This policy paper provides a list of questions to guide parents and parent organizations in their efforts to ensure that state and districtwide assessment systems fully and fairly include students with disabilities. In the past, students with disabilities have too often been excluded from large-scale assessments. Statewide assessments 1 have enormous ramifications for students with disabilities.
Assessments frequently serve as the cornerstone of efforts to improve education.
If students with disabilities are excluded from the development and administration of statewide assessments, it is less likely that they will benefit from overall school reform improvements. Also, statewide assessments can be a way to hold schools accountable for improving educational results for all students. If students with disabilities are excluded, they may not be considered when important educational policy decisions are made. Statewide assessments are different from the three-year individualized evaluations required by IDEA for students receiving special education services. For students in special education, a variety of tests and assessments are used to determine a students eligibilitgy for special education and to identify a student s specific educational needs.