NCLB: Accommodations and
Alternative Assessments
Ilene Young, Esquire
Standards based school reform
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Prior to NCLB, PA already started standardsbased school reform.
Modified to meet NCLB requirements
Pa state plan is found at PDE web site
www.pde.state.pa.us
Creates interlocking laws
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Each state must develop & implement an
official NCLB plan
 Reviewed
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by US DOE
Each public school and district must
develop a plan
 Reviewed
by State DOE
AYP: Adequate Yearly Progress
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States must use standardized tests to
measure AYP
AYP: must meet fixed targets or significantly
increase number of students passing.
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In most cases, increase of 10% per year required
All students must have passing score by close of
2113-14 sy
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Academic Content Standards
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State required to adopt content standards
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Math
Reading
Science
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Section 6311(b)(1)
Public schools must follow the statewide
standards.22 PA CODE section 4.4(a)
Requirements
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Standardized high quality assessments
All students to be assessed at grade level
standards across groups
Reporting
Consequences
12 year plan
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After 1st yr
After 2nd year
After 3rd year
After 4th & 5th
After 6th year
warning
Improvement I
Improvement II
Corrective action I & II
Restructuring
Assessment Requirements
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The Title I regulations at 34 C.F.R.
§200.2(b)(2) require that a State’s
assessment system be “designed to be valid
and accessible for use by the widest possible
range of students, including students with
disabilities and students with limited English
proficiency.”
Assessment
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Testing is required to be aligned with
academic standards in math, reading and
science
In PA the main test is the PSSA.
Students with significant cognitive disabilities
take the PASA. Pennsylvania Alternate
System of Assessment.
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Pa academic standards 22 PA Code Chapter 4
Requirements
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High technical quality requirements set forth
in Sec. 200.2(b) and 200.3(a)(1)
including validity, reliability, accessibility,
objectivity, and consistency with nationally
recognized professional and technical
standards
Aligning Curriculum and Testing
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IN PA: The state has also published
nonregulatory Assessment Anchors,
identifying the most important academic
standards tested on state assessments.
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Detailing teaching to the test
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http://www.pde.state.pa.us (click Pre K-12 Schools, Assessment, and Assessment
Anchors)
Assessment results
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Of students in the school for a full year
Used to calculate AYP for school
Used to calculate AYP for the district
Used to calculate AYP for the state
Consequences for non-attainment of goals
NCLB and IDEA
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All students, including children in special
education, must take assessments
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20 USC section 5311(b)(3)(C) and 1412(a)(16)
Must be the same for all students in each
grade unless
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Accommodations or alternative provided in IEP
through regular IEP process
Reporting
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Assessment results for each student must be
reported to
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Parents
Teachers
Administrators
State must issue report
Appropriate Accommodations
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IEP based
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ER based
PLEP based
Not such as would invalidate test instrument
Not within list of forbidden accommodations
Title I requires states to provide IEP teams with
guidelines for accommodations, and alternate
assessments and achievement standards.
Accommodations Guidelines
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States are required to have clear guidelines
Invalid accommodations consequences
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Student is considered a non-participant, or;
Score is counted as below-basic
PA accommodations guidelines at PDE
website
Types of Accommodations
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Changes in test environment
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Time
Place
Grouping
Special Arrangements
Typewriter/keyboard
Dictionaries/Reference – several forbidden
Special paper,lines,templates, window frames
Types of Accommodations
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Adapted Test Forms
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Audiotapes of directions
Student marks in test booklet adaptations
Highlighters
Types of Accommodations
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Other
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Reading aloud
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Only directions w/ no definitions on reading assessment
Marking answer book for student
Visual cues
Simplifying directions
Disallowed Accommodations
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Helping students to answer items
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Eliminating some multiple choice
Pointing or highlighting
Providing extra time where it invalidates test
Allowing accommodations prohibited
Failing to maintain test security
Testing Accommodations and IEP
process
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Accommodations are to the same as are
used to make student successful in
classroom
Query effect of greater accommodations for
PSSAs vs. class work
Alternate Assessment
What is an alternate assessment?
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Under NCLB, an assessment designed for
the small number of students with disabilities
who are unable to participate in the regular
grade-level State assessment, even with
appropriate accommodations.
Defined by characteristic of student, not test.
Alternative Assessment
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can measure progress based on alternate
achievement standards
can also measure proficiency based on
grade-level achievement standards.
a State may employ more than one alternate
assessment.
Alternative Achievement Standard
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An alternate achievement standard sets an
expectation of performance that differs in
complexity from a grade-level achievement
standard.
