Most students with disabilities participate in state assessments with or without accommodations [based on each student's Individualized Education Program (IEP)]. A small number of students with the most severe or profound intellectual disabilities participate in an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). Until…

Discusses the participation of students with disabilities on the Stanford Achievement Test in West Virginia and the testing guidelines and testing Accommodations used. The effects of the inclusion of students with disabilities on class standings and teacher attitudes towards the participation of students with disabilities are addressed. (CR)

This report describes how assessments are scored and results are reported in the inclusive assessment and accountability systems in Maryland and Kentucky. Specific topics include: (1) how school performance is reported to the public; (2) what components go into the reported performance of schools; (3) how scores are obtained for students in the…

This research brief uses data collected by the Center for Policy Research on the Impact of General and Special Education Reform to highlight issues surrounding the inclusion and exclusion of students with disabilities in state accountability systems. The brief discusses the background of standards-based reform, traditional general education…

This report discusses the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that require states to develop alternate assessments for students with disabilities who cannot participate in large-scale assessment programs. The report also profiles five state alternate assessment practices that have been developed or are emerging and…

This report describes and compares the inclusive assessment and accountability systems of Maryland and Kentucky, with a focus on components, scoring methods, reporting practices, data use, participation of students with disabilities, testing accommodations, and implementation considerations (including cost and training issues). Maryland and…

As part of the educational reform movement, states and local districts have implemented outcomes-based accountability for student outcomes. Outcomes-based accountability systems are using results of both traditional assessments, such as norm-referenced tests, and authentic performance assessments in an effort to measure broad domains of student…

Officials with the National Center for Education Statistics asked the National Research Center's Board on Testing and Assessment to convene a workshop to assist them with their decisions about reporting results for accommodating test takers. The day-long workshop brought together four panels of representatives from state assessment offices,…

School districts, like many other societal groups, function as a system--a dynamically complex web of interaction in which each aspect of the district affects all other aspects. School districts have many outside forces to which they must respond, including state and federal mandates. These mandates impose top-down initiatives with little to no…

This report is a summary of a May 1994 meeting on the participation of students with disabilities in statewide assessment programs. The report reviews the background of the meeting, states the issues addressed, and summarizes the major points of agreement reached. A set of recommendations is offered for making participation and accommodation…

The Texas Education Code requires the Commissioner of Education to develop and propose alternative methods of assessment for students who have not passed the exit level test. The goal of this requirement is an alternative mechanism by which a student can demonstrate the knowledge and skills measured by the exit level test and thus earn a high…

State and federal mandates for education reform call for increased accountability and the inclusion of students with disabilities in all accountability efforts. In the rush to implement high-stakes education reforms, particularly those involving tests or assessments, the particular needs of students with severe cognitive disabilities are only now…