Perspectives on Using Multiple Measures of Academic Achievement to Inform Instruction of Students on the Cusp Between the AA-AAAS and the General Assessment (#103)Formats: PDF
This report presents the findings of online focus groups conducted with teachers to learn more about their experiences using multiple measures to inform instructional decision making for students on the cusp between the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS) and the general state assessment used for accountability.
Published: July 2024 - 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