For example, some states require students to pass one or more state assessments in order to be promoted or to receive a high school diploma. Some states base school accreditation on test results. One of the major emphases in the reauthorization of IDEA is that students with disabilities must have access to the general curriculum, that is, the same curriculum as for nondisabled students and be held to challenging performance standards. Thus, the provisions in IDEA '97 regarding the participation of students with disabilities in general state and district-wide assessment programs, with appropriate accommodations and modifications in administration, where necessary, promote these important statutory purposes. Large-scale assessments are used to show how students are performing against state standards or national norms, and to hold school districts accountable for student performance.
Assessments typically vary across states.
The terms assessment accommodation or assessment accommodations and modifications are used to refer to a change in how a test is presented or how the test taker responds. These changes do not change the content of what is being measured. Although technically, the term accommodation often is used to describe a change in how the test taker responds and the term modification is used to describe a change in how the test is presented, CEC has chosen not to make that distinction. Excerpted from Assessment Accommodations Toolkit . This Page Printer-Friendly Version BoxerMath Classroom Connect EdGate PH School Scott Foresman SkyLight Professional Development Find a wealth of learning resources for your classroom.