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- NCEO Reports: An Updated State Guide to Universally Designed Assessments (#431)
This Guide is an update to the State Guide to Universally Designed Assessments that was originally published by NCEO in 2006. It provides a brief overview of what a universally designed assessment is, followed by a set of steps for states to consider when designing and developing, or revising, their summative assessments. The focus of this Guide is states’ summative assessments—general content assessments of reading/language arts, mathematics, science, and other content areas; alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS); English language proficiency (ELP) assessments; and alternate-ELP assessments.
Published: February 2022 
NARAP Reports: Accessibility Principles for Reading AssessmentsFormats: PDFA report presenting evidence-based principles for making large scale assessments of reading proficiency more accessible for students who have disabilities that affect reading, while maintaining a high level of validity for all students taking the assessments. The National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects (NARAP), of which the Institute's Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment is a member, have been conducting research to identify ways to increase the accessibility of reading assessments. This document is the culmination of one of NARAP's goals: to develop evidence-based principles for making large scale assessments of reading proficiency more accessible for students who have disabilities that affect reading, while maintaining a high level of validity for all students taking the assessments. Some of the principles clarify and underscore the importance of well-accepted and widely used practices in designing reading assessments. Other principles have been developed from theory to respond to the needs of specific groups of students. The principles are to be viewed as a whole, representing a coherent and integrated approach to accessibility. They provide a vision of accessible reading assessments. This document was written primarily for personnel in state assessment offices and for test developers of regular large scale reading assessments used for accountability purposes. Other audiences also may find the document to be of interest and useful for other types of assessments.
Published: September 2009
PARA Accessible Reading Assessment Reports: Accommodations for State Reading Assessments: Policies Across the NationA report summarizing accommodation policies for the content area of reading. Because of the increase in the use of computer-based assessments, the authors also examined whether reading assessment policies varied as a function of test format. Two research questions are addressed in this report: (1) What did state accommodation policies specify for individual accommodations on state reading assessments? And (2) Did different formats (computer vs. paper and pencil) have different accommodations policies for state reading assessments? This analysis of states' accommodation policies for their reading assessments indicates the importance of understanding the intended constructs to be assessed by the state reading assessment. Policies indicate that there are different perspectives on the constructs, and that further explication of the content to be assessed would be beneficial.
Published: September 2011- MIDAS Project Reports: Using Multiple Measures of Academic Achievement to Inform Instruction for Students with Disabilities Who Moved from the Alternate Assessment to the General State Assessment (#101)Formats: PDF
This report presents an overview of two types of assessments that can inform instructional decision making for students with disabilities who moved from the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS) to the general assessment: (1) interim assessments and (2) formative assessment practices. The report concludes with several takeaways that can support improved practice.
Published: April 2024 
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Assessment Guidelines that Maximize the Participation of Students with Disabilities in Large-Scale Assessments: Characteristics and Considerations (#25)Formats: OnlineThis 1996 report provides: (1) An overview of immediate and past practice in participation, accommodation, and reporting of students with disabilities in state and national assessments; (2) Criteria for making decisions around participation, accommodation, and reporting of assessment results for students with disabilities. (3) Examples and nonexamples of criteria markers in existing state guidelines, (4) short list of assessment accommodations in four categories, and (5) A hands-on approach to examining and/or revising state and district guidelines about accountability, large-scale assessments, and students with disabilities.
Published: October 1996
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
NCEO Synthesis Reports: A Perspective on Education and Assessment in Other Nations: Where Are Students with Disabilities? (#19)Formats: OnlineFindings about the exclusion of students with disabilities in U. S. assessments necessarily lead to questions about the status of students with disabilities in international comparison assessments and in the assessments used in other nations. Are students with disabilities included in these assessments? Are appropriate accommodations used during the assessments? When are "exclusion rates" reported? Do all countries start from the same base of "all" students? The purpose of this 1995 report is to address these kinds of questions. We do this by examining students with disabilities in international comparison studies and in assessments in each of 14 nations, including the U. S., that are among those included in previous or current international comparative studies.
Published: April 1995
PARA Accessible Reading Assessment Reports: Developing and Researching an Accessible Reading Assessment for Students with DisabilitiesFormats: PDFA report documenting the Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment's (PARA) field test to determine the degree to which its accessible reading assessment provided for accessibility, validity, and comparability for students with learning disabilities (LD), speech-language impairments (SLI), intellectual disabilities (ID), and deafness/hard of hearing (D/HH). The PARA field test of its accessible assessment compared to a proxy state assessment was conducted in the spring and fall of 2010 and included over 3,700 students (over 1,500 special education students and over 2,100 non-special education students). The field test included special education students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) who were categorized as having LD, SLI, ID, or D/HH.
