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NCEO State Surveys: 2005 State Special Education Outcomes - Steps Forward in a Decade of ChangeThis year 2005 report summarizes a state survey given to all states addressing participation rates, use of accommodations, the number of students achieving grade level proficiency, and more.
Published: November 2005
NCEO Technical Reports: Revisiting Graduation Requirements and Diploma Options for Youth with Disabilities: A National Study (#49)A document reporting on National Center on Educational Outcomes' (NCEO) fourth study of state graduation requirements for students with disabilities. This national study was designed to describe current variations across states in high school exit exam practices and the use of alternative diploma/credentialing options. The study also examines the intended and unintended consequences for students when they are required to pass exit exams to receive a high school diploma, and the intended and unintended consequences of using single or multiple diploma options for students with disabilities.
Published: December 2007
NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2017-2018 APR Snapshot #24: AA-AAAS Participation and Performance (#24)Formats: OnlineAn Alternate Assessment based on Alternate Academic Achievement Standards (AA-AAAS) has been developed by each state to measure the academic achievement of students with significant cognitive disabilities. This report summarizes AA-AAAS data used for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability. Using federally submitted data for the 2017-2018 school year, we present information on the number of students participating in the AA-AAAS and the performance of those students.
Published: January 2021
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Issues and Considerations in Alternate Assessments (#27)Formats: OnlineThis 1997 report describes and discusses issues around the design of alternate assessments for students with disabilities.
Published: January 1997
NCEO Minnesota Assessment Project Reports: Participation and Performance of Limited English Proficient Students During Second Attempts on a Graduation Exam (#28)Formats: OnlineThis year 2000 report examines the performance of English learners taking the Minnesota's Basic Standards Test in 8th grade for the first time and those needing to retake the test in school years 1996 through 1998.
Published: June 2000
NCEO State Surveys: 1999 State Special Education Outcomes - A Report on State Activities at the End of the CenturyThis year 1999 report summarizes results from a survey given to all states that addresses participation in statewide testing, high stakes attached to testing, and the development of alternate assessments.
Published: December 1999
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Can "All" Ever Really Mean "All" in Defining and Assessing Student Outcomes? (#5)Formats: PDFThis report explores what what "all" means in defining student outcomes in educational assessment systems.
Published: March 1993
National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) WebsiteFormats: OnlineA website presenting NCEO, which is a federally-funded technical assistance center that supports states and districts on issues related to inclusive assessments, particularly for students with disabilities, English learners (ELs), and ELs with disabilities. NCEO has a rich set of reports and other publications on a range of topics related to educational assessments. NCEO is one of ICI's affiliated centers.
Published: 2000- Assessment Today: How We Got Here and Where We are GoingFormats: Online
In this presentation Dr. Martha Thurlow, Executive Director of the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) traces the history of the inclusion of students with disabilities in large-scale assessments, addressing the history of assessment for students with disabilities and how the current assessment context and projected future events relate to this history.
Published: 2016-06-30 - Proceedings of the NCEO Interim Assessment Convening: Measuring What Students with Disabilities Know and Can Do Using Interim Assessments
This report contains the proceeding of the Interim Assessment Convening on Measuring What Students with Disabilities Know and Can Do Using Interim Assessments that was hosted by NCEO, and held on July 26 and 27, 2021. The purpose of the Convening was to share information about how to enable the participation of all students with disabilities, including students with the most significant cognitive disabilities and English learners with disabilities, in interim assessments in ways that support obtaining valid results of what they know and can do. The Convening also provided an opportunity for State education agency (SEA) teams to develop goals and action items, based on the opportunities and challenges identified, that would result in more valid measurement of what students with disabilities know and can do at both the SEA and local education agency (LEA) levels. This Proceedings document was developed to provide a summary of the Convening. It includes appendices and links to resources that were shared by states and others at the Convening.
Published: December 2021 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Recommendations for Making Decisions About the Participation of Students with Disabilities in Statewide Assessment Programs: A Report on a Working Conference to Develop Guidelines for Statewide Assessments and Students with Disabilities (#15)Formats: PDFThis report is a summary of a meeting held in the Washington, DC area on May 17 and 18, 1994. The purpose of the meeting was to: (1) Discuss participation of students with disabilities in state assessment programs, (2) Discuss adaptations in assessments or assessment procedures to accommodate students with disabilities, (3) Attempt to arrive at agreement on a reasonable set of practices in making participation and accommodation decisions, and (4) Identify major technical and implementation issues that might be part of state or federal research agendas on participation and accommodations in assessment programs. This report proposes a set of recommendations for making participation and accommodation decisions, and indicate the fundamental assumptions that underlie participation of students with disabilities in state assessment programs. We describe the rational for the development of a consistent system for making decisions about participation and accommodations in state assessment programs.
