1. Slide 1 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Snapshots: What We Know about State Assessment Practices Martha L. Thurlow National Center on Educational Outcomes THURL001@umn.edu www.nceo.info

2. Slide 2 Assessment Options General Assessments General Assessments with Accommodations Alternate Assessments based on Grade- Level Achievement Standards Alternate Assessments based on Alternate Achievement Standards Alternate Assessments based on Modified Achievement Standards National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)

3. Slide 3 General Assessments Participation Performance Assessment Development Narrowing the Achievement Gap National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)

4. Slide 4 Participation Public reporting of participation provides one view – most often NCLB view (students count only if in school for one year) Reporting to the Secretary of Education, as required by law gives another view – based on total population of students with IEPs National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)

5. Slide 5 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) From NCEO analysis of APR data – Thurlow et al., 2008

6. Slide 6 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) From NCEO analysis of APR data – Thurlow et al., 2008

7. Slide 7 Participation Reporting Practices Changing Situations Under Which Students are Counted as Nonparticipants (# of States): 20072005 Did not take assessment47 35 Did not complete enough items to score176 Accommodations produced invalid results188 Tested at a lower grade than enrollment162 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Based on data from the 2007 NCEO Survey of States

8. Slide 8 Performance Public reporting of performance provides one view – most often NCLB view (students count only if in school for one year) Reporting to the Secretary of Education, as required by law gives another view – based on total population of students with IEPs National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)

9. Slide 9 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) md = missing data (2 regular states and 1 unique state From NCEO analysis of APR data – Thurlow et al., 2008

10. Slide 10 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) md =missing data (n=1 regular state and 1 unique state From NCEO analysis of APR data – Thurlow et al., 2008

11. Slide 11 Assessment Development National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) How States Addressed Universal Design in General Assessment Development Process (# of States): Included in RFP for test development39 Expert review27 Think aloud methods as part of field test2 Statistical analyses10 “UDA” NOT addressed in test development 1 Based on data from the 2007 NCEO Survey of States

12. Slide 12 Assessment Development National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Bias/Sensitivity Reviews – Representation of Disability Perspective DisabilityNo DisabilityRepresentation Content Review31 3 Bias Review332 Based on data from the 2007 NCEO Survey of States

13. Slide 13 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Narrowing the Achievement Gap National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Perceived Factors Related to Positive Achievement Based on data from the 2007 NCEO Survey of States

14. Slide 14 Positive Trends in Performance National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Data Availability for Positive Trend Factors Based on data from the 2007 NCEO Survey of States

15. Slide 15 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) General Assessments with Accommodations Numbers Using Accommodations Accommodations Policies Hints & Tips for States

16. Slide 16 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Accommodations States are required to report on the number of students using accommodations during the general assessment Not all states yet report these data; some report data for different types of accommodations than others

17. Slide 17 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) From NCEO analysis of APR data – Thurlow et al., 2008

18. Slide 18 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) From NCEO analysis of APR data – Thurlow et al., 2008

19. Slide 19 Accommodation Policies Change States with Read Aloud Question Changes in Policy – comparing 2003 to 2005 and 2007 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Number of States No changes since 200319 One change since 200319 Two changes since 200312 From NCEO Data Viewer at http://data.nceo.info

20. Slide 20 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Alternate Assessments based on Grade-Level Achievement Standards (AA-GLAS) Number of States Providing This Option Issue – A Misunderstood Option?

21. Slide 21 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) ReadingMath ElementaryMiddle High SchoolElementaryMiddle High School Kansas18%21%19%15%22%19% Louisiana5%10%5% 10%5% Massachusetts a 0% a 1% Minnesota8%7%6%7% 8% Mississippi a 0% a 0% North Carolina18%16%2%15% 2% Texas19%20%13%22%21%14% Virginia10%12%0% a 8%11%0% a Wisconsin a 1%0% a 1%0% a Percentage of Students with IEPs Participating in AA-GLAS a Small percentage (< 0.5) participated n the grade level(s) and content area(s) represented as 0%. From NCEO analysis of APR data – Thurlow et al., 2008

22. Slide 22 Issue: AA-GLAS Misunderstood 2005-062006-07* KansasIndiana LouisianaMassachusetts MassachusettsMontana MinnesotaNorth Carolina MississippiVirginia North CarolinaWashington TexasWest Virginia Virginia Wisconsin National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)

23. Slide 23 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Alternate Assessments based on Alternate Achievement Standards Participation Performance

24. Slide 24 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) From NCEO analysis of APR data – Thurlow et al., 2008

25. Slide 25 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) From NCEO analysis of APR data – Thurlow et al., 2008

26. Slide 26 States Exceeding the 1% Cap Delaware*MichiganOregon** FloridaMississippiTexas GeorgiaNorth DakotaVirginia Louisiana*OhioWisconsin** Massachusetts** National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) * High School Only ** Elementary School Only From NCEO analysis of APR data – Thurlow et al., 2008

27. Slide 27 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Alternate Assessments based on Modified Achievement Standards Number of States Providing This Option Criteria for Participation Nature of Assessments

28. Slide 28 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Number of States with AA-MAS July 2007 – 5 states indicated that they had an AA-MAS (all were developed prior to the April, 2007 regulation: Kansas Louisiana North Carolina North Dakota Oklahoma In addition, Maryland provided information on its Web site about the development a AA-MAS. From NCEO Synthesis Report 67 – Lazarus et al., 2007

29. Slide 29 States Considering AA-MAS National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Based on data from the 2007 NCEO Survey of States

30. Slide 30 Criteria for Participation National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Criteria No. of States Student has IEP6 Multiple years behind grade level expectations4 Not based on categorical label4 Does not have significant cognitive disabilities4 Not due to excessive absences or to social, cultural, environmental, or economic factors 4 Learning grade level content3 Not based on placement setting2 Previously scored at unsatisfactory level2 Eligibility Criteria in 6 States with AA-MAS* * Includes Maryland From NCEO Synthesis Report 67 – Lazarus et al., 2007

31. Slide 31 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) NCEO Survey Showed States Identifying Many Categories As Most Likely to Participate in AA-MAS Based on data from the 2007 NCEO Survey of States

32. Slide 32 Nature of Assessments National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) StatePortfolioMultiple Choice Constructed Response Writing Prompt KSX LAXXX MDX NCX NDX OKXX Total1512 Type of Assessment/Questions in 6 States with AA-MAS From NCEO Synthesis Report 67 – Lazarus et al., 2007

33. Slide 33 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) ChangeNo. of States Distractor Removed4 Fewer Items4 Simplified Language4 Shorter Passages3 Segmentation of Passages1 Nature of Changes to Items in 6 States with AA-MAS From NCEO Synthesis Report 67 – Lazarus et al., 2007

34. Slide 34 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Accommodation No. of States Fewer items/page3 Larger font size3 Calculator2 Breaks as needed2 Key text underlined/bolded1 Accommodations Incorporated into Design in 6 States with AA-MAS From NCEO Synthesis Report 67 – Lazarus et al., 2007

35. Slide 35 National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Characteristics of Assessment in 40 Planning to Develop and AA-MAS CharacteristicNumber of States Include only multiple choice questions11 Reduce total # of items or time to complete25 Simplify vocabulary26 Use non-traditional items or formats16 Use shorter or fewer reading passages29 Use fewer items or fewer answer choices23 Based on data from the 2007 NCEO Survey of States

36. Slide 36 Stay Tuned for More Snapshots National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Visit NCEO’s Web site for more and continuing information on assessment options: www.nceo.info