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- 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 - Accommodations Toolkit: Assistive Technology: States’ Accessibility Policies, 2022Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for assistive technology is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 10/18/2022 - Accommodations Toolkit: Paper Format: States’ Accessibility Policies, 2022Formats: Online
This summary of states’ accessibility policies for paper format is part of the Accommodations Toolkit published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 10/18/2022 - Accommodations Toolkit: Paper Format: ResearchFormats: Online
This fact sheet on paper format 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 paper format as an accessibility feature or accommodation.
Published: 10/18/2022 - NCEO Newsletter: October 2022 issueFormats: Online
This issue highlights several new NCEO activities and products. The first is a toolkit for new state special education directors that is designed to be easy to use and help new directors (and their staff) become experts on how to include students with disabilities in assessments. Next is NCEO’s presence on TikTok. There is also recently published proceedings of the forum on assistive technology interoperability with online assessment platforms and other technology and services. Additionally, there is an article about a recent scan of the national landscape of formative assessment definitions and how students with disabilities are included in them, as well as articles about NCEO presentations at the recent National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) conference and at the upcoming Conference on Test Security (COTS).
Published: 10/3/2022 - Assistive Technology Interoperability with Online Assessment Platforms and Other Technology Products and Services: Making it All Work!
This report contains the proceedings of a forum held on June 29, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia to discuss issues surrounding the use of personal student assistive technology and online assessment participation. A specific goal of the forum was to gather representatives from state departments of education, assessment vendors, and technology companies to discuss challenges students face when using their personal assistive technology supports to participate in online assessments and to identify possible solutions. The forum was a post-session to the Council of Chief State School Officers’ (CCSSO) National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA) and was a collaboration of the Assessment, Standards, and Education for Students with Disabilities (ASES) Collaborative and the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: September 2022 
What New Special Education Directors Need to know about academic assessments toolkitFormats: PDFThis presentation provides information about a toolkit that will help special education directors fulfill their role in ensuring the participation of students with disabilities in assessments. The toolkit is meant to assist directors in locating information and resources on the website of the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).
Published: 9/27/2022- IEP Monitoring by States of Alternate Assessment Participation DecisionsFormats: PDF
This presentation shares results from a national survey of leaders in the special education and assessment offices of SEAs, and reviews three states’ approaches and procedures for monitoring AA-AAAS participation decision making. Implementation successes and challenges are highlighted, and recommendations for best practices are shared. The presentation was given at the 2022 National Association of State Directors of Special Education annual conference.
Published: 9/27/2022 - NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2018-2019 APR Snapshot #25: State Assessment Participation and Performance of Students Receiving Special Education ServicesFormats: Online
This report provides a snapshot of 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 for the 2018-19 school year, we present information on participation and performance in reading and mathematics statewide assessments administered to students in grades 3-8 and high school.
Published: October 2022 - NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2018-2019 APR Snapshot #26: Students in Special Education Assigned Assessment AccommodationsFormats: Online
This brief provides information on the number of students with disabilities assigned accommodations and the performance of these students on the general statewide assessment used for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability. Using federally submitted data from the 2018-2019 school year, we present information on accommodations for general reading and mathematics statewide assessments administered to grade 8 students (and grade 4 to show a comparison to grade 8 data).
Published: October 2022 - NCEO Reports: A Summary of the Research on the Effects of K–12 Test Accommodations: 2020 (#436)
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 2020. During 2020, 11 research studies addressed testing accommodations in the U.S. K–12 education system. The research also highlights important emerging issues including the role of technology in facilitating accessibility for students with disabilities through built-in accommodations and in considering needed practices for applying technologies.
Published: September 2022 - TIES Center Reports: A Literature Review of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports for Students with Extensive Support Needs (#106)
This report presents the findings of a literature review to summarize the current literature of School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), a multi-tiered framework that offers a continuum of supports to address the behavioral needs of all students within a school. Research indicates that PBIS effectively promotes positive student outcomes and improves school climate and culture. However, little is known about the involvement of students with extensive support needs (ESN) and effectiveness of PBIS for these students. Students with ESN include students with significant cognitive disabilities. This report also presents implications for practice and future research initiatives.
Published: August 2022 - TIES Center Reports: Separate School Placement Trends by Category and Age for Students with Extensive Support Needs (#105)
The purpose of this report is to examine the trends across the country over the past decade related to the placement of students with extensive support needs (ESN) in separate schools. For this report, state-level data from federally reported sources for students with ESN were analyzed, specifically, students identified with the disabilities of autism, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, and deaf-blindness, to determine changes over time in the number of students served in separate settings as well as any variances that may have occurred by age and location (state). The current study confirmed that there has not been a significant change in the overall placement for students with ESN since 2012 even though academic expectations have become more rigorous over time.
Published: 8/1/2022