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Accommodations for Students with Disabilities on State English Language Proficiency Assessments: A Review of 2011 State PoliciesFormats: PDFA report documenting states' participation and accommodation policies for English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities on their English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessments. The states' online policies from 2011, after state verification, showed that 49 states addressed participation criteria for ELLs with disabilities. Of these states, 36 states allowed for selective participation of students with disabilities on the ELP assessment, meaning that a student may participate in some domains but not others. Most often, ELLs who were deaf/hard of hearing or who had visual impairments or blindness were considered for selective participation. The summary of findings suggests that over time, states have become more detailed in their policies relating to participation and accommodations for ELLs with disabilities on ELP assessments. Continued attention to the participation and performance of ELLs with disabilities in ELP and other state assessments is essential.
Published: August 2013
NCEO Technical Reports: Interpreting Trends in the Performance of Special Education Students (#27)Formats: OnlineThis year 2000 report examines the effect that transitions between regular education and special education across grades had on performance trends for the special education population. It also looks at the effect that changes in exemption rates for students with disabilities had on performance trends. It was found that the reduction in exemption rates from testing as well as the departure of highest achieving special education students returning to general education both contributed to an increase in the performance gap over time. Further, when the same group of special education students were tracked over time, this gap decreased slightly. Findings have significant implications for states in the reporting of disaggregated data on students with disabilities, particularly in tracking performance across time. Recommendations are provided.
Published: October 2000- Alternate Assessment Forum: Connecting into a WholeFormats: Online
A report summarizing the discussion sessions during the Third Annual Alternate Assessment Forum held in 2000. One hundred thirty-five representatives from 39 states plus American Samoa participated in a forum on June 23-24, 2000 in Salt Lake City, Utah to discuss alternate assessment. Representatives were primarily state department of education staff, but also included some local or regional education staff, university staff, parents, and test publisher staff, all of whom have played major roles in helping states develop their alternate assessment systems. The forum, a third annual pre-session to the CCSSO National Large Scale Assessment Conference, was co-sponsored by the Regional Resource and Federal Centers (RRFCs), the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE), and the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 2000 
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 State Surveys: 1995 State Special Education Outcomes: Longitudinal Trends in How States are Assessing Educational Outcomes for Students with DisabilitiesFormats: PDFThis report presents the results of the fifth annual survey of state activities in the assessment of educational outcomes for students with disabilities. NCEO sent the survey to directors of special education of all the 50 regular states and the 10 unique states that provide special education under the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Respondents were asked to respond to items about the current status or activities of their states in these areas: federally-reported data, assessments of outcomes, participation of students with disabilities in state assessments, and state technical assistance needs. In several of these areas, it was possible to examine longitudinal trends by comparing responses from the first survey to current responses.
Published: April 1996
NCEO Technical Reports: Matching State Goals to a Model of Outcomes and Indicators for the Post-School Level (#12)Formats: PDFThis year 1995 report describes the extent to which there was a correspondence between state-articulated student outcomes and the outcomes specified in a model developed by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). The NCEO model of outcomes and indicators, developed using a multi-attribute consensus-building tool with hundreds of stakeholders, is presented. It articulates eight major outcome domains with indicators at keys stages of a student's development: age 3, age 6, grade 4, grade 8, school-completion, and post-school. Information in the model was developed for use by state and local level practitioners involved in the articulation of educational goals, performance standards, assessments, and curriculum frameworks at different age and grade levels.
Published: August 1995
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Implementation of Alternative Methods for Making Educational Accountability Decisions for Students with Disabilities (#12)Formats: PDFThis report examines some of the issues and challenges in gathering data for purposes of making accountability decisions for students with disabilities (1994). The report (1) describes the alternative methods that are being used, (2) describes the student population and accountability decision-making practices in representative states, (3) describes the kinds of issues State Education Agency (SEA) personnel encounter, (4) identifies the kinds of data SEA and national education policy personnel say would be needed to demonstrate that education works for students with disabilities, (5) describes ways in which SEA personnel have been successful in overcoming barriers, and (6) makes recommendations of promising practices for making accountability decisions.
Published: March 1994- NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2022-2023 APR Snapshot 32: State Assessment Participation, Performance, and Assigned Accommodations for Students Receiving Special Education Services (#32)Formats: Online
This report provides a snapshot of the participation and performance of grade 8 students receiving special education services on statewide reading/language arts and mathematics assessments for 2022-23. Data are presented for both general and alternate assessments (AA-AAAS), including an analysis of the 1% participation cap for alternate assessments using enrollment-based calculations. This Snapshot also summarizes data on the percentage of students assigned accommodations for state general assessments. Data for other grades are provided for the regular states as well as for unique states that receive special education funds.
