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NCEO Data Analytics: 2012-13 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELLs with Disabilities (#2)Formats: OnlineAn interactive, online brief analyzing public reporting practices for assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. This interactive brief is based on NCEO Technical Report 70: 2012-13 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELLs 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).Published: August 2015
NCEO Technical Reports: 2012-13 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELLs with Disabilities (#70)A report analyzing public reporting practices for assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. This report -- the 16th of its kind by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) -- includes information about both the 50 regular states and the 11 unique states. For the 2012-13 school year, 52 of the 61 regular and unique states reported participation and performance data for students with disabilities for all general and alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) that were used for Title I within the ESEA accountability system. Information about state assessments not used for Title I is also presented. Information on public reporting for English Language Learners (ELLs) with disabilities is also included in this report.
Published: May 2015
NCEO Data Analytics: Graduation Policies for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities Who Participate in States' AA-AAS (#1)Formats: OnlineAn online, interactive brief presenting the results of NCEO's analysis of states' graduation policies for their students with significant cognitive disabilities who participate in the alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). There is increasing interest in graduation rates and regular diploma requirements as states aim to ensure their students are college- and career-ready when they leave school with a diploma. Yet little was known about states' graduation policies and this prompted the current analysis.
Published: March 2015
NCEO Policy Directions: Considerations When Including Students with Disabilities in Test Security Policies (#23)A report concluding that assessments better measure what students know and can do when states and consortia thoughtfully consider how to balance test security and accessibility. Many states are concerned that their test security policies may not adequately address accommodated tests, alternate assessments, and other related issues. For example, a survey conducted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (2013) found that 45 states believed that their state test was vulnerable to cheating when testing students in need of accommodations. Test security policies and procedures need to address test administration procedures, accommodations, and other issues related to students with disabilities to help ensure the integrity and validity of a test. A fundamental consideration when evaluating the validity of an assessment is the "fairness" of the test.
Published: February 2015
NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2011-2012 APR Snapshot #7: State Assessment Participation and Performance of Students Receiving Special Education Services (#7)Formats: OnlineThis year 2014 report provides participation and performance information for students with disabilities in general assessments used for federal accountability in 2011-2011. Data include information on reading and math, focusing on grade eight.
Published: December 2014
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Graduation Policies for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities Who Participate in States' AA-AAS (#97)A report analyzing the graduation requirements and diploma options for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who participate in states' alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). The authors found that nearly 70% of states' policies indicated that students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who participate in the AA-AAS can receive a regular diploma. The criteria for doing so in these states were extremely varied, from those that have the exact same requirements to those that allow the IEP team to set the criteria. In states with policies that indicated that students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who participate in the AA-AAS could not receive a regular diploma, all but one state indicated that other end-of-school documents (e.g., certificates, special diplomas) were available to these students. The information the authors found and that was provided during the verification process provides important information for the field. Their findings should provide a basis for discussions within states as they consider their policies in light of college and career readiness imperatives.
Published: 2014
NCEO Synthesis Reports: States' Flexibility Waiver Plans for Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) (#96)A report compiling, analyzing, and summarizing what states said about the Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) in their waiver applications. The U.S. Department of Education offered these waivers to states that requested flexibility from some of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act accountability requirements. The states' waiver applications included information that pertained to the AA-AAS, alternate achievement standards, and the students with disabilities who participate in the AA-AAS.
Published: 2014
Successfully Transitioning Away from the 2% Assessment: Frequently Asked QuestionsFormats: PDFOn August 23, 2013, the U.S. Department of Education published a proposed rollback of the regulation that allowed the alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). In February 2014, a meeting was held for states to develop plans to transition away from the AA-MAS. During the meeting, states had the opportunity to ask question of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), as well as other experts, about the use of data, accommodations, standards-based IEPs, and universal design. This set of Frequently Asked Questions represent commonly asked questions raised during this meeting.
Published: July 2014
NCEO Brief: Exploring Alternate ELP Assessments for ELLs with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (#10)A brief presenting information on what we know about the participation of English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities in state alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS), highlighting information collected by NCEO that informs what we know about the participation of ELLs with disabilities in alternate English language proficiency (ELP) assessments. Topics addressed in the brief include: (a) the size of the population of ELLs with disabilities; (b) what states say about the inclusion of ELLs with disabilities in alternate ELP assessments, and the participation of ELLs with disabilities in alternate ELP assessments; and (c) experts' recommendations about alternate ELP assessments for ELLs with significant cognitive disabilities. Conclusions focus on four recommendations for consideration.
