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- NCEO Reports: A Summary of the Research on the Effects of K–12 Test Accommodations: 2021 (#438)Formats: PDF
This report provides an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations. Previous reports by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) have covered research published since 1999. In this report, we summarize the research published in 2021. During 2021, 12 research studies addressed testing accommodations in the U.S. K–12 education system. The research published in the year 2021 addressed several critical areas such as the effects of accommodations on student performance and educators’ knowledge, perceptions, and implementation practices regarding accommodations. The research also identifies emerging trends such as the use of paper-and-pencil accommodations in digital environments, the role of individualized accommodations, and the increased research in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) content areas.
Published: February 2023 - NCEO Newsletter: February 2023 issueFormats: Online
This issue highlights a disproportionality calculator tool that can be used to examine disproportionality with respect to student subgroup participation in the alternate assessment; a brief on including students with disabilities in K-2 assessments; a brief on involving students with disabilities in selecting accessibility features and accommodations; and a policy analysis of how states’ policies address the qualifications and training requirements for test administrators, proctors, and accommodations providers. This issue also contains an updated list of accommodations included in the NCEO Accommodations Toolkit. And we provide information on upcoming conferences NCEO staff will present at.
Published: 1/30/2023 - NCEO Brief: Suggestions for Involving Students in Selecting and Implementing Accommodations (#30)
This Brief provides an overview of how students’ insights on the usefulness and feasibility of various accessibility features and accommodations should be taken into account when identifying accessibility features and accommodations for instruction and assessment. Students are often the best source of information about their strengths and needs, and what helps. This Brief uses synthesized and summarized research NCEO conducted on the perceptions of students with disabilities regarding accommodations between 1999 and 2021, and provides suggestions for soliciting students’ perceptions on accommodations and involving them in advocating for their needs.
Published: January 2023 - NCEO Data Analytics: State Assessment Participation and Performance of Students with IEPs, 2018-2019 (#16)Formats: Online
This interactive report presents data on the participation and performance of students receiving special education services in statewide assessments used for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability. Using federally submitted data from the 2018-19 school year, this report presents information on participation and performance in reading and mathematics statewide assessments. This report also includes state profiles for students with disabilities’ participation rates and performance.
Published: January 2023 - NCEO Data Analytics: State Assessment Participation and Performance of Students with IEPs, 2017-2018 (#15)Formats: Online
This interactive report presents data on the participation and performance of students receiving special education services in statewide assessments used for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability. Using federally submitted data from the 2017-18 school year, this report presents information on participation and performance in reading and mathematics statewide assessments. This report also includes state profiles for students with disabilities’ participation rates and performance.
Published: January 2023 - 1% Toolkit: Disproportionality in the Alternate Assessment Calculator: A Tool for State and Local Education Agencies (NCEO Tool #12)
This Brief explains a tool that State and Local Education Agencies (SEAs and LEAs) can use to examine disproportionality with respect to student group participation in their alternate assessment aligned to alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). Examining disproportionality with regard to alternate assessment participation is essentially an inquiry into whether certain groups are over- or under-identified as having a most significant cognitive disability. Participation data for groups of interest (e.g., race/ethnicity, economically disadvantaged, English learner status, chronic absenteeism) can be entered for a SEA or LEA. The tool then calculates the risk ratio, which is a way to describe the relationship of observed versus expected proportions.
Published: January 2023 - NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2018-2019 APR Snapshot #27: AA-AAAS Participation and PerformanceFormats: Online
This report summarizes Alternate Assessment based on Alternate Academic Achievement Standards (AA-AAAS) data used for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability. Using federally submitted data for the 2018-2019 school year, we present information on the number of students participating in the AA-AAAS and the performance of those students. An AA-AAAS has been developed by each state to measure the academic achievement of students with significant cognitive disabilities. We present data for the 50 regular states as well as the 10 unique states (American Samoa, Bureau of Indian Education, District of Columbia, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Virgin Islands).