Published: March 2026 
Forum on Implementing Accessibility Frameworks for ALL StudentsFormats: PDFSixty individuals representing staff from state departments of education, school districts, other countries, testing and testing-related companies, and other educational organizations participated in a forum on June 22, 2015 in San Diego, California, to discuss implementing accessibility frameworks for all students, including students in general education, students who are English language learners (ELLs), and students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans. 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) and the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). Although this report summarizes the introductory information provided to forum participants, its main purpose is to describe the panel presentations and the facilitated forum discussions.
Published: October 2015
Audio Support Guidelines for Accessible Assessments: Insights From Cognitive LabsFormats: PDFA report examining how some students, including students with print disabilities, students with low vision, and English language learners, may benefit from having test content read aloud. However, there have been challenges in standardizing the presentation of test content, including whether or not to read answer choices or to describe maps and cartoons, among many other issues. Technology-enhanced assessment offers the opportunity to provide standardized audio support delivered through the test platform. One goal of the Guidelines for Accessible Assessment Project (GAAP) was to develop a set of audio guidelines that could be used across states. Overall, the findings from the cognitive labs support the need for taking an individualized approach in providing audio support for assessments.
Published: December 2014
Voices From the Field: Making State Assessment Decisions for English Language Learners With DisabilitiesFormats: PDFA report describing an activity undertaken by the Improving the Validity of Assessment Results for ELLs with Disabilities (IVARED) project, which is a consortium of the five states of Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington, led by Minnesota. In collaboration with the National Center on Educational Outcomes, these states sought to understand ways to make state accountability assessments more valid and reliable for English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities. This report describes how IVARED tried to better understand the current assessment and accommodation decision-making process, test score use practices, and issues and challenges educators face in making appropriate decisions for ELLs with disabilities. Online focus groups were conducted in each of the five states with a total of 232 school, district, and state practitioners who had expertise in working with this population of students.
Published: 2013
NCLB and IDEA: What Parents of Students with Disabilities Need to Know and DoFormats: PDFA guide informing parents of students with disabilities about the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These are two of the nation's most important federal laws relating to public education. While NCLB seeks to improve the education of all children - especially children from low-income families - IDEA focuses on the individual child and seeks to ensure specialized services for children with disabilities so they may benefit from education. NCLB provisions apply to all students, including those whose disabilities require special education. So parents need to understand the requirements of NCLB. IDEA, in its latest update by Congress, has been more closely aligned with NCLB, making it equally important that parents know how the two laws work together to improve academic achievement of students with disabilities.
Published: August 2006
NCEO State Surveys: 1997 State Special Education Outcomes: A Report on State Activities During Educational ReformFormats: PDFThis report presents the results of the sixth survey of state activities in the assessment of educational outcomes for students with disabilities conducted by NCEO since 1991. NCEO sent the survey to directors of special education of all the 50 regular states and the 10 unique states that provide special education under the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Results are presented in seven sections: (1) Students with disabilities and standards-based reform, (2) Measuring the participation of students with disabilities in statewide testing, (3) state activities in developing alternate assessments, (4) Using assessment results for students with disabilities, (5) Individualized Educational Programs and assessments, (6) Measuring non-academic outcomes for students with disabilities, and (7) Current issues and technical assistance needs.
Published: November 1997- NCEO Technical Reports: Experts' Opinions on National Math Standards for Students with Disabilities (#3)Formats: PDF
This year 1992 report presents survey results of eleven experts in mathematics education, special education and assessment in relation to current math instruction and the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and the perceived appropriateness and feasibility of the Standards for students with disabilities. Results showed that the experts agreed the adoption of the Standards was minimal and that math education in practice continues to emphasize basic skills. Two opposing viewpoints were evident in the experts' responses. One viewpoint was that the Standards did not recognize the importance of individual differences and were not better than current practice in math education. The opposing viewpoint was that the Standards reflected a vision of what mathematics should be and that minimal, non- substantial modifications were needed for students with disabilities. These opinions are summarized and discussed.
