Despite the pressure special educators are under to ensure that their students with significant cognitive disabilities learn the important skills necessary to live a productive life, the recent educational path in Ohio has been geared towards a standards-based curriculum to prepare them for the state assessment. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore special educators' lived experiences and perceptions of the Alternate Assessment for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (AASCD) as a measure of student progress and growth for students with significant disabilities in Ohio. It also seeks to understand factors that special educators believe are appropriate for assessing students with significant cognitive disabilities. With the conceptual framework being guided by Critical Disability Theory, Dis/ability Complex, and Experiential Learning Theory, this research is guided by the following questions: (1) How do Ohio special educators perceive the AASCD as a measure of student progress and growth for students with significant disabilities?; (2) How do special educators in Ohio describe experiences using the data produced by the AASCD?; (3) What factors do special educators in Ohio describe as appropriate for assessing students with significant cognitive disabilities? Data was collected from eight semi-structured interviews, notes from the researcher's reflective journal, and member checking interviews. The transcriptions were analyzed, and the researcher used affective and elemental coding methods to create themes and subthemes. The themes and subthemes assisted the researcher in reporting her findings and answering the research questions. This study has the potential to provide information regarding special educators' concerns about the current AASCD and the modifications that special educators feel are necessary to deem the obtained scores usable for lesson planning and writing IEP goals that focus on the needs of individual students with significant cognitive disabilities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]