Reports

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• Educational Outcomes
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Educational Outcomes (cont.)

NCEO Synthesis Reports

A series of reports examining assessment and accommodations policies and practices in relation to students with disabilities. Published by the Institute’s National Center on Educational Outcomes. • Cost: Free, available only on the Web

Synthesis Report 72: Characteristics of States’ Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards in 2008
By D. Albus, S. Lazarus, M. Thurlow, and D. Cormier
A report describing an assessment option permitted by federal regulations that give states the flexibility to offer an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). This assessment option is for a small group of students with disabilities who can make significant progress but may not reach grade-level proficiency within the time period covered by their Individualized Education Program. Students who participate in an AA-MAS must have access to grade-level content. States are not required to offer this option. This report compiles, analyzes, and summarizes states’ participation guidelines for the AA-MAS. (2009)

Synthesis Report 71: States’ Participation Guidelines for Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) in 2008
By S. Lazarus, C. Rogers, D. Cormier, and M. Thurlow
A report describing an assessment option permitted by federal regulations that give states the flexibility to offer an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). This assessment option is for a small group of students with disabilities who can make significant progress but may not reach grade-level proficiency within the time period covered by their Individualized Education Program. Students who participate in an AA-MAS must have access to grade-level content. States are not required to offer this option. This report compiles, analyzes, and summarizes states’ participation guidelines for the AA-MAS. (2008)

Synthesis Report 70: A Principled Approach to Accountability Assessments for Students with Disabilities
By M. Thurlow, R. Quenemoen, S. Lazarus, R. Moen, C. Johnstone, K. Liu, L. Christensen, D. Albus, and J. Altman
A 2008 report updating the National Center on Educational Outcomes’ (NCEO) report from 2001 that identified principles and characteristics underlying inclusive assessment and accountability systems. This report on a principled approach to accountability assessments for students with disabilities reflects what the center has learned during the past seven years. The principles provide a vision for an inclusive system of assessments used for system accountability. The report addresses state and district K-12 academic content assessments designed for system accountability and focuses on all students with disabilities, including targeted groups of students within this group (e.g., English Language Learners with disabilities). Multiple stakeholders share the common goal of improving educational outcomes for all students have reviewed and commented on the principles and characteristics presented here. (2008)

Synthesis Report 69: 2007 State Policies on Assessment Participation and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
By L. Christensen, S. Lazarus, M. Crone, and M. Thurlow
A 2008 report updating the National Center on Educational Outcomes’ (NCEO) report from 2006 that tracked and analyzed state policies on assessment participation and accommodations since 1992. The purpose of the current analysis is to update information on these policies that was last reported by NCEO in 2006 (based on 2005 data). In this analysis, policies from all 50 states, plus 8 of the unique states, were reviewed. Two unique states – the Bureau of Indian Education and the U.S. Virgin Islands – were not included in the analysis. The current analysis of states’ 2007 participation and accommodation policies found that state policies on participation and accommodation continue to evolve, and that they have become more detailed and specific than in previous years. (2008)

Synthesis Report 68: A Brief History of Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Achievement Standards
By R. Quenemoen
A 2008 report reviewing the previous 15 years of alternate assessment development, from the early 1990s through the mid-2000s, as reported by state directors of special education on the Institute’s National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) state surveys, and augmented by other research and policy reports published by NCEO and related organizations during that timeframe. This is a resource for state and federal policymakers and staff, researchers, test companies, and the public and it helps explain the evolution of alternate assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities. (2008)

Synthesis Report 67: States’ Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) in 2007
By S. Lazarus, M. Thurlow, L. Christensen, and D. Cormier
A report describing aspects of the No Child Left Behind regulations that were finalized in April 2007 giving states the option to develop an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). This assessment option is for a small group of students with disabilities who can make significant progress, but who may not reach grade-level achievement within the time period covered by their Individualized Education Program (IEP). Prior to the finalization of this regulation a few states had developed, or were developing, an assessment they considered to be an AA-MAS though none had yet been through the U.S. Department of Education’s peer review process. This study compiles and summarizes publicly available information about these assessments. (2007)

