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NCEO Technical Reports: An Analysis of Perceived Desirability, Feasibility, and Actual Use of Specific Criteria for Large-Scale Assessment and Accountability Systems (#21)Formats: PDFThis year 1998 report describes results of a national survey of 222 administrators, teacher and other IEP team members who rated the desirability, feasibility and use of criteria for large-scale assessment and accountability systems for students with disabilities. The criteria addressed participation in assessments, accommodations on the assessments, and the reporting of results for students with disabilities. The report includes a discussion of findings with policy implications for educators and parents.
Published: July 1998- NCEO Technical Reports: State Accountability Reports: What are States Saying about Students with Disabilities? (#20)Formats: PDF
This year 1998 report presents the results of a review of state accountability documents from 48 states and Washington DC, specifically analyzing how students with disabilities are represented. Findings describe the variability in reporting practices and the extent of information found on students with disabilities. Recommendations are also given such as including target audience information needs, avoiding overlap and inconsistency in reporting, carefully choosing educational indicators, and more.
Published: May 1998 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Enhancing Communication: Desirable Characteristics for State and School District Educational Accountability Reports (#30)Formats: OnlineA report summarizing a 1997 meeting of members of a study group within the State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards, Assessing Special Education Students, which is made up of assessment and special education representatives, to develop a list of necessary, desirable, and succinct characteristics of good state and district educational accountability reports. A checklist of desirable characteristics for state and school district accountability reports is included.
Published: January 1998- NCEO Technical Reports: An Analysis of State Approaches to Including Students with Disabilities in Assessments Implemented During Educational Reform (#18)Formats: PDF
This year 1997 report evaluates states' policies on the inclusion, accommodations and reporting of students with disabilities in statewide assessments. It describes the input and consensus process used by the National Center on Educational Outcomes to develop evaluation elements designed to maximize participation of students with disabilities, and presents the results of applying these elements to states' written guidelines on participation, accommodations, and reporting. The findings of this analysis suggest a number of implementation and training issues, especially for IEP teams.
Published: September 1997 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Why We Can't Say Much About the Status of Students with Disabilities During Education Reform (#21)Formats: OnlineThis 1995 report synthesizes the results of National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) activities that focused on determining whether secondary data analysis of state and/or national data collection programs could produce policy-relevant reports on the status of children and youth with disabilities. Recommendations are offered for improving the collection and reporting of information in state and national data collection programs.
Published: August 1995- NCEO Technical Reports: Disability Summary Analyses of Select National Data Collection Programs (#11)Formats: PDF
This year 1995 report presents a disability summary analysis of select national data collection programs. Summary analyses were conducted to document the amount and nature of information on individuals with disabilities in our national data collection programs. The rationale for the specific data collection programs, the review procedures and the future use of the information by NCEO are found in a separate document Outcomes for Children and Youth with Disabilities: Secondary Analysis of National data Collection Programs.
Published: August 1995 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Making Decisions About the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Large-Scale Assessments: A Report on a Working Conference to Develop Guidelines on Inclusion and Accommodations (#13)Formats: PDFThis report is a summary of a meeting held in Washington, D.C. on March 9-10, 1994. Much of the focus of this meeting was on the challenges faced in making decisions about inclusion and accommodations for students with disabilities on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The content of this report and the recommended guidelines also have applicability for state large-scale assessments.
Published: April 1994- NCEO Technical Reports: Matching State Goals to a Model of School Completion Outcomes and Indicators (#9)Formats: PDF
This year 1994 report presents the conceptual model of school completion indicators developed by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) in partnership with stakeholders and compares how the identified indicators match to those developed by states. The model, which includes eight major outcome domains, was designed to be appropriate for students with and without disabilities at these levels: early childhood--age 3, early childhood--age 6, grade 4, grade 8, school-completion, and post school.
Published: February 1994 - NCEO Technical Reports: The Identification of People With Disabilities in National Databases: A Failure to Communicate (#6)Formats: PDF
This 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 Technical Reports: IEPs and Standards: What They Say for Students with Disabilities (#5)Formats: PDF
This year 1993 report presents a study comparing students' IEPs to national and locally defined standards for mathematics. The IEPs of 76 students with mild disabilities were compared to the National Assessment of Educational Progress proficiency levels for mathematics, local standards, and a taxonomy of dimensions including: Level of Mastery, Nature of the Material, and Operations. The report suggests a widening of the gap between what students with disabilities are taught and the assessments with which they are tested. Implications for actions by the special education and standards-setting communities are discussed.