Published: July 1994
NCEO State Surveys: 2009 Survey of States - Accomplishments and New Issues at the End of a Decade of ChangeA 2009 report providing a snapshot of the new initiatives, trends, accomplishments, and emerging issues during this important period of standards-based education reform as states document the academic achievement of students with disabilities. It summarizes the 12th survey of states by the Institute's National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). Results are presented for all 50 states and 8 of the 11 federally-funded entities (unique states).
Published: June 2010
NCEO Reports: Guidebook to Including Students with Disabilities and English Learners in Assessments (#420)This report provides 10 lessons about how to ensure inclusive assessment practices for students with disabilities and English learners. In addition to the 10 lessons, it provides foundational information on the characteristics of these students that require consideration during all phases of assessment design, development, and implementation. The focus of the Guidebook is large-scale summative assessments rather than interim and formative assessments; it does not address accountability considerations. The purpose of the Guidebook is to remind all assessment, special education, and other personnel in state departments of education of the lessons that have been learned, and to share those lessons with new personnel in state assessment, special education, Title I, and Title III offices.
Published: June 2020
NCEO Reports: Alternate Assessments for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Participation Guidelines and Definitions (#406)This report documents the status of states' assessment participation guidelines and definitions of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities that were in place just prior to the start of the 2017-18 school year. With the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 2015, renewed attention was paid to the importance of guidelines for participation in alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) and to understanding of who the students are who have significant cognitive disabilities. The analysis includes the factors that states indicated should and should not be considered when making decisions about participation in the AA-AAS. It also documents the format of the guidelines that states made available to decision makers. Finally, it examines the extent to which states provided an explicit definition of "students with the most significant cognitive disabilities."
Published: December 2017
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Questions and Answers: Tough Questions about Accountability Systems and Students with Disabilities (#24)Formats: OnlineThis 1996 report provides answers to some of the most commonly asked questions addressing the participation of students with disabilities in educational accountability systems. Questions about the use of accommodations, the reporting of the results of all test takers, and implementation issues are included also.
Published: September 1996- NCEO Annual Performance Reports and State Performance Plans: 2005-2006 State Assessment DataFormats: PDF
A report summarizing assessment data from State Performance Plans.
Published: April 2008 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: A Principled Approach to Accountability Assessments for Students with Disabilities (#70)A 2008 report updating the National Center on Educational Outcomes' (NCEO) report from 2001 that identified principles and characteristics underlying inclusive assessment and accountability systems. This report on a principled approach to accountability assessments for students with disabilities reflects what the center has learned during the past seven years. The principles provide a vision for an inclusive system of assessments used for system accountability. The report addresses state and district K-12 academic content assessments designed for system accountability and focuses on all students with disabilities, including targeted groups of students within this group (e.g., English Language Learners with disabilities). Multiple stakeholders share the common goal of improving educational outcomes for all students have reviewed and commented on the principles and characteristics presented here.
Published: December 2008
NCEO Synthesis Reports: States' Participation Guidelines for Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) in 2008 (#71)A report describing an assessment option permitted by federal regulations that give states the flexibility to offer an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). This assessment option is for a small group of students with disabilities who can make significant progress but may not reach grade-level proficiency within the time period covered by their Individualized Education Program. Students who participate in an AA-MAS must have access to grade-level content. States are not required to offer this option. This report compiles, analyzes, and summarizes states' participation guidelines for the AA-MAS.
Published: December 2008- NCEO Annual Performance Reports and State Performance Plans: Biennial Performance Reports: 2000-2001 State Assessment DataFormats: PDF
A report summarizing assessment data from State Performance Plans.
Published: December 2002 
NCEO Technical Reports: Public Reporting of 2007-2008 Assessment Information on Students with Disabilities: Progress on the Gap Front (#57)A report analyzing public reporting of disaggregated assessment data for elementary and secondary students with disabilities in the United States - the 12th annual report by NCEO to do so. Reporting disaggregated performance data at the state and district level to the public is required of states by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); the 2007-2008 school year marks the ninth annual reporting period since this requirement was established, and the sixth reporting period since the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The public reporting of participation and performance for 2007-2008 assessments was fairly consistent with the reporting in 2006-2007. There continues to be a need for states to report clearly, to publicly report on accommodations use, and to strive to make the data that are reported accessible to those who seek them via public Web sites.
Published: March 2011