Published: July 2014
NCEO Technical Reports: 2011-12 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELLs with Disabilities (#69)A report analyzing public reporting practices for assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States -- the 15th NCEO report to do so. The publication presents information on publicly reported participation and performance data for the 50 regular states and the 11 unique states (American Samoa, Bureau of Indian Education, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Department of Defense Education Activities, District of Columbia, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Palau, Puerto Rico, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands). For the 2011-12 school year, 49 of the 61 states reported participation and performance data for students with disabilities for all general assessments within the ESEA accountability system. Fifty-one states reported participation and performance data for alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) that were within the ESEA system. Information about state assessments outside of ESEA is also presented. This report additionally includes information on public reporting for English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities, and includes recommendations for future public reporting of disaggregated data for students with disabilities.
Published: July 2014
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Test Security and Students with Disabilities: An Analysis of States' 2013-14 Test Security Policies (#95)A report analyzing how accommodated tests, and students with disabilities and the assessments they take, are addressed in state test security policies - a subject about which little is known. This analysis was conducted to partially fill this gap. The report provides a snapshot of how accommodated tests for students with disabilities, alternate assessments, and other related issues were addressed in states' test security policies in 2013-14. The specific research questions were, "What information do states' test security policies contain about students with disabilities and the assessments they take?" and "How are accommodations included in states test security policies?"
Published: June 2014
NCEO Brief: Considerations for Consortia as States Transition Away from AA-MAS (#7)A brief addressing the need for consortia to assist their member states in moving away from the alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). It focuses on key considerations for consortia as they address the inclusion of low-performing students in all member states, informed by the lessons learned from the AA-MAS. Topics highlighted in this brief are: including low-performing students in field test designs, customizing non-summative assessments to include low-performing students, and collecting and examining data on this group of students.
Published: February 2014
NCEO Policy Directions: Successfully Transitioning from the AA-MAS to the General Assessment (#22)A report exploring how federal policy initiatives such as the flexibility waivers for accountability are requiring that states transition away from the use of an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). It is expected that those students who had participated in that assessment will instead participate in the state's general assessment (or a Race-to-the-Top consortium assessment if the state belongs to one). It is important that this transition be successful. Much has been learned through the development of the AA-MAS and its implementation. These lessons learned form the basis for ensuring the successful transition from the AA-MAS to the general assessment. Indeed, the lessons learned from the AA-MAS provide important information for all states as they strive to ensure that their general assessments are appropriate for a broad range of students. This Policy Directions offers suggestions for strategies to move the students currently participating in the AA-MAS to the general assessment.
Published: February 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
NCEO State Surveys: 2012 Survey of States: Successes and Challenges During a Time of ChangeA report providing a snapshot of new initiatives, trends, accomplishments, and emerging issues during this important period of education reform as states document the academic achievement of students with disabilities. This is the thirteenth such survey of states conducted by NCEO. States also reported information about the alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS), and on new developments in assessment such as teacher evaluation and how they are contributing to the consortia. In the three years since the previous survey, states continued to make strong progress, though challenges remained and several new issues emerged.
Published: September 2013
NCEO Technical Reports: 2010-11 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELLs with Disabilities (#68)A report analyzing public reporting practices for assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. This report, which is the fourteenth of its kind by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO), includes information about both the 50 regular states and the 11 unique states (American Samoa, Bureau of Indian Education, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Department of Defense Education Activities, District of Columbia, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Palau, Puerto Rico, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands).
Published: September 2013
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Accommodation Policies for States' Alternate Assessments based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) (#90)A report focusing on accommodation policies for alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). NCEO has analyzed participation and accommodation policies for students with disabilities on state administered assessments since 1992 and this report is part of that long-term study. In addition to presenting a national overview of policies, this report also addresses the results of NCEO's policy analysis by the four content assessment consortia -- Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM), and National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC). The researchers' summary of the results of their analysis of accommodation policies for AA-AAS is organized under three areas of focus: the terms states used to describe changes in assessment administration, the specific accommodations addressed in policies overall, the accommodations addressed for ELLs and accommodation guidelines provided by states. Detailed information overall and by the four consortia are provided in the report appendices.
Published: July 2013- NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2010-2011 APR Snapshot #6: AA-AAS Participation and Performance (#6)Formats: Online
This year 2013 report summarizes data for students with disabilities participating in alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards used for federal accountability in 2010-2011. Data include information on the number of students participating and the performance of those students.
Published: June 2013 - NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2010-2011 APR Snapshot #4: State Assessment Participation and Performance of Students Receiving Special Education Services (#4)Formats: Online
This year 2013 report summarizes participation and performance data for students with disabilities taking general state assessments in reading and math, used for federal accountability in 2010-2011.
Published: 2013 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: States' Flexibility Plans for Phasing Out the Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) by 2014-15 (#89)A report compiling, analyzing, and summarizing states' plans for phasing out the alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) in their approved waiver applications. The U.S. Department of Education offered states the flexibility waiver from some of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability requirements on condition that the states provide a plan to phase out the use of the AA-MAS for ESEA accountability by the 2014-15 school year.
Published: March 2013