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- NCEO Reports: Using Interim Assessments to Appropriately Measure What Students with Disabilities Know and Can Do: Advisory Panel Takeaways and NCEO Recommendations (#427)
A report on a virtual meeting NCEO held on February 16 and 17, 2021 of an Interim Assessment Advisory Panel to tap into the panel members’ collective knowledge about using interim assessments to support valid interpretations of what students with disabilities know and can do. The panel represented psychometricians, researchers knowledgeable about students with disabilities, state education agency (SEA) assessment and special education leaders, local education agency (LEA) leaders, and parents. Interim assessments refer to assessments that are administered several times during a school year to measure student progress. The meeting purpose was to develop and disseminate guidance to state departments of education on how to enable all students with disabilities, including students with the most significant cognitive disabilities and English learners with disabilities, to participate in interim assessments in ways that yield valid inferences of what they know and can do.
Published: May 2021 
NCEO Newsletter: June 2020 issueFormats: OnlineThis newsletter highlights several new resources that address various aspects of distance learning, including a new brief on formative assessment strategies to improve distance learning outcomes for students with disabilities. We also are highlighting resources in the continually growing series on distance learning that is being developed by TIES Center, which is a NCEO affiliated project. This series is focused on instruction and engagement of students with significant cognitive disabilities in a distance learning environment. This issue also includes an article about a new brief on multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for all students, including students with significant cognitive disabilities, as well as an article about several new interactive Data Analytics which enable users to explore and visualize data about assessment participation and performance. We conclude with two articles about products created by a NCEO affiliated project, the Improving Instruction for English Learners Through Accessibility Decision Making project – a report that presents the findings of a literature review on research on test accommodations for English learners and English learners with disabilities, and information about two new professional development modules on accessibility decision making.
Published: June 2020
NCEO Newsletter: October 2016 issueFormats: OnlineThis issue highlights the news of NCEO's continued funding. It also summarizes several new reports. These include a report on the pre-session to the National Conference on Student Assessment, a forum on Common Language for States and Assessment Vendors. Consistent with the need for common language is the Accessibility Manual developed through the Council of Chief State School Officers. Information on the contents and tools in this new manual is provided here, along with links to the manual that is available to all states to adapt as desired. Another report highlighted here is the recent NCEO report that examines high school assessment accommodation policies of ACT, SAT, PARCC, and Smarter Balanced; this report raises issues of differences in policies and procedures that are likely to affect many students with disabilities. Finally, this issue highlights recent snapshot reports of assessment and accommodations data submitted by states' special education divisions to the U.S. Department of Education. These snapshots highlight assessment participation, use of accommodations, and performance on assessments.
Published: October 2016- NCEO Annual Performance Reports and State Performance Plans: 2004-2005 State Assessment DataFormats: PDF
A report summarizing assessment data from State Performance Plans.
Published: June 2007 - NCEO Annual Performance Reports and State Performance Plans: 2002-2003 State Assessment DataFormats: PDF
A report summarizing assessment data from State Performance Plans.
Published: June 2005 
Improving Instruction Briefs: Working with Language Interpreters: Information for PrincipalsThis Brief for principals answers questions about working with a language interpreter for families whose children are English learners. Clear, comprehensible communication between parents and educators is key to making appropriate decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. 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
A Summary of the Research on Test Accommodations for English Learners and English Learners with Disabilities: 2010-2018The purpose of this literature review is to examine the published English learner (EL) accommodations literature between 2010 and 2018 to provide an updated overview of research trends on this subject. Providing accommodations during assessments for students with disabilities has long been a standard requirement in federal education legislation. Providing assessment accommodations for English learners (ELs), on the other hand, is a newer requirement appearing only over the past few decades. As such, state assessment policies vary widely in terms of what accommodations are permitted for ELs on state assessments. Further, many of the allowable accommodations do not address students’ linguistic needs and there is not a large research base to document their effectiveness. In this review, the researchers examine the purpose of each study, the type of assessment measured, the content area assessed, the type of linguistic support accommodation examined, the characteristics of the research sample and the participants, the type of research design, the findings, and the author-identified limitations.
Published: 1/8/2020
NCEO Reports: 2015-16 High School Assessment Accommodations Policies: An Analysis of ACT, SAT, PARCC, and Smarter Balanced (#403)This report provides a snapshot of how accommodations were included in policies across ACT, SAT, Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), and Smarter Balanced during the 2015-16 school year. As required by federal and state legislation, all students, including students with disabilities and English learners (ELs), participate in state assessments used for accountability. Some states use assessments developed by consortia of states. States also are required to ensure that graduating students are college- and career-ready (CCR). Some states use state-administrations of the ACT or SAT as their measure of CCR. Many students with disabilities and ELs use accessibility features and accommodations to access each of these assessments. This report also analyzes differences in the accessibility framework, decision-making process, and terminology across the four assessments.