Requirements
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Must be
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aligned with State’s academic content standards
Promote access to the general curriculum
Reflect professional judgment of the highest
achievement standards possible (34 C.F.R. sec
200.1(d))
Query
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How does this “Cadillac” language reconcile
with IDEA “floor of opportunity”
Alternate Achievement Standard
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State is not required to develop
Title I requires State to adopt challenging
student achievement standards
Apply same standards to all schools and
children in the state
Does not require alternate achievement
standards
Alternate Achievement Standard
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A state may set more than one alternate
achievement standard
Pennsylvania’s system of alternate
assessment is the PASA system
State must employ commonly accepted
professional judgment to define standards
Alternate Achievement
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State must document relationship among the
alternate achievement standards
Part of the coherent overall assessment plan
1.0 cap on all proficient scores
Who is tested?
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Only students with “most severe cognitive
disability”
No new disability category is meant to be
created
It is responsibility of State to define which
students fall into this category
Most severe cognitive disability:
who are they?
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Federal regulations clarify: small number of
students who are:
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Within one or more of the existing IDEA
categories
Cognitive impairments may prevent them from
attaining grade level achievement standards,
“even with the very best instruction.”
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Emphasis added 34 CFR part 200 RIN 1810-AA95
Query
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How does this Cadillac language align with
the students rights under IDEA to a floor of
opportunity?
How does this relate to the “plateau” effect?
What is the definition of “very best
instruction”?
UNDERLYING PREMISES
What’s the philosophy
behind inclusive
testing?
Premise #1: Accountability for
everyone in the system
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Nonexclusion of students with disabilities
Best education possible to each and every
student
Three critical elements require full
participation:
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Academic content standards, academic
achievement standards, assessments aligned to
those standards
#2: Mechanism
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Assessment and data reporting, coupled with
consequences for failure to attain goals, is
the best mechanism for determining success.
#3:Expectations
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Students with disabilities will accrue positive
benefits by being included
Documented that when students with
disabilities are excluded from accountability,
rates of referral to special education
increases dramatically. ( National Center for Educational Outcomes
Synthesis 26)
#4: Equal Attention
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Exclusion of students with disabilities has the
consequence of their failure to receive
academic attention.
Review of Alternate Assessments
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Alternate assessments developed for Title I
will be reviewed through the DOE peer
review of State Assessment system.
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www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/saaprguidance.doc
Alternate Assessments
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Usual types
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Portfolio
Performance
Checklist
Recent study of teacher’s perceptions
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Do not agree with premises.
Types defined
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Checklist: teacher observation of the
student,
Portfolio: samples of student work produced
during regular classroom instruction
Performance: standardized performance
tasks produced in an ``on-demand'' setting,
such as completion of an assigned task on
test day.
Alternate Assessment
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must be aligned with the State's content
standards
must yield results separately in both
reading/language arts and mathematics
must be designed and implemented in a
manner that supports use of the results as an
indicator of AYP.
Out of level testing
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Testing of a child not at his grade level
Permitted in some circumstances as
alternate assessment
Requirements
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clearly defined structure,
guidelines for which students may participate,
clearly defined scoring criteria and procedures,
report format that clearly communicates student
performance in terms of the academic
achievement standards defined by the State.
Same high technical quality requirements as
regular assessments.
Out of level testing requirements
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State must use a documented and validated
standards-setting process to set the standard
Achievement standard must be aligned with
the State’s academic content standards,
promote access to the general curriculum,
and reflect professional judgment of the
highest achievement standards
Out of level requirements, cont.
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Scores of students with the most significant
cognitive disabilities who take an out of level
test based on alternate achievement
standard must be included within the 1.0
percent cap.
One percent cap
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Much confusion
Regs revamped in late 2003 to try to address
the difficulties
Based on number of students enrolled in
tested grades
No more than 1% of students may be
alternate assessment for purposes of AYP
The exception to the 1.0 percent cap
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Criteria:
incidence rates of students with the most significant
cognitive disabilities;
circumstances in the State that explain a higher
incidence rate (such as specialized health programs
or facilities);
and documentation of safeguards that limit the
inappropriate use of alternate assessments based
on alternate achievement standard
Alternate achievement numbers
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Federal Department of Education expects
that no more than 9.0 percent of students
with disabilities will participate in an
assessment based on alternate achievement
standards.
Recent study showed up to 40+% of students
with disabilities were excluded from the most
recent NAEP reading assessment, (Nation’s
Report Card)
IEP TEAM RESPONSIBILITY
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Determine what evaluations are necessary
Determine need for accommodations
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Accommodations for testing should mirror those
in classroom
Determine need for alternate assessment
Determine need for alternate standard
Communicate all consequences to parent