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Educational Policy Reform Research Institute Reports: Topical Review Seven: Accountability for Students with Disabilities Who Receive Special Education: Characteristics of the Subgroup of Students with Disabilities (#7)Formats: PDFThis year 2006 topical review is one of two that synthesize a set of analyses and studies that have been conducted under the auspices of the Educational Policy Reform Research Institute (EPRRI). This report presents the quantitative analyses, and its purpose is to examine specific features of the subgroup of students with disabilities as they relate to the specific accountability requirements.
Published: September 2006
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Use of Alternate Assessment Results in Reporting and Accountability Systems: Conditions for Use Based on Research and Practice (#43)Formats: OnlineThis report reviews current (2002) understanding of the technical and policy considerations involved in high quality alternate assessment. Based on research from early implementation and what are considered to be best practice approaches, this synthesis describes five steps in alternate assessment test development processes that allow interpretation and use of results in reporting and accountability.
Published: May 2002
NCEO Technical Reports: On the Road to Accountability: Reporting Outcomes for Students with Disabilities (#32)Formats: OnlineThis year 2001 report reviews state education documents for the year 1999-2000 to determine the public availability of important student outcome information on students with disabilities. The report describes state assessment systems, the reporting of participation and performance results, and the achievement gaps between students with disabilities and the total population for reading and math at select grades. It concludes with recommendations for public reporting.
Published: December 2001
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Principles and Characteristics of Inclusive Assessment and Accountability Systems (#40)Formats: OnlineThis year 2001 report presents six core principles of inclusive assessment and accountability systems with a brief rationale and specific characteristics that reflect each principle. These principles are based on a decade of NCEO's documentation of assessment and accountability systems and on review and comment from multiple stakeholders who share a common goal of improving outcomes for all students.
Published: November 2001
NCEO Technical Reports: Accountability Systems and Counting Students with Disabilities (#29)Formats: OnlineA report examining the extent to which students with disabilities were included in accountability systems of states in which there were high stakes for educational systems. This was the first such report by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). A search was conducted of states' education Web sites and direct links to their Web sites, examining the indicators on which states collected information (e.g., student indicators, staff indicators, program indicators, and use of resources indicators) as well as the consequences provided by the states (e.g., rewards, assistance, or sanctions).
Published: December 2000
NCEO Out-of-Level Testing Project Reports: Past and Present Understandings of Out-of-Level Testing: A Research Synthesis (#1)Formats: OnlineThis year 2000 report reviews the historical development for out-of-level testing, summarizes how the literature defines out-of-level testing, explains how it has been studied, gives the rationale used to support its use, and addresses what is missing from the literature.
Published: May 2000
NCEO Minnesota Assessment Project Reports: Unintended Consequences of the Minnesota Basic Standards Tests: Do the Data Answer the Questions Yet? (#23)Formats: OnlineThis year 2000 report presents a literature review on the effects of statewide testing policies on the education of students with and without disabilities to examine whether the perception of increased referrals for special education assessments or 504 Accommodation Plans at the local level was present in published research.
Published: January 2000- NCEO Minnesota Assessment Project Reports: Feasibility and Practicality of a Decision Making Tool for Standards Testing of Students with Limited English Proficiency (#22)Formats: Online
This year 1999 report describes a decision-making tool to provide educators of English learner and bilingual students with the most current participation and test accommodation guidelines for informed decisions. The report describes the tool and reports on the results of a study examining the tool's feasibility.
Published: December 1999 - NCEO Minnesota Assessment Project Reports: Participation and Performance of Students from non-English Language Backgrounds: Minnesota's 1996 Basic Standards Tests in Reading and Math (#17)Formats: Online
This year 1999 report summarizes the participation and performance of students from non-English language backgrounds taking the Minnesota Basic Standards Tests in Reading and Math for 1996.
Published: January 1999 - NCEO Maryland/Kentucky State Assessment Project: Performance Trends and Use of Accommodations on a Statewide Assessment: Students with Disabilities in the KIRIS On-Demand Assessments from 1992-93 through 1995-96 (#3)Formats: Online
A report from the past Maryland-Kentucky-NCEO Assessment Project, a federally funded effort supported, in part, by a grant to the Maryland State Department of Education.
Published: April 1998 
NCEO Policy Directions: Providing Assessment Accommodations for Students with Disabilities in State and District Assessments (#7)Formats: OnlineThis year 1997 report identifies issues to address in facilitating the provision of appropriate accommodations in state and district assessments. Issues focus on defining assessment accommodations, what types are available, who has input on their use, when they are used, how they affect results, and principles to guide decisions. The report ends with brief recommendations.
Published: June 1997- NCEO Minnesota Assessment Project Reports: Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, Spanish-Speaking, and Vietnamese Parents and Students Speak Out on Minnesota's Basic Standards Tests (#12)Formats: Online
This year 1997 report summarizes focus groups conducted on English learner participation in Minnesota's Basic Standards Tests involving English learners and their parents from the following language groups: Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Published: May 1997 - NCEO Policy Directions: Increasing the Participation of Students with Disabilities in State and District Assessments (#6)Formats: Online
This year 1997 report identifies considerations for increasing the participation of students with disabilities in state and district assessments. These include clarifying who should participate in these assessments, what principles should guide decisions about who participates, and how these considerations apply to graduation exams. The report ends with recommendations with steps to follow for aligning the principles to accountability systems.
Published: May 1997 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Opportunity-to-Learn Standards (#14)Formats: PDFThis report provides an overview of the use of the term "Opportunity to learn (OTL) standards in recent (1994) legislation, alternative perspectives on OTL standards, and state practices in the implementation of OTL standards. We examine how students with disabilities are treated in discussion of OTL standards, how people propose to measure OTL, and major issues surrounding the concept of OTL standards. Implications for students with disabilities are discussed, and we conclude with several recommendations.
Published: July 1994- NCEO Policy Directions: Guidelines for Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Large-Scale Assessments (#1)Formats: Online
This year 1994 report provides background on how students with disabilities have been excluded from large scale assessments and provides recommendations for the development of guidelines and monitoring practices that promote full participation of students with disabilities in large-scale assessment programs. It recommends guidelines for policies that address inclusion, accommodations and adaptations, and monitoring of implementation of these policies.
Published: May 1994 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Testing Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: A Review of the Literature (#4)Formats: PDFThis report is a review of literature (1993) pertaining to testing accommodations for people with disabilities. It draws on a wide range of information, from empirical studies conducted by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and by the American College Testing (ACT) Program, to policies for state assessment programs. Addressed in this report are policy and legal considerations, technical concerns, minimum competency and certification/licensure testing efforts, existing standards and accommodations allowed in state assessment systems.
Published: March 1993- NCEO Reports: A Summary of the Research on the Effects of K–12 Test Accommodations: 2023 (#451)Formats: Online
This report presents a synthesis of the research literature published in 2023 on testing accommodations for U.S. elementary and secondary students with disabilities. Most studies examined implementation practices and stakeholder perceptions of accommodations. Technology-based accommodations like magnification devices and text-to-speech were frequently studied. Key findings highlighted that accommodations were most effective when tailored to individual needs, and that teachers often lacked training despite feeling supported in decision-making.
Published: September 2025 - English Learners with Disabilities Toolkit: Deciding Whether an English Learner with a Disability Can Participate in All Domains of an English Language Proficiency Assessment (Tool 4)Formats: Online
This tool describes a way to ensure that all potential assessment participation decision makers are informed about the state’s English language proficiency assessments. It includes considerations for making a decision about exempting an individual English learner with a disability from participation in a particular English proficiency domain because the disability prevents access to that domain. States may customize this tool as needed to meet their needs.
Published: May 2026 - English Learners with Disabilities Toolkit: Deciding Whether an English Learner with a Disability Should Participate in the State Alternate English Language Proficiency Assessment (Tool 3)Formats: Online
This tool provides states with components to help ensure that all potential decision makers are informed about the state’s English language proficiency (ELP) assessments. It also provides considerations for making the decision about whether a student who is an English learner with a disability should participate in the alternate ELP assessment or the general ELP assessment. States may customize this tool as needed to meet their needs.
Published: May 2026 - NCEO Newsletter: June 2024 issueFormats: Online
NCEO’s June 2024 newsletter features several NCEO resources that address accommodations. Articles highlight several resources on student and teacher perspectives about accommodations, what the terms “accommodations” and “modifications” mean for both instruction and assessment for students with disabilities, and information about NCEO’s updated Accommodations Toolkit. This issue also includes information about a video series NCEO published several years ago that shares the story of how accommodation decisions were made and implemented for a student. The issue finishes with all the sessions in which NCEO is participating during the National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA) and an article on the forum on Unlocking Potential: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Inclusive Learning that follows NCSA.
Published: June 2024