ERIC Number: ED504421
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Dec
Pages: 156
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
2007 State Policies on Assessment Participation and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities. Synthesis Report 69
Christensen, Laurene L.; Lazarus, Sheryl S.; Crone, Melissa; Thurlow, Martha L.
National Center on Educational Outcomes, University of Minnesota
This document presents an update of a 2006 report from NCEO tracking and analyzing 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. The study found that state policies focus more on accommodations that allow for valid scores. There is a greater differentiation among accommodations for different groups of students (students with Individualized Education Programs, students with 504 Plans, English language learners). All regular states and some unique states have Web sites where users can access their policies. The "read aloud questions" and "sign interpret questions" accommodations continue to be controversial. More states have policies that prohibit certain accommodations than they did in 2005. More states have guidelines for the use of accommodations requiring a third party/access assistant (scribe, reader, sign language interpreter). This document is a descriptive analysis of the written policies that states have for the participation of students with disabilities in assessments and the use of accommodations during their assessments. Appended are: (A) State Documents Used in Analysis of Participation and Accommodation Policies; and (B) Participation and Accommodation Guidelines by State. (Contains 38 tables and 10 figures.)
Descriptors: Public Policy, State Government, Educational Policy, Change, Disabilities, Student Evaluation, Testing, Student Participation, Testing Accommodations, Criteria, Eligibility, Guidelines
National Center on Educational Outcomes. University of Minnesota, 350 Elliott Hall, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Tel: 612-626-1530; Fax: 612-624-0879; e-mail: nceo@umn.edu; Web site: http://education.umn.edu/NCEO/
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Office of Special Education Programs (ED/OSERS)
Authoring Institution: National Center on Educational Outcomes
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A