To support K-12 students with significant disabilities and get an accurate picture of their skills and knowledge, schools need to implement effective alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). This is the guidebook every team should have--not only to develop successful AA-AAS linked with grade-level content standards, but also to ensure the kind of quality instruction that leads to higher achievement. The follow-up to Kleinert and Kearns's pioneering "Alternate Assessment," this cutting-edge book synthesizes current research on AA-AAS and gives education professionals strategies for implementing assessments and improving instruction. To help educators ensure a high-quality inclusive education for students with disabilities, the authors include detailed, step-by-step examples of modified lessons in math, reading, science, and social studies. Readers will see how instruction and assessment can be adapted for students of all ages with a wide range of abilities and communication needs. Contents of this book include: Part I: An Overview of Alternate Assessment: (1) An Introduction to Alternate Assessments: Historical Foundations, Essential Parameters, and Guiding Principles (Harold L. Kleinert, Rachel Quenemoen, and Martha Thurlow); (2) Principles and Practices for Achievement Assessments in School Accountability Systems (Jacqui Farmer Kearns); (3) Students in the AA-AAS and the Importance of Communicative Competence (Jane O'Regan Kleinert, Jacqui Farmer Kearns, and Harold L. Kleinert); (4) Aligning Curriculum with Grade-Specific Content Standards: Using Eight Criteria to Create Access (Shawnee Y. Wakeman, Diane M. Browder, Bree A. Jimenez, and Pamela J. Mims); Part II: Teaching and Assessing Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: (5) Ensuring Access: A Four-Step Process for Accessing the General Curriculum (Michael Burdge, Jean Clayton, Anne Denham, and Karin K. Hess); (6) Reading Instruction and Assessment Linked to Grade-Level Standards (Lynn Ahlgrim-Delzell, Robert J. Rickelman, and Jean Clayton); (7) Math Instruction and Assessment Linked to Grade-Level Standards (Lou-Ann Land, David K. Pugalee, Anne Denham, and Harold L. Kleinert); (8) Science Instruction and Assessment Linked to Grade Level Standards (Ginevra Courtade, Deborah A. Taub, and Michael Burdge); (9) Social Studies and the Arts Instruction and Assessment Linked to Grade-Level Standards (Karen M. Guettler, Jacqueline M. Norman, James Zeller, and Mariel L. Zeller); and Part III: Enhancing Student Outcomes: The Role of Students and Families, and Directions for Future Research: (10) Embedding Life Skills, Self-Determination, and Enhancing Social Relationships and Other Evidence-Based Practices (Harold L. Kleinert, Belva C. Collins, Donna Wickham, Leah Riggs, and Karen D. Hager); (11) Alternate Assessments, Families, and the Individualized Education Program (Jacqui Farmer Kearns and Rachel Quenemoen); (12) What We Have Learned from Alternate Assessment Research and What We Still Need to Know (Harold L. Kleinert and Elizabeth Towles-Reeves). Also included are: a foreword (Daniel J. Wiener); preface; an appendix with blank forms; and an index.