Martha Thurlow and Yi-Chen Wu
July, 2018
All rights reserved. Any or all portions of this document may be reproduced and distributed without prior permission, provided the source is cited as:
Thurlow, M. & Wu, Y.-C. (2018). 2015-2016 APR snapshot #18: AA-AAS participation and performance. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, National Center on Educational Outcomes.
An Alternate Assessment based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) has been developed by each state to measure the academic achievement of students with significant cognitive disabilities. This brief summarizes AA-AAS data used for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability. Using federally submitted data from the 2015-2016 school year, we present information on the number of students participating in the AA-AAS and the performance of those students.
AA-AAS participation and performance data for 47 states are reported in this brief; three states’ data were not available for this analysis because data were not reported. Participation and performance data for grade 8 (or grades 4 and 8) are presented in this report; figures displaying data for other grades are provided in this report following each figure. Data tables for all grades are available at nceo.info/Resources/publications/APRsnapshot/data.
Throughout this report, we use the term “students with disabilities” to refer to students receiving special education services. Thus, students on 504 accommodation plans are not included in these analyses.
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Forty-seven states reported data on AA-AAS participation and proficiency. The regular assessment data from one of these states were suppressed due to data quality, but the number of total valid test takers was available for that state. Thus, participation rates based on students with disabilities was available for only 46 states, but 47 states were included when participation rates were based on the total number of valid test takers.
Overall statewide participation in the grade 8 reading AA-AAS, based on the number of students with IEPs, in 46 regular states is presented in Figure 1. For the majority of states (n = 30), less than 10% of all students with disabilities took the AA-AAS in 2015-2016. Similar participation rates existed for grade 8 mathematics AA-AAS (n = 29).
Figure 1. Participation Rates for Grade 8 Reading AA-AAS (Based on Students with Disabilities) in Regular States
Participation rates in unique states that reported data for Grade 8 reading AA-AAS (n = 8) are presented in Figure 2. The participation rates varied from 0% to 33.3% of students with disabilities; one unique state did not report participation data. Data for the unique states are available at nceo.info/Resources/publications/APRsnapshot/data.
Figure 2. Participation Rates for Grade 8 Reading AA-AAS (Based on Students with Disabilities) in Unique States
Regular States Grades 3 - 7 and High School Reading. Click the images to enlarge.
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Regular States Grades 3 - High School Mathematics. Click images to enlarge.
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Unique States: Grades 3 - 7 and High School Reading. Click the images to enlarge.
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Unique States: Grades 3 - High School Mathematics. Click images to enlarge.
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States varied in their rates of students receiving special education services, from 6.2% to 11.9% of the total student population,1 so it is important to look at participation rates based on the total student population as well. To be consistent with federal requirements for calculating participation in the AA-AAS, the analysis was based on the number of test takers with valid scores (total tested) at each grade level; these numbers were obtained from the U.S. Department of Education.
The rates of total tested students participating in the AA-AAS for the grade 8 reading AA-AAS in 47 regular states are presented in Figure 3. States typically assessