State policies on assessment participation and accommodations for students with disabilities.

State assessment systems continue to evolve as federal requirements change and more students are included in the assessment systems. An examination of states' participation and accommodations policies in place at the beginning of the accountability requirements set by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 revealed that policies for both participation and accommodations were becoming more specific in comparison to previous years. Additional participation options beyond the usual three (participation without accommodations, participation with accommodations, alternate assessment) were more evident in state policies, and states continued to increase the number of accommodations included in their policies. Some states allowed accommodations for all students regardless of whether they received special education services. The most controversial accommodations continued to be read aloud, calculator, and scribe. Changes in state policies, differences among current policies, and implications of these policies are discussed.

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In recent years, all 50 states have embarked on education initiatives focused on increased accountability for improved student performance. The logic behind these efforts has been to find a way to measure student success in achieving challenging academic standards and to hold schools accountable for the results. Statewide assessment has become a common way to hold schools accountable for improving education outcomes for all students. Statewide assessment results help policymakers make decisions to improve education programs.

History

In the past, students with disabilities were excluded from statewide assessment systems for a variety of reasons (Elliott, Erickson, Thurlow, & Shriner, 2000; Elliott, Thurlow, Ysseldyke, & Erickson, 1997; Huebert & Hauser, 1999; McGrew, Thurlow, & Spiegel, 1993). As states increased their reliance on accountability systems to improve education outcomes, however, this exclusion created a source of concern: Students with disabilities might not receive benefits from resulting reforms. This concern was an important factor in federal legislation mandating the inclusion of students with disabilities in statewide assessment systems.

Legal Requirements

In 1997 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was amended to require states to include students with disabilities in statewide assessments, to offer accommodations where appropriate, to report the number of students with disabilities participating in the assessments, and to report the performance of these students with the same frequency and in the same detail that all students' performance levels are reported. According to the law, states are also required to develop alternate means of assessment for those students who are unable to participate in standard assessments and to report the performance of these students.