Assessment Principles and Guidelines for ELLs with Disabilities
Published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes, this document looks at improving the validity of assessment results for English language learners with disabilities. This report presents five core principles of valid assessments for this population of students, along with a brief rationale...
Moving Beyond the Mainstream: Helping Diverse Learners Master the Common Core
This special issue of Education Week looks at the challenges that educators face in adapting the Common Core State Standards for students with disabilities, English Language Learners, and gifted students. Articles include the implementation of the CCSS by teachers and schools, collaboration between...
Access for All: Six Principles for Principals to Consider in Implementing CCSS for Students with Disabilities
This short article published by the National Association of Elementary School Principals says that under various state-developed standards and assessments, accommodations for students with disabilities have not been adequately addressed or have been ignored. It claims that the Common Core State...
2012 Survey of States: Successes and Challenges During a Time of Change
This report provides results from a survey conducted by the National Center on Educational Outcomes of state directors of special education and state directors of assessment, relating to state policies, and practices for including students with disabilities in assessment systems and other aspects...
Feature Issue on Educating K-12 English Language Learners with Disabilities
The available knowledge on how to effectively educate K-12 English language learners with disabilities, and measure their progress, is small but growing. However, many educators and families have pressing questions. How can educators distinguish between language-related needs and disability-related...
Literature Review of Testing Accommodations and Accessibility Tools for Students with Disabilities
Critical to the development of any assessment is the ability to make claims about what students know and can do. The purpose of this literature review is to summarize existing research on controversial and innovative accommodations (and accessibility tools) to inform policy decisions.
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium: Accommodations for English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities: A Research-Based Decision Algorithm
In this paper, the authors discuss five major characteristics that an accommodation should have in order to be considered in the assessment of ELLs and SWDs: (1) Effectiveness, it must be effective in making assessments more accessible to the recipients; (2) Validity, it should not alter the focal...
Accommodation Policies for States’ Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) (Synthesis Report 90)
Since 1992, the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) has analyzed participation and accommodation policies for students with disabilities on state administered assessments. This report focuses on accommodation policies for alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA...