Graduation Policies for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities Who Participate in States' AA-AAS. Synthesis Report 97
Author: Thurlow, Martha L.
Date: 2014-12-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Graduation Rate,Graduation Requirements,College Readiness,Disabilities,Alternative Assessment,High School Graduates,Computation,State Policy,Intellectual Disability,Student Participation,Documentation,Severe Intellectual Disability,State Standards,Criteria,Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation,Elementary Secondary Education

Graduation rates and requirements for earning a regular diploma are topics of increasing interest as states focus on ensuring that their students are college and career ready when they leave school with a diploma. To ensure that states are gauging the rates at which students are graduating in a consistent way, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) now requires states to report a four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) overall and by subgroups, including students with disabilities who have Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Recently, attention has turned to students with disabilities who participate in states' alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). It is less clear whether these students are permitted to earn regular high school diplomas when they leave school, and how they might factor into the ACGR calculations. The purpose of this analysis of states' graduation policies for their students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who participate in the AA-AAS was to address six questions: (1) To what extent do states allow students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who participate in the AA-AAS to earn a regular high school diploma? (2) What are the requirements for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities to earn a regular diploma in those states that do allow them to earn a regular diploma if they participate in the AA-AAS? (3) What end-of-school documents are available to students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who participate in the AA-AAS in states that allow them to earn a regular diploma if they do not meet the requirements for earning a regular diploma? (4) What are the requirements for receiving other end-of-school documents in states that allow students who participate in the AA-AAS to earn a regular diploma? (5) What end-of-school documents are available to students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in states that do not allow them to earn a regular diploma if they participate in the AA-AAS? and (6) What are the requirements for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who participate in the AA-AAS to receive other end-of-school documents when a regular diploma is not offered to them? The following are appended: (1) State Documents Used in Analysis of Accommodation Policies; (2) Example State Profile of One State; (3) States Allowing Students with the Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities Who Participate in the AA-AAS to Receive a Regular Diploma and the Criteria for Receiving the Diploma; (4) End-of-School Documents Available to Students Who Do Not Meet Regular Diploma Criteria (in States that Allow Students Participating in the AA-AAS to Receive a Regular Diploma) (N = 34); (5) End-of-School Documents Available to Students in States That Do Not Allow Students Participating in the AA-AAS to Receive a Regular Diploma (N = 16); and (6) Additional Findings About Graduation Requirements for Students Who Participate in States' AA-AAS.