Four primary research questions are addressed in the report:
- Is the PARA accessible reading assessment more accessible than a proxy state reading assessment for students with LD, and for students with disabilities combined (LD, SLI, ID, and D/HH)?
- Are scores from the PARA accessible reading assessment more reliable than scores from the proxy state assessment for students with LD, and for students with disabilities combined (LD, SLI, ID, and D/HH)
- Is there evidence of the validity of scores from the accessible reading assessment?
- Does the PARA accessible reading assessment demonstrate the same characteristics (student performance, reliability, validity) for students in grades 4 and 8?
Published: May 2012
NCEO Synthesis Reports: Status of the States in the Development of Alternate Assessments (#31)Formats: OnlineThis 1999 report describes the results of an online survey to assess the status of states in the development of alternate assessments to be in place by July 1, 2000. In the survey, states were also asked about a variety of developmental features of their alternate assessments.
Published: April 1999
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- Successfully Instructing and Assessing Students who Take the Alternate Assessment (and Those Who Used to Take the Alternate)Formats: PDF
This presentation addresses how to successfully instruct and assess students who currently take alternate assessments or used to take them. It was presented at the 2020 Inclusive Education Leadership Institute.
Published: 2020-11-11 - Forum on Alternate Assessment and "Gray Area" AssessmentFormats: Online
This year 1999 report presents the proceedings of a pre-conference session at the National Conference on Large-Scale Assessment that took place June 1999, where consensus emerged that it is not the students byt the assessments for which gray areas currently exist.
Published: July 1999 - Formative AssessmentFormats: Online
This page provides information on formative assessment.
Published: 2021-02-01 - Alternate Interim Assessments for Students with the Most Significant Cognitive DisabilitiesFormats: Online
This video offers preliminary guidance for the development of interim assessment options for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. There are federal requirements that all statewide and districtwide administrations of an assessment must have an alternate assessment. Given the importance interim assessments have now when there is an increased need for timely data on student learning and progress, the creation of high-quality alternate interim assessment options for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities requires urgent attention.
Published: July 2021 
NCEO Technical Reports: Considerations for the Development and Review of Universally Designed Assessments (#42)This year 2005 report describes the development of a form for assessment designers to use to incorporate universal design considerations into assessments. It describes the Delphi validation process undertaken with the original design considerations of the Universal Design Project and includes commentary from assessment and content area experts. Several recommendations are provided on the use of the considerations at all stages of assessment development.
Published: November 2005
NCEO Reports: Principles and Characteristics of Inclusive Assessment Systems in a Changing Assessment Landscape (#400)This document is the fourth in a series of Principles documents produced by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). NCEO revisited and revised its 2008 Principles for inclusive assessment systems to respond to the many changes in the current educational assessment context. The revised Principles reflect a broader perspective that acknowledges that the Principles should apply not only for students with disabilities but also for English learners (ELs) and ELs with disabilities, as well as to all types of assessments in assessment systems. Similar to previous documents, it is designed to identify the principles and characteristics of inclusive assessment systems.
Published: February 2016- Universal Design of AssessmentsFormats: Online
This page provides an overview on universal design for assessments.
Published: 2021-02-01 - NCEO Brief: Alternate Interim Assessments for Students with the Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities (#23)
This Brief offers preliminary guidance for the development of interim assessment options for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. There are federal requirements that all statewide and districtwide administrations of an assessment must have an alternate assessment. Given the importance interim assessments have now when there is an increased need for timely data on student learning and progress, the creation of high-quality alternate interim assessment options for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities requires urgent attention.
Published: May 2021 
Lessons Learned About Assessment from Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in College and Career Ready AssessmentsFormats: PDFThe new large-scale assessments rolled out by consortia and states are designed to measure student achievement of rigorous college- and career-ready (CCR) standards. Recent surveys of teachers in several states indicate that students with disabilities adjusted well to the new assessments, and liked many of their features, but that there also are challenges. Some of these challenges are related to assessment issues that need to be addressed to improve accessibility and student outcomes. This Brief was prepared to provide information and suggestions for state education agencies (SEAs) and other technical assistance (TA) providers who work with local education agencies (LEAs). It highlights three main challenges identified by the teachers, and then addresses the implications for assessment and the implications for TA providers.
Published: March 2016- General Assessments of Academic ContentFormats: Online
This page provides information on state general content assessments.
Published: 2021-02-01