1. National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) Martha Thurlow National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) OSEP Project Directors’ Conference How “Flexible” Are You? July 22, 2008

2. National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Topics 1.Current Assessment Approaches 2.Determining Participation 3.Accommodations

3. National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Current Approaches Information is limited --- States still deciding what to do No data in Annual Performance Reports until 2009 (for 2007-08) Peer review information available only in summary form

4. National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) In July 2007 Five States Had an Assessment that They Believed Was an AA-MAS: Kansas Louisiana North Carolina North Dakota Oklahoma Maryland had information on its Web site about an AA-MAS that the state was developing.

5. National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Type of Assessment/Types of Questions StatePortfolioMultiple Choice Constructed Response Writing Prompt KSX LAXXX MDX NCX NDX OKXX Total1512

6. National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) ChangeNo. of States Distractor Removed4 Fewer Items4 Simplified Language4 Shorter Passages3 Segmentation of Passages1 Number of States That Made Selected Changes

7. National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Determining Eligibility Criteria for AA-MAS What do we know about the students for whom the AA-MAS is appropriate? Previous Studies Current Analyses Peer Guidance Suggestions

8. National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) From Marion, Gong, and Simpson, 2005 Previous Studies National Center on Improvement of Educational Outcomes Colorado Study Requested by Legislature Only.06% for Reading and.15% for Math in the gap Georgia Study of Persistently Low Performing Students Highlighted again instructional and accommodations issues

9. National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) From Cortiella (2007), Learning Opportunities for Your Child Through Alternate Assessments – Alternate Assessments based on Modified Achievement Standards

10. National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Number of States With Selected Eligibility Criteria Criteria No. of States Student has IEP10 Student not progressing at expected rate8 Student is learning grade-level content6 Student has attempted/failed other tests6 Student is not receiving instruction on extended/ alternate standards or functional skills 6 Not based on disability category5 Not based on attendance5 Not due to social, cultural, language, economic, or environmental factors 5 2008 Study

11. National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Identifying Accommodations for AA-MAS State Approaches Accommodations issues for regular assessment Integration of “accommodations” and universal design principles into the regular assessment first, then in the design of the AA-MAS

12. National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) State Approaches – Accommodations Incorporated into AA-MAS Design Accommodation No. of States Fewer items/page3 Larger font size3 Calculator2 Breaks as needed2 Key text underlined/bolded1

13. National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)