Published: September 1992 - NCEO State Surveys: 2025 Survey of States: Trends and Issues in Statewide Assessment of Students with DisabilitiesFormats: Online
This report summarizes the seventeenth survey of states by NCEO, collecting over three decades of data on the participation and performance of students with disabilities in statewide assessments. Forty-five jurisdictions responded, revealing key trends in state practices. Key findings show that states primarily monitored accessibility features by reviewing IEP records and conducting site audits. To support participation in alternate assessments (AA-AAAS), states focused on training and data sharing. However, a major challenge is meeting the federal 1% limit for AA-AAAS, largely due to concerns over inappropriate student identification and the lack of staff training. For Alt-ELP assessments, states ensured proper assignment through revised guidelines and training. Growth models were common for general assessments but rarely used for AA-AAAS and Alt-ELP assessments. States mainly disaggregated general assessment results by disability category to analyze trends. The survey confirms states are prioritizing training and monitoring to align assessment practices with federal requirements.
Published: November 2025 
NCEO Data Analytics: 2016-17 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELs with Disabilities (#11)Formats: OnlineThis interactive report presents data on public reporting practices for assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. This brief is based on 2016-17 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELs with Disabilities
. The purpose of this study was to analyze whether states report data for students with disabilities "to the public with the same frequency and in the same detail as it reports on the assessment of nondisabled children," as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The report also summarizes the extent to which states report participation and performance for English Learners (ELs) with disabilities and examines public reporting of accommodations.Published: 2020-01-06
Forum on Evaluating Educator Effectiveness: Critical Considerations for Including Students with DisabilitiesFormats: PDFA report summarizing the discussion at the Forum on Evaluating Educator Effectiveness held in June 2012 in Minneapolis. Thirty-six individuals representing a dozen states, four testing companies, and six other organizations participated in the forum, which was a pre-session to the Council of Chief State School Officers National Conference on Student Assessment, and was a collaboration of the Assessing Special Education Students State Collaborative on Assessment and State Standards and the National Center on Educational Outcomes. Its purpose was to address the challenging issues that exist in including students with disabilities and their teachers in educator evaluation systems, and to provide state representatives and other interested parties with an opportunity to meet and share their perspectives on this topic, particularly in light of the changing nature of accountability systems across the United States. This report summarizes the introductory material provided to participants, and presents a summary of the discussions in three facilitated topic discussion sessions focusing on including assessment results of students with disabilities, using IEP goals or student learning objectives, and developing a balanced model for educator effectiveness evaluations.
Published: 2012
NCEO Synthesis Reports: English Language Learners with Disabilities in State English Language Proficiency Assessments: A Review of State Accommodation Policies (#66)Formats: PDFThis year 2007 report documents states' participation and accommodations policies for English learners (ELs) with disabilities on their English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessments for 2005-06. Findings show 31 states addressed accommodations for ELs with disabilities. Of these 31 states, 13 states allowed the exclusion of a student based on his or her disability characteristics for one or more domains of the ELP assessment. Other participation findings show exclusion based on severity of disability, such as for students needing to participate in an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards. Of the accommodation findings, the most controversial accommodation was spellchecker/ assistance /dictionary use. The authors note that continued attention to the participation and performance of ELLs with disabilities in ELP and other state assessments is essential.
Published: December 2007
NCEO Synthesis Reports: 2001 State Policies on Assessment Participation and Accommodations (#46)Formats: OnlineThis year 2001 report analyzes state participation and accommodation policies nationwide. Among the major findings are: (1) participation options beyond the usual three (participation without accommodations, participation with accommodations, alternate assessment) have become more evident -- generally these are: partial participation, additional alternate assessments, and out-of-level testing, (2)"emotional anxiety" is more frequently noted as a reason for students to not participate in assessments, (3) policies for both participation and accommodations are becoming more specific, often indicating implications for how accommodated students' scores are reported, (4) the number of states that allow accommodations for specific groups (i.e., all students and students no longer on IEPs), and (5) that most controversial accommodations continue to be read aloud, calculator, and scribe. The analyses suggest that states continued to adjust their policies to ensure that students with disabilities have opportunities to participate in statewide assessments, and at the same time to understand the meaning of the scores from their assessments.
Published: July 2002
NCEO Technical Reports: Read-Aloud Accommodations: Effects on Multiple-Choice Reading and Math Items (#31)Formats: OnlineThis year 2001 report examines the effect of a read aloud accommodation on the state reading and math assessments used by the Missouri assessment program. The study used extant test administration data for multiple-choice math and reading test items administered to 3rd and 4th grade students. Four student groups were created to help control for confounding effects. A differential item function (DIF) analysis was run on the data using BILOG-MG, which compared item difficulty estimates across several groups simultaneously. The findings lead to a discussion of how to determine who should benefit from an accommodation, and whether a reading test measures the reading construct differently for students with a reading disability than for students without disabilities. The report recommends further research and suggests that replicating the study is needed to confirm the results.
Published: September 2001