NCEO Synthesis Reports: Characteristics of States' Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards in 2010-2011 (#85)

Part of the NCEO Synthesis Reports series.
Author(s)
Lynn M Edwards, Jennifer R Hodgson, Sheryl Lazarus, Martha L Thurlow

Description

A report tracking test design changes between the alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) and regular assessment, whether states' AA-MAS were computer-based, whether states with computer-based tests (CBTs) included tutorial and practice test opportunities, and whether states' documents included considerations for English Language Learners (ELLs) with disabilities. Federal regulations introduced AA-MAS as another assessment option for students with disabilities in 2007. Eligible students may be from any disability category, and they must be considered unlikely to achieve grade-level proficiency within the time period covered by their Individualized Education Program (IEP) and have IEP goals based on grade-level content standards. NCEO has been tracking the characteristics of states' AA-MAS since 2007. According to the 2009 NCEO update on test characteristics, 13 states had developed what they considered to be an AA-MAS, and three states (Texas, Kansas, and Louisiana) had received federal approval. The further study reported in this publication found 17 states that by the 2010-11 academic school year had developed, or were developing, what they considered to be an AA-MAS, and one additional state (North Carolina) had received federal approval.

Details

Date
September 2011 
Type
Report 
Edition
Number 85
Publisher
National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)

Topics

  • Educational accountability and assessment
    • English Learners with Disabilities
    • Accessibility & Accommodations
    • Students with Disabilities
    • Alternate Assessments