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- 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 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: State Alternate Assessments: Status as IDEA Alternate Assessment Requirements Take Effect (#35)Formats: OnlineA report describing the approaches states were taking, as of the year 2000, to alternate assessments for the small number of students with disabilities who could not participate in state and district-wide assessment programs. The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) developed an online survey on the development of alternate assessments and received responses from all 50 states. In addition, five educational units that received IDEA Part B funds (American Samoa, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Marshall Islands, Virgin Islands, and Washington DC) completed the survey. While the presentation in this report of all the approaches states are taking does not imply endorsement of any specific state alternate assessment practices, it does indicate that states were still moving in many directions despite regulations suggesting directions for development.
Published: June 2000
NCEO Technical Reports: The Identification of People With Disabilities in National Databases: A Failure to Communicate (#6)Formats: PDFThis year 1993 report presents an analysis of how students with disabilities were identified in national databases. It examined 19 national data collection programs in the U.S. Departments of Education, Commerce, Justice, and Health and Human Services, as well as databases from the National Science Foundation. Findings showed significant variability was evident in the disability categories used both within and across the national data collection programs. Suggestions are provided for improving disability identification in collecting and reporting policy relevant information.
Published: September 1993- NCEO Reports: Speech-Language Pathologists’ Experiences with Accessibility and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities (#430)
This report presents the findings of a study aimed to address the gap between policy and practice for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who serve students identified with a speech-language impairment, including other co-existing disabilities. The following research questions were addressed: (1) What factors influence how SLPs make accessibility and accommodations decisions for students with disabilities, including English learners with disabilities? (2) How do SLPs participate in the IEP team classroom and assessment accessibility and accommodations decision-making process for students with disabilities, including English learners with disabilities? And (3) Do SLPs have professional development needs about accessibility and accommodations?
Published: December 2021 
NCEO Newsletter: February 2018 issueFormats: Online2018 greetings from NCEO. In this issue, a new webpage on the NCEO website is highlighted, as well as a new report on states' alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) participation guidelines and definitions of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Also in this issue is an update on the activities of the DIAMOND project, which is developing professional development materials, including online modules, on accessibility and accommodations. Finally, in this issue, we provide information on sessions at the annual conferences of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME).
Published: February 2018- NCEO Technical Reports: Availability of Data on School Completion Outcomes and Indicators (#8)Formats: PDF
This year 1994 report examines the extent to which indicators in the model of outcomes and indicators developed by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) were found in states at the school completion level. The model contained eight domains or content areas. Data managers from 36 states or territories reported that data were available for indicators in the Presence and Participation and Contribution and Citizenship domains, but few data were available for the remaining six areas. The report discusses the need to establish new instruments and data collection systems in order to report outcomes valued by educators and parents.
Published: January 1994 - "Welcome to NCEO" VideoFormats: Online
This short video provides an overview of the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: July 2021 
NCEO Policy Directions: Putting it All Together - Including Students with Disabilities in Assessment and Accountability Systems (#16)This year 2003 report provides an overview of key components of inclusive assessment and accountability systems and to highlight how they fit together to form a cohesive whole that facilitates the intended benefits of standards-based reform.
Published: October 2003- NCEO Reports: How Students Who Take the AA-AAAS Are Included in State Systemic Improvement Plans (SSIP): An Analysis of FFY 2021 SSIPs (#449)
This report presents the findings of an analysis of states’ FFY 2021 State Systemic Improvement Plans (SSIPs) that examined how students who participate in the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS) were included in State-identified Measurable Results (SiMRs) related to student performance. Students who take the AA-AAAS have the most significant cognitive disabilities. This analysis revealed significant gaps in how students who take the AA-AAAS were included in these improvement efforts.
Published: April 2025 - NCEO Brief: Including Students with Disabilities in K-2 Academic Assessments (#28)
This Brief provides an overview of issues related to the inclusion of students with disabilities and English learners with disabilities in early grade (i.e., K-2) assessments. State academic assessments are required by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) starting in grade 3. Academic assessments administered in earlier grades often are used to measure progress or growth, for instructional decision making, to predict grade 3 summative assessment performance, and for tracking literacy for reading guarantees. Even though the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that students with disabilities participate in state and district-wide assessments administered before grade 3, these students have sometimes been excluded. This Brief also suggests strategies for improved practices.