Published: December 2022 - NCEO Reports: State Requirements for Test Administrators, Proctors, and Accommodations Providers Who Administer Tests to Students with Disabilities, English Learners, and English Learners with Disabilities (#437)
To help ensure that assessments are properly administered, states have developed policies about who can administer or proctor assessments, and the training they must have. This report presents the findings of our analysis of states’ 2021 policies on the qualifications and requirements for test administrators, proctors, and accommodations providers for general state summative content assessments (e.g., math, language arts, science), specifically as they relate to students with disabilities, English learners, and English learners with disabilities. The individuals who administer or proctor assessments, as well as those who provide accommodations (e.g., scribes, test readers, sign language interpreters, translators), need to be qualified and knowledgeable about how to appropriately administer assessments and how to provide accommodations.
Published: 11/16/2022 - Parent-Educator Toolkit: En Español: Working with Your Child's Teacher Using the multilingual Parent Educator ToolkitFormats: Free Video
The parents of English learners need to be involved in decisions about accessibility features for their children. The multilingual Parent-Educator Toolkit consists of several concise briefs to guide parents through this process. This Spanish-language video shows how parents can work with their child’s teacher to make decisions in using accessibility features for their child.
Published: 11/3/2022 - Parent-Educator Toolkit: Working with Your Child's Teacher Using the multilingual Parent Educator ToolkitFormats: Free Video
The parents of English learners need to be involved in decisions about accessibility features for their children. The multilingual Parent-Educator Toolkit consists of several concise briefs to guide parents through this process. This video shows how parents can work with their child’s teacher to make decisions in using accessibility features for their child. This English-language video provides subtitles in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese that can be turned on in the Settings feature.
Published: 11/3/2022 - Parent-Educator Toolkit: En Español: Building Successful Communication with the School Using the Multilingual Parent Educator ToolkitFormats: Free Video
The parents of English learners need to be involved in decisions about accessibility features for their children. The multilingual Parent-Educator Toolkit consists of several concise briefs to guide parents through this process. This Spanish-language video helps parents understand what the resources are and how to use them.
Published: 11/3/2022 - Parent-Educator Toolkit: Building Successful Communication with the School Using the Multilingual Parent Educator ToolkitFormats: Free Video
The parents of English learners need to be involved in decisions about accessibility features for their children. The multilingual Parent-Educator Toolkit consists of several concise briefs to guide parents through this process. This video helps parents understand what the resources are and how to use them. This English-language video provides subtitles in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese that can be turned on in the Settings feature.
Published: 11/3/2022 - 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 - Understanding English Learner Accommodations : Translated Test DirectionsFormats: Free Video
The video describes one of the testing accommodations allowed for English learners on West Virginia state assessments. It describes the West Virginia policy on using translated test directions as an English-language support. The video is part of a series called “Understanding English learner accommodations,” a set of resources created for the West Virginia Department of Education.
Published: 11/3/2022 - Understanding English Learner Accommodations : Bilingual Word to Word DictionariesFormats: Free Video
The video describes one of the testing accommodations allowed for English learners on West Virginia state assessments. It describes the West Virginia policy on using bilingual word to word dictionaries as English-language supports. The video is part of a series called “Understanding English learner accommodations,” a set of resources created for the West Virginia Department of Education.
Published: 11/3/2022 - Understanding English Learner Accommodations : Electronic TranslatorsFormats: Free Video
The video describes one of the testing accommodations allowed for English learners on West Virginia state assessments. It describes the West Virginia policy on using an electronic translator as an English-language support. The video is part of a series called “Understanding English learner accommodations,” a set of resources created for the West Virginia Department of Education.
Published: 11/3/2022 - Accommodations Toolkit: Color Contrast: States’ Accessibility Policies, 2022Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for color contrast is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 10/18/2022 - Accommodations Toolkit: Color Contrast: ResearchFormats: Online
This fact sheet on color contrast is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). It summarizes information and research findings on the use of color contrast as an accessibility feature or accommodation.
Published: 10/18/2022 - Accommodations Toolkit: Spell Check: States’ Accessibility Policies, 2022Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for spell check is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 10/18/2022 - Accommodations Toolkit: Spell Check: ResearchFormats: Online
This fact sheet on spell check is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). It summarizes information and research findings on the use of spell check as an accessibility feature or accommodation.
Published: 10/18/2022