Published: May 1993 - NCEO Reports: A Summary of the Research on the Effects of K–12 Test Accommodations: 2024 (#453)Formats: Online
This report summarizes research on testing accommodations for K–12 students with disabilities from 2024. The data shows a clear move toward qualitative studies of how schools use these tools, and what stakeholders think of them. This is a change from previous studies that only looked at test scores. Extended time is still the most common support. Other frequent topics include special settings and read-aloud tools. While math and middle school are the main focus, more studies now come from dissertations. This review provides key facts for experts who want to improve student support and testing.
Published: February 2026 - NCEO Reports: The Development of Common Terminology (Updated Edition): Adding Accessibility Features to the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) (#447)Formats: PDF
The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) collaborated with the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) initiative to standardize accessibility feature terms for assessments. Historically, terminology varied, so NCEO and the CEDS initiative worked with state education agencies, test vendors, and assessment consortia to create common definitions. This effort aimed to improve communication and ensure equitable assessment opportunities for students, particularly for students with disabilities, English learners, and English learners with disabilities. Once finalized, the definitions were submitted to the CEDS initiative for inclusion in their data elements. This report presents the final list of standardized accessibility feature definitions.
Published: March 2025 - Empowering Families Toolkit - Tool 1 Video: Why are assessments important, and why should students with disabilities participate in assessments? (Version 2/authentic video of a parent and her children in Spanish)Formats: Free Video
This video was designed to help families understand why assessments are a good opportunity for their children to show what they know, and for schools to better understand their children’s needs. It also includes tips for families on how to better support their children when they take assessments. This “Version 2” video has the same content as “Version 1” but features an authentic parent and her children and additionally is in Spanish. The video is part of the Empowering Families Toolkit developed by NCEO to provide accessible materials for parents about assessment topics.
Published: 9/5/2023 - 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 - Reconsiderandolas expectativas para los estudiantes con discapacidades (NCEO Brief #17) (Spanish)Formats: PDF
The purpose of this brief (translated in Spanish) is to summarize some of the past exclusionary practices that resulted from low expectations for students with disabilities, and how those were addressed in policies related to standards-based reform. The brief is based on a comprehensive paper that takes a cross-disciplinary approach to examining expectations for students with disabilities, “Students with Disabilities in Educational Policy, Practice, and Professional Judgment: What Should We Expect?” (NCEO Report 413). We highlight answers to critical questions about expectations for students with disabilities, including those with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Suggestions are provided for policymakers, states, and technical assistance providers on how to work with districts, schools, and educators to revisit expectations for students with disabilities.
Published: July 2020 
Making Decisions for Everyone Training ModuleFormats: OnlineThis online professional development module gives educators the knowledge and tools they need to make, implement, and evaluate sound decisions about accessibility features for students in their classrooms in situations teachers encounter across the school year. This self-paced module, developed by the Diamond Project, guides teachers through accessibility decision-making using a fun, interactive approach, focusing on one of three students: Beau (a student who is struggling with some reading-related tasks), Daisy (a student with an Individualized Education Program), or Ana (an English learner). The module, offered by the Minnesota Department of Education through the University of Minnesota, provides access to: reference materials, a set of post course group discussion questions, links to a YouTube collection of brief videos by NCEO experts contained in the online course, and a continually updated list of related videos produced by NCEO.
Published: 2019-01-06
Forum on Text Readers for Everyone on All Tests: Getting a Handle on What This MeansFormats: PDFA report on a forum held on June 27, 2017 in Austin, TX that brought together staff representing state departments of education, school districts, testing and testing-related companies, and other educational organizations Texas to discuss the availability of text readers for everyone on all tests, the differences in terminology for text readers, ways to develop common language around text readers, and challenges associated with text readers. The forum was a pre-session to the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA), and was a collaboration of the Assessing Special Education Students (ASES) State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (SCASS), the English Learner (EL) SCASS, and the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: August 2017
NCEO Data Analytics: State Assessment Participation and Performance of Students with IEPs 2013-2014 (#5)Formats: OnlineThis 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 2013-14 school year, we present information on participation and performance in reading and mathematics statewide assessments. This interactive brief is based on "2013-2014 APR Snapshot #10: State Assessment Participation and Performance of Students Receiving Special Education Services."
Published: February 2017
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 Synthesis Reports: Expectations for Students with Cognitive Disabilities: Is the Cup Half Empty or Half Full? Can the Cup Flow Over? (#55)Formats: OnlineThis year 2004 report addresses making informed decisions about the best instruction and assessments for students with cognitive disabilities. It includes an analysis of nationally representative cognitive and achievement data to illustrate the dangers of blanket assumptions about appropriate achievement expectations for individuals based on his or her cognitive ability or diagnostic label. Further, the report reviews research on achievement patterns of students with cognitive disabilities and the effects of teacher expectations.
Published: December 2004