Synthesis Report 66: English Language Learners with Disabilities in State English Language Proficiency Assessments: A Review of State Accommodation Policies
By D. Albus and M. Thurlow
A report documenting states’ participation and accommodations policies for English Language Learners (ELLs) with disabilities on their English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessments. The states’ online policies from spring 2006, after state verification, showed that 31 states addressed accommodations for ELLs with disabilities. Of these 31 states, 13 states allowed the exclusion of a student based on his or her disability characteristics for one or more domains of the ELP assessment. Most often, ELLs who were deaf/hard of hearing or who had visual impairments or blindness were allowed to be excluded. Ten states allowed exclusion based on severity of disability. For participation, three states allowed partial or full exclusion for students needing to participate in an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards. The summary of findings suggests a number of promising practices and issues to be addressed. (2007)

Synthesis Report 65: Item-level Effects of the Read-aloud Accommodation for Students with Reading Disabilities
By S. Bolt and M. Thurlow
A report examining data on accommodated and non-accommodated performances of students with specific reading disabilities on various math test items anticipated to be highly sensitive to accommodation effects. (2006)

Synthesis Report 64: 2005 State Policies on Assessment Participation and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
By S. Lazarus, M. Thurlow, K. Lail, K. Eisenbraun, and K. Kato
A report analyzing states’ 2005 participation and accommodation policies found that state policies continue to evolve, and that they have become more detailed and specific than in previous years. NCEO has been tracking and analyzing state policies on assessment participation and accommodations since 1992 and this report is part of that project. (2006)

Additonal Synthesis Reports

• Synthesis Report 63: A Comparison of IEP/504 Accommodations Under Classroom and Standardized Testing Conditions: A Preliminary Report on SEELS Data (2006)
• Synthesis Report 62: Intended and Unintended Consequences of Minnesota’s Basic Standards Tests for Students with Disabilities (2006)
• Synthesis Report 61: Effect of Minimum Cell Sizes and Confidence Interval Sizes for Special Education Subgroups on School-Level AYP Determinations (2006)
• Synthesis Report 60: Dealing With Flexibility in Assessments for Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities (2006)
• Synthesis Report 59: Alternate Assessments Measured Against Grade-level Achievement Standards: The Massachusetts “Competency Portfolio” (2006)
• Synthesis Report 58: Access Assistants for State Assessments: A Study of State Guidelines for Scribes, Readers, and Sign Language Interpreters (2006)
• Synthesis Report 57: One State’s Story: Access and Alignment to the GRADE-LEVEL Content for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (2005)
• Synthesis Report 56: 2003 State Policies on Assessment Participation and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities (2005)
• Synthesis Report 55: Expectations for Students with Cognitive Disabilities: Is the Cup Half Empty or Half Full? Can the Cup Flow Over? (2004)
• Synthesis Report 54: Alternative Routes to the Standard Diploma (2005)
• Synthesis Report 53: Progress Monitoring in an Inclusive Standards-Based Assessment and Accountability System (2004)
• Synthesis Report 52: Washington Alternate Assessment System Technical Report on Standard Setting for the 2002 Portfolio (2003)
• Synthesis Report 51: Large-Scale Assessment and Accountability Systems: Positive Consequences for Students with Disabilities (2004)
• Synthesis Report 50: Measuring Academic Achievement of Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Building Understanding of Alternate Assessment Scoring Criteria (2003)
• Synthesis Report 49: Varied Opinions on How to Report Accommodated Test Scores: Findings Based on CTB/McGraw-Hill's Framework for Classifying Accommodations (2003)
• Synthesis Report 48: Massachusetts: One State's Approach to Setting Performance Levels on the Alternate Assessment (2002)
• Synthesis Report 47: A Report of a Standard Setting Method for Alternate Assessments for Students with Significant Disabilities (2002)
• Synthesis Report 46: 2001 State Policies on Assessment Participation and Accommodations (2002)
• Synthesis Report 45: Access to Computer-Based Testing for Students with Disabilities (2002)
• Synthesis Report 44: Universal Design Applied to Large Scale Assessments (2002)
• Synthesis Report 43: Use of Alternate Assessment Results in Reporting and Accountability Systems: Conditions for Use Based on Research and Practice (2002)
• Synthesis Report 42: Setting Standards on Alternate Assessments (2002)
• Synthesis Report 41: Empirical Support for Accommodations Most Often Allowed in State Policy (2001)
• Synthesis Report 40: Principles and Characteristics of Inclusive Assessment and Accountability Systems (2001)
• Synthesis Report 38: Addressing Standards and Assessments on State IEP Forms (2001)
• Synthesis Report 37: Students with Disabilities in Standards-based Assessment and Accountability Systems: Emerging Issues, Strategies, and Recommendations (2001)
• Synthesis Report 34: Social Promotion and Students with Disabilities: Issues and Challenges in Developing State Policies (2000)

