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Lessons Learned in Federally Funded Projects that Can Improve the Instruction and Assessment of Low Performing Students with DisabilitiesFormats: PDFA report detailing the work of researchers from projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education in 2006-2007 under three funding sources (General Supervision Enhancement Grants, Enhanced Assessment Grants, and Supplemental Funding) who were invited to compile their major findings and discuss the lessons they learned from their studies on alternate assessments based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). The intent of this publication is to carry these lessons forward to the creators of next generation assessments. The timing for this information is critical, as funding for AA-MAS research has ended, and administration of AA-MAS tests is expected to cease in many states when new assessments are ready in 2014-2015. Almost all students with disabilities who were eligible for an AA-MAS will then be participating in the new general assessments. It is imperative that the lessons learned from this group of projects about the students and the barriers they experience during assessment are well understood as these changes occur. Researchers report on 14 separate projects involving 26 states, and the report is organized into four main sections: The Students, Test Development, Technology-enhanced Assessment, and System Implications.
Published: 2013
NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs: 2008-2009 APR Snapshot #3: AA-AAS Participation and Performance (#3)Formats: OnlineThis year 2012 report summarizes the participation and performance of students with significant cognitive disabilities on Alternate Assessments based on Alternate Achievement Standards used by states for federal accountability, in 2008-2009.
Published: December 2012
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) Participation Policies (#88)A report focusing on participation policies for alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). Since 1992, NCEO has analyzed participation and accommodation policies for students with disabilities on state administered assessments, and has developed reports on policies for regular assessments, AA-AAS, and alternate assessments based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). Publicly available participation guidelines were compiled and analyzed for 58 states and entities (Washington DC, Guam, etc.). In addition to providing a national picture of policies, it presents the results of the policy analysis by each of the four content assessment consortia that have been funded to develop new assessment systems: two that are developing regular assessment systems (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers - PARCC, and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium - SBAC), and two that are developing systems for alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (Dynamic Learning Maps - DLM, and National Center and State Collaborative - NCSC).
Published: December 2012
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 APR Snapshot Briefs: 2008-2009 APR Snapshot #1: State Assessment Participation and Performance of Special Education Students (#1)Formats: Online
This year 2012 report summarizes the participation and performance of eighth grade students with disabilities, in reading and math assessments used for federal accountability in the 2008-2009 school year.
Published: January 2012 
A Guide to Educational Acronyms: What's in the Alphabet Soup?Formats: PDFA resource guide providing a glossary of the "alphabet soup" of educational acronyms. NCEO developed this "acronym handbook" as a resource to define, clarify, or remind anyone involved legislative and policy discussions of definitions of routine educational acronyms. This pocket guide will be a useful tool for participants, whether they are state legislators, teachers, parents, or others.
Published: 2012
NCEO Technical Reports: Tennessee Special Education Teacher Survey: Training, Large-scale Testing, and TCAP-MAAS Administration (#61)A report explaining how Tennessee developed an Alternate Assessment based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards called the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program-Modified Academic Achievement Standards (TCAP-MAAS), that was first administered in 2010. This report from the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) presents the results of a survey of Tennessee special education teachers regarding this assessment option. The authors sought to learn more about the teachers' perceptions of student experiences and outcomes with the TCAP-MAAS. They asked questions about how the teachers received training about this assessment, sought to measure the extent to which information about the new TCAP-MAAS had reached teachers across the state, and asked about accommodations selection and implementation for instruction and assessment. One section of the survey contained a knowledge quiz that was designed to assess teachers' knowledge of the TCAP-MAAS. The perceptions of teachers whose students took the TCAP-MAAS can provide insights into what is working well and where there were challenges.
Published: January 2012
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Characteristics of States' Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards in 2010-2011 (#85)A report tracking test design changes between the alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) and regular assessment, whether states' AA-MAS were computer-based, whether states with computer-based tests (CBTs) included tutorial and practice test opportunities, and whether states' documents included considerations for English Language Learners (ELLs) with disabilities. Federal regulations introduced AA-MAS as another assessment option for students with disabilities in 2007. Eligible students may be from any disability category, and they must be considered unlikely to achieve grade-level proficiency within the time period covered by their Individualized Education Program (IEP) and have IEP goals based on grade-level content standards. NCEO has been tracking the characteristics of states' AA-MAS since 2007. According to the 2009 NCEO update on test characteristics, 13 states had developed what they considered to be an AA-MAS, and three states (Texas, Kansas, and Louisiana) had received federal approval. The further study reported in this publication found 17 states that by the 2010-11 academic school year had developed, or were developing, what they considered to be an AA-MAS, and one additional state (North Carolina) had received federal approval.
