This monograph summarizes educational policy trends of the past 5 years in terms of their implications for the educational outcomes of students with disabilities. The first section reviews the gradual development of federal and state policies concerning goal and standard-setting activities, accountability, and large-scale and alternative assessments. The second section examines the participation of students with disabilities in major national and selected state data collection programs, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress; the National Longitudinal Transition Study; the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988; the National Adult Literacy Survey; the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study; and state assessments in Connecticut, Louisiana, and New York. The final section evaluates data on educational outcomes for students with disabilities at the national and state levels by academic level (preschool, elementary, middle school, secondary, and postsecondary) using the National Center on Educational Outcomes conceptual model. Student educational outcomes were found to be a function of disability type and programming. A conclusion stresses the paucity of data on the educational outcomes of students with disabilities and urges the participation and accommodation of students with disabilities in national and state assessments. (Contains 63 references.) (DB)