Archived Issues of NCEO Synthesis Reports

These older issues of NCEO Synthesis Reports have been archived because some of the information they contain may be out of date. They may still be useful for some types of research, teaching, or information gathering.

 

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NCEO Technical Reports

A series of reports published by the Institute’s National Center on Educational Outcomes. • Cost: Free, available only on the Web

New!
Technical Report 53: Achieving Transparency in the Public Reporting of 2006-2007 Assessment Results
By D. Albus, M. Thurlow, and C. Bremer
A report summarizing States' reports on the participation and performance of students with disabilities by (a) submitting annual performance reports (APRs) to the U.S. Department of Education, and (b) publicly reporting state assessment data via their Web sites and other communication avenues. Both APRs and public reports provide important information, although the two may be slightly different in how the data are presented. This report analyzes the public reporting of disaggregated data for students with disabilities. It is the eleventh such report by NCEO, and this analysis, for school year 2006-2007, also marks the fifth data cycle since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. (2009)

Technical Report 52: Good News and Bad News in Disaggregated Subgroup Reporting to the Public on 2005-2006 Assessment Results
By M. Thurlow, C. Bremer, and D. Albus
A report analyzing the public reporting of disaggregated data for students with disabilities by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). This analysis, which is the 10th done by NCEO, is for school year 2005/2006 and it marks the fourth data cycle from the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. On this tenth anniversary, NCEO presents both the good news and bad news for 2005/2006 reporting and summarizes other observed trends. (2008)

Technical Report 51: An Analysis of Accommodations Issues from the Standards and Assessments Peer Review
By M. Thurlow, L. Christensen, and K. Lail
A report commissioned by the Accommodations Monitoring Study Group of the Assessing Special Education Students State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards. It is the second in a three-part series providing information to states about the monitoring of accommodations to address the question of how states meet the NCLB requirement to routinely monitor the extent to which test accommodations are consistent with those provided during instruction, specifically for students with IEPs. This technical report provides a comprehensive analysis of the peer review guidance information and the methodology used in the research, as well as summarizing themes found across multiple peer reviews of state assessment systems. The first report in the series is Hints and Tips for Addressing Accommodations Issues for Peer Review. (2008) 

Technical Report 50: Trends in the Participation and Performance of Students with Disabilities
By M. Thurlow, R. Quenemoen, J. Altman, and M. Cuthbert
A report describing the first comprehensive analysis conducted by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) of trends in the public reporting of state assessment results for students with disabilities. The study followed NCEO’s four analyses of public reporting since the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. More states are reporting assessment data for students with disabilities disaggregated by grade level and content area. States have also improved their data collection systems that make this type of reporting possible but the number of states for which data were available across the four years was relatively small. Based on the states with data across years, average percentages of students with disabilities performing at the proficient or above level showed moderate increases across the four years for both reading and math in elementary and middle schools but not in high schools. Trend data also showed higher percentages of elementary school students demonstrating proficient or above performance in reading and math than their counterparts in middle and high school. Trends in the Participation and Performance of Students with Disabilities is a brief summary of this report. (2008)