Published: July 2016
Moving Your Numbers: Parent/Family Companion Guide: Using Assessment and Accountability to Increase Performance for Students with Disabilities as Part of District-wide ImprovementFormats: PDFA guide, based on the report Moving Your Numbers: Improving Learning for Students with Disabilities as Part of District-wide Reform, providing an in-depth examination of how five school districts with vastly different student populations increased the performance of students with disabilities. While the report was developed primarily for use by those working at the state, school district, and school levels, it provides powerful information that can be used by parents and families interested in working to improve the academic performance of students with disabilities. Because of the very specific requirements of the federal special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), parents of students with disabilities engage with school personnel frequently via the formulation of their child's Individualized Education Programs and progress reports throughout the year. These parents are in a unique position to recognize, understand, and participate in key practices that improve learning. The findings presented in Moving Your Numbers can help pave the way for parents to become even more effective.
Published: 2012
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Common Misperceptions and Research-Based Recommendations for Alternate Assessment Based on Alternate Achievement Standards (#73)A report exploring misperceptions about assessments and the students who are assessed using Alternate Assessments based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS). The misperceptions have been encountered by the National Alternate Assessment Center (NAAC) and National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) in their collaborative work with states and educators on the AA-AAS. AA-AAS are designed so that students with the most significant cognitive disabilities can be included in large-scale accountability testing, and promote their access to the same interesting and challenging curriculum as their peers. This report explores common misperceptions related to three major themes: (a) the characteristics of students who participate in AA-AAS; (b) the content that should be taught and assessed by teachers; and (c) issues regarding the purpose and the validity of AA-AAS outcomes. For each misperception, it proposes research-based recommendations to address them, and refers to the recent literature on assessment, curriculum, and instruction for students with the most significant disabilities to support its analysis and recommendations.
Published: February 2010
Improving Instruction Briefs: Working with Language Interpreters: Information for Parents or Guardians (Vietnamese translation)Formats: PDFThis Brief, translated into Vietnamese, answers questions about working with a language interpreter that parents or guardians of students who are English learners might have. Clear, comprehensible communication between parents and educators is key to making appropriate decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. 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: June 2020
Improving Instruction Briefs: Working with Language Interpreters: Information for Parents or Guardians (Spanish translation)Formats: PDFThis Brief, translated into Spanish, answers questions about working with a language interpreter that parents or guardians of students who are English learners might have. Clear, comprehensible communication between parents and educators is key to making appropriate decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. 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: June 2020
Improving Instruction Briefs: Working with Language Interpreters: Information for Parents or Guardians (Arabic translation)Formats: PDFThis Brief, translated into Arabic, answers questions about working with a language interpreter that parents or guardians of students who are English learners might have. Clear, comprehensible communication between parents and educators is key to making appropriate decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. 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: June 2020
Improving Instruction Briefs: Working with Language Interpreters: Information for Parents or GuardiansThis Brief for parents or guardians of students who are English learners answers questions about working with a language interpreter. Clear, comprehensible communication between parents and educators is key to making appropriate decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. 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
Improving Instruction Briefs: Working with Language Interpreters: Information for TeachersThis Brief for teachers answers questions about working with a language interpreter for families whose children are English learners. Clear, comprehensible communication between parents and educators is key to making appropriate decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. 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
Improving Instruction Briefs: Working with Language Interpreters: Information for Parents or Guardians (Traditional Chinese translation)Formats: PDFThis Brief, translated into Traditional Chinese, answers questions about working with a language interpreter that parents or guardians of students who are English learners might have. Clear, comprehensible communication between parents and educators is key to making appropriate decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. 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: June 2020
Improving Instruction Briefs: Working with Language Interpreters: Information for Parents or Guardians (Simplified Chinese translation)Formats: PDFThis Brief, translated into Simplified Chinese, answers questions about working with a language interpreter that parents or guardians of students who are English learners might have. Clear, comprehensible communication between parents and educators is key to making appropriate decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. 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: June 2020
NCEO State Surveys: 2003 State Special Education Outcomes - Marching OnThis year 2003 report summarizes findings of a survey given to all states that addresses new initiatives, trends, accomplishments, and emerging issues as states document the academic achievement of students with disabilities.
Published: December 2003- NCEO Parent Fact Sheets: Engaging Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families (Fact Sheet #5 - Educator)
This Fact Sheet provides educators with strategies that will help them engage culturally and linguistically diverse families and their children. These strategies can help overcome the challenges of gaps in communication, cultural differences, culturally responsive teaching, and understanding home culture and individual students’ characteristics, including disability and English learner status. Additional strategies are provided for working with culturally and linguistically diverse families whose children have disabilities or are receiving English language development services.
Published: 9/21/2023 - NCEO Reports: The Formative Assessment Practices Landscape for Students with Disabilities: An Analysis of State Definitions and Practices, 2021 (#435)
This report outlines the approaches that state education agencies (SEAs) have taken in defining and using formative assessment practices, including practices to explicitly support students with disabilities. At the state level, there have been efforts to develop or adopt formal definitions of formative assessment practices that guide how these practices are used in instruction. Given the different approaches and definitions that might exist for formative assessment practices, this report aims to describe how states are communicating and supporting these practices with their districts and schools.
Published: May 2022