With the shift from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), accountability models are being changed. Given the past 15 years of reporting on student subgroups and 10 years using various growth models, accountability systems can now be better informed. In this study, we analyze identification and services of students with…

In this technical report, implementation strategies from the first two years of Project ICEBERG exploration are described. Over this period of time, a new preschool assessment, curricular activity, and teacher training tool called the Learning Receptiveness Assessment-Greenhouse application, was iteratively developed, refined, and piloted to…

Students with significant cognitive disabilities are eligible to participate in two statewide testing options for accountability: alternate assessments or general assessments with appropriate accommodations. Participation guidelines are generally quite vague, leading to students "switching" test participation between years. In this…

This technical report is one of a series of four technical reports that describe the results of a study comparing eight alternative models for estimating school academic achievement using data from the Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania accountability systems. The purpose of these reports was to evaluate a broad range of models…

This technical report is one of a series of four technical reports that describe the results of a study comparing eight alternative models for estimating school academic achievement using data from the Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania accountability systems. The purpose of these reports was to evaluate a broad range of models…

This technical report is one of a series of four technical reports that describe the results of a study comparing eight alternative models for estimating school academic achievement using data from the Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania accountability systems. The purpose of these reports was to evaluate a broad range of models…

This technical report is one of a series of four technical reports that describe the results of a study comparing eight alternative models for estimating school academic achievement using data from the Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania accountability systems. The purpose of these reports was to evaluate a broad range of models…

Modeling growth for students with significant cognitive disabilities (SWSCD) is difficult due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, missing data, test scaling, group heterogeneity, and small sample sizes. These challenges may account for the paucity of previous research exploring the academic growth of SWSCD. Our study represents…

Reading comprehension growth trajectories from 3rd to 7th grade were estimated for 99,919 students on a state reading comprehension assessment. We examined whether differences between students in general education (GE) and groups of students identified as exceptional learners were best characterized as stable, widening, or narrowing. The groups…

Conceptually, learning progressions hold promise for improving assessment and instruction by precisely outlining what students know and don't know at particular stages of knowledge and skill development. Based upon a synthesis of the literature, a rationale for the use of learning progressions maps to clarify how learning progresses in English…

For 30 years, researchers have investigated oral reading fluency as a measure of growth in reading proficiency. Yet, little research has been done with these measures in the context of progress monitoring in Tier 2 systems. First, we document teachers' progress-monitoring decisions on type of passage (on-grade or off-grade) and how often to…

We examined instructional processes in classrooms where students with and without disabilities received mathematics instruction to understand the relationship among key instructional process variables and achievement as measured by interim and end-of-year summative assessments. Teachers (N = 78) completed instructional logs daily and administered…

Alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) are designed to measure the academic achievement of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities (SWSCDs). AA-AAS present unique measurement challenges because of the inherent need for individualization in item presentation and response, combined with expectations…

Longitudinally modeling the growth of students with significant cognitive disabilities (SWSCDs) on alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) presents many challenges for states. The number of students in Grades 3-8 who remain in a cohort group varies over time, depending on the methods used to construct the…

We examined the relationship among key instructional process variables and the achievement of students with and without disabilities as measured by both interim and end-of-year summative assessments. Examination of the instructional process data indicated that students with and without disabilities receiving mathematics instruction in the same…