Technical Report 49: Revisiting Graduation Requirements and Diploma Options for Youth with Disabilities: A National Study
By D. R. Johnson, M. Thurlow, and K. Stout
A document reporting on National Center on Educational Outcomes’ (NCEO) fourth study of state graduation requirements for students with disabilities. This national study was designed to describe current variations across states in high school exit exam practices and the use of alternative diploma/credentialing options. The study also examines the intended and unintended consequences for students when they are required to pass exit exams to receive a high school diploma, and the intended and unintended consequences of using single or multiple diploma options for students with disabilities. (2007)

Technical Report 48: Student Think-Aloud Reflections on Comprehensible and Readable Assessment Items: Perspectives on What Does and Does Not Make an Item Readable
By C. Johnstone, K. Liu, J. Altman, and M. Thurlow
A document reporting on research related to large-scale assessments for students with learning disabilities in reading. The researchers examined the role of “readable and comprehensible” test items that could make assessments more universally designed, using think-aloud methods to better understand how interventions to improve readability affect student performance. Reducing word counts in items and making important words bold did not seem to affect student achievement but vocabulary did. Students had difficulty with non-construct vocabulary in both the stem and answer choices of items as well as with words that have negative prefixes (e.g., dis). This suggests that readability correlates with vocabulary and that construct and non-construct vocabulary must be clearly defined in order to make tests more accessible. (2007)

Additional Technical Reports
The following earlier reports are also available:

• Technical Report 47: A Summary of the Research on the Effects of Test Accommodations: 2005-2006 (2007)
• Technical Report 46: Nearing the Target in Disaggregated Subgroup Reporting to the Public on 2004-2005 Assessment Results (2007)
• Technical Report 45: A Summary of Research on the Effects of Test Accommodations: 2002 Through 2004 (2006)
• Technical Report 44: Using the Think Aloud Method (Cognitive Labs) To Evaluate Test Design for Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners (2006)
• Technical Report 43: Uneven Transparency: NCLB Tests Take Precedence in Public Assessment Reporting for Students with Disabilities (2006)
• Technical Report 42: Considerations for the Development and Review of Universally Designed Assessments (2005)
• Technical Report 41: Analyzing Results of Large-Scale Assessments to Ensure Universal Design (2005)
• Technical Report 40: Steady Progress: State Reporting Practices for Students with Disabilities After the First Year of NCLB (2002-2003) (2005)
• Technical Report 39: Almost There in Public Reporting of Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities (2004)
• Technical Report 38: State Literacy Standards, Practice, and Testing: Exploring Accessibility (2004)
• Technical Report 37: Improving Validity of Large-Scale Tests: Universal Design and Student Performance (2003)
• Technical Report 36: A National Study on Graduation Requirements and Diploma Options for Youth with Disabilities (2003)
• Technical Report 35: Going Public: What 2000-2001 Reports Tell Us About the Performance of Students with Disabilities (2003)
• Technical Report 34: A Summary of Research on the Effects of Test Accommodations: 1999 Through 2001 (2002)
• Technical Report 33: Are We There Yet? Accountability for the Performance of Students with Disabilities (2002)
• Technical Report 32: On the Road to Accountability: Reporting Outcomes for Students with Disabilities (2002)
• Technical Report 31: Read-Aloud Accommodation: Effects on Multiple-Choice Reading and Math Items (2001)
• Technical Report 30: Use of Accommodations in State Assessments: What Databases Tell Us About Differential Levels of Use and How to Document the Use of Accommodations (2001)
• Technical Report 28: Effects of a Reading Accommodation on the Validity of a Reading Test (2000)
• Technical Report 27: Interpreting Trends in the Performance of Special Education Students (2000)
• Technical Report 26: Assessment Accommodations Research: Considerations for Design and Analysis (2000)
• Technical Report 25: Where’s Waldo? A Third Search for Students with Disabilities in State Accountability Reports (2000)

Archived Issues of NCEO Technical Reports

These older issues of NCEO Technical Reports have been archived because some of the information they contain may be out of date. They may still be useful for some types of research, teaching, or information gathering.

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