Published: November 2022 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: States' Flexibility Waiver Plans for Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) (#96)A report compiling, analyzing, and summarizing what states said about the Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) in their waiver applications. The U.S. Department of Education offered these waivers to states that requested flexibility from some of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act accountability requirements. The states' waiver applications included information that pertained to the AA-AAS, alternate achievement standards, and the students with disabilities who participate in the AA-AAS.
Published: 2014
NCEO Brief: State Assessment Decision-Making Processes for ELLs with Disabilities (#9)A brief presenting information on what is known about assessment decision-making processes for English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities. It highlights information that has been collected by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) as well as information from other sources. Topics addressed in the brief include: (a) required assessment decision-making processes, (b) experts' recommendations about assessment decision making for ELLs with disabilities, (c) resources available to guide assessment decision making, (d) standards-based IEPs, and (e) recommended participants on the decision-making team. Conclusions focus on the six key areas in which policymakers should provide guidance for educators.
Published: June 2014
NCEO Technical Reports: Using the Think Aloud Method (cognitive labs) to Evaluate Test Design for Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners (#44)This year 2006 report describes research on think aloud methods used to detect design issues in large scale assessments. Students included in this study were students with learning disabilities, hearing impairments, cognitive disabilities, English learners, and students without disabilities proficient in English. Findings address the ability of specific student groups to participate in the think aloud procedure and the level of mathematics items with most informative data.
Published: August 2006- CCSSO Accessibility Manual: How To Select, Administer, And Evaluate Use Of Accessibility Supports For Instruction And Assessment Of All StudentsFormats: Word
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Accessibility Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate Use of Accessibility Supports for Instruction and Assessment of All Students establishes guidelines for states to use for the selection, administration, and evaluation of accessibility supports for instruction and assessment of all students, including students with disabilities, English learners, English learners with disabilities, and students without an identified disability or English learner status. This resource serves state education agency (SEA) leaders in several ways, and it can be used as a customizable base for or extension of education-accessibility manuals.
Published: May 2021 
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 Reports: Principles and Characteristics of Inclusive Assessment Systems in a Changing Assessment Landscape (#400)This document is the fourth in a series of Principles documents produced by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). NCEO revisited and revised its 2008 Principles for inclusive assessment systems to respond to the many changes in the current educational assessment context. The revised Principles reflect a broader perspective that acknowledges that the Principles should apply not only for students with disabilities but also for English learners (ELs) and ELs with disabilities, as well as to all types of assessments in assessment systems. Similar to previous documents, it is designed to identify the principles and characteristics of inclusive assessment systems.
Published: February 2016
Assessment Principles and Guidelines for ELLs with DisabilitiesA report detailing the work of an Institute project called Improving the Validity of Assessment Results for English Language Learners with Disabilities (IVARED) that has identified essential principles of inclusive and valid assessments for English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities. These principles were developed from a review process with nationally recognized experts in special education, English as a second language or bilingual education, assessment, and accountability. Additional input was obtained through discussion of the principles at national assessment and education conferences, as well as during meetings of the Council of Chief State School Officers State Collaborative on Assessments and Student Standards (SCASS) groups. This report presents five core principles of valid assessments for this population of students, along with a brief rationale and specific guidelines that reflect each principle.
Published: 2013
Moving Your Numbers: Moving Your Numbers: Five Districts Share How They Used Assessment and Accountability to Increase Performance for Students With Disabilities as Part of District-wide ImprovementFormats: PDFA report examining how school districts can increase the performance of students with disabilities and other at-risk learners as part of whole-district reform efforts. It includes case studies of featured districts that provide evidence that students with disabilities, like all other students, can learn at higher levels when adults focus their collective efforts on improving instructional practice, consistently implement core work across the district, and use assessment and accountability as a lever for ongoing system and student learning and improvement.
Published: 2011
NCEO State Surveys: 2009 Survey of States - Accomplishments and New Issues at the End of a Decade of ChangeA 2009 report providing a snapshot of the new initiatives, trends, accomplishments, and emerging issues during this important period of standards-based education reform as states document the academic achievement of students with disabilities. It summarizes the 12th survey of states by the Institute's National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). Results are presented for all 50 states and 8 of the 11 federally-funded entities (unique states).
Published: June 2010