States' Participation Guidelines for Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) in 2010. Synthesis Report 82
Author: Lazarus, Sheryl S.
Date: 2011-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Alternative Assessment,Guidelines,State Policy,Academic Achievement,State Standards,Synthesis,Accountability,Student Participation,Testing Accommodations,Related Services (Special Education),Test Format,Educational Change,Parent Materials,Eligibility,State Surveys,Federal Legislation

Federal legislation requires that all students participate in state accountability systems. Most students with disabilities participate in the regular assessment, with or without accommodations. Students with more significant cognitive disabilities participate in the Alternate Assessment based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS). A few states also have an Alternate Assessment Based on Grade-level Achievement Standards (AA-GLAS) for students with disabilities who need testing formats or procedures that are not included in the regular assessment and are not addressed with the use of accommodations. In April 2007, federal regulations offered states the flexibility to develop an Alternate Assessment based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS). States are not required to provide this assessment option. Since 2007, the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) has annually compiled, analyzed, and summarized states' participation guidelines for the AA-MAS. The purpose of this report is to update the information gathered from previous reports. As of November 2010, 17 states--California, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia--had publicly available participation guidelines for an assessment the state considered to be an AA-MAS. As of February 2011, four states--Kansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas--had successfully completed the U.S. Department of Education's peer review process that determines whether the assessment fulfills the necessary requirements for the state to receive federal funds. The current study suggests that states are continuing to develop or update participation guidelines for the AA-MAS. All states included text-based description of guidelines; some states included flow charts or decision trees, as well as checklists. Other documents were also found, including glossaries and student case scenarios. Over half of the states in the current study required parent notification and implications for high school graduation be included as part of the decision-making process. All states required that the student have a current Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and that the student not be progressing at the rate expected for grade-level proficiency within the school year covered by the IEP. Over two-thirds of states included the following criteria: learning grade-level content, previous performance on multiple measures, IEP includes goals based on grade-level content standards, receives specialized/individualized instruction, and previous performance on state assessment. The following are appended: (1) Participation Guidelines Characteristics by State; (2) State Documents Used in Analysis; and (3) Compilation of States' Participation Guidelines.