Published: September 2011
NCEO Technical Reports: 2008-09 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELLs with Disabilities (#59)A report analyzing the public reporting of assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States; this is NCEO's 13th annual report on this subject. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) required states to disaggregate performance data at the state and district level. Although reporting practices for regular assessments have changed little for 2008-09 compared to the previous years, this year did mark the first time all 50 states reported disaggregated data for at least some state assessments in ESEA accountability systems. Although there were increased mean gaps between students with disabilities and regular students on regular assessments across all grades and content areas, the mean performance for students in both populations showed improvement in all grades and content areas. However, compared to students with disabilities, regular students showed larger mean gains compared to last year. Public reporting on English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities is also examined in this report.
Published: August 2011
NCEO Synthesis Reports: States' Participation Guidelines for Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) in 2010 (#82)A report updating the information gathered by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) in previous reports. Since 2007, NCEO has annually compiled, analyzed, and summarized states' participation guidelines for the Alternate Assessment based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-MAS). The purpose of this report is to update the information gathered from previous reports. As of November 2010, 17 states - California, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia - had publicly available participation guidelines for an assessment the state considered to be an AA-MAS. As of February 2011, four states - Kansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas - had successfully completed the U.S. Department of Education's peer review process that determines whether the assessment fulfills the necessary requirements for the state to receive federal funds.
Published: May 2011
NCEO Technical Reports: Participation and Performance Reporting for the Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) (#58)A report examining publicly-reported participation and performance data for the alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). Analysis included all states publicly reporting AA-MAS data, regardless of whether they had received approval to use the results for Title I accountability calculations. Data were examined for school years 2006-07 through 2009-10. Because most states had not yet reported data for 2009-10, the authors focused most of the analyses on 2006-07 (six states with an AA-MAS), 2007-08 (eight states with an AA-MAS), and 2008-09 (eight states with an AA-MAS).
Published: April 2011
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
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Who Are the Students Who May Qualify for an Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS)? Focus Group Results (#79)A report summarizing the results of educator focus groups conducted by one state in a consortium dedicated to studying alternate assessments based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) eligibility issues. In 2008 and 2009, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction held three focus groups to accomplish three specific goals: (1) To help educators become familiar with federal regulatory language about students eligible for the AA-MAS; (2) to familiarize educators with issues that must be considered when determining which students might qualify for the AA-MAS; and (3) to help educators identify strategies for improving instruction and assessment practices for struggling learners.
Published: January 2011- Thinking About the Students Who May Qualify to Participate in An Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS): A Tool for Study Groups
A tool to learn more about the characteristics of students who may quality to participate in an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). This is an archived report because this assessment option is no longer allowed.
Published: 2010-12-01 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Characteristics of States' Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards in 2009-2010 (#80)A report tracking the characteristics of states' alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-MAS) that the National Center on Educational Outcomes has been following since 2007. The current report found 13 states that by the 2009-10 school year had developed, or were developing, what they considered to be an AA-MAS, and two additional states (Kansas and Louisiana) had received federal approval. This study also tracked whether states' AA-MAS were computer-based and whether the states' documents included considerations for English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities. Four of the thirteen states had a computer-based test. Documents from six states suggested that the needs of ELL students participating in the AA-MAS were considered.
Published: November 2010- NCEO Annual Performance Reports and State Performance Plans: 2007-2008 State Assessment DataFormats: PDF
A report summarizing the 2007-2008 state assessment information that was submitted by states in their Annual Performance Reports. States and other educational entities receiving Part B funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) submitted their Annual Performance Reports and Section 618 Table 6 data together to the U.S. Secretary of Education on or before February 2009. This report summarizes the 2007-2008 state assessment information that was submitted by states in their Annual Performance Reports. It contains information on large-scale assessment participation and performance data for the 2007-2008 school year.
Published: August 2010 
Developing and Improving Modified Achievement Level Descriptors: Rationale, Procedures, and ToolsFormats: PDFA report providing a rationale, procedures, and tools to develop and continuously improve alternate assessments based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) achievement level descriptors (ALDs). As states make decisions on whether and how to develop an AA-MAS, they will also be developing a defense of the choices they make. This paper proposes a process to guide state work so that stakeholders and policymakers can articulate, from the very beginning, the educational rationale for their choices and the implications of this rationale for the specific design choices they make related to their ALDs.
Published: 2010- Developing and Improving Modified Achievement Level Descriptors: Rationale, Procedures, and Tools
Procedures and tools to develop and continuously improve achievement level descriptors for alternate assessments based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). This is an archived report because this assessment option is no longer allowed.
Published: 2010-06-01 
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- What Have We Learned About Student Characteristics, Accommodations, and AA-MAS?Formats: PDF
The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) and a consortium of five states joined together to form the Multi-state GSEG Toward a Defensible Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Achievement Standards (AA-MAS). This paper reports the results of one study conducted by this GSEG project. The purpose of this study was to learn more about the extent to which low performing students used accommodations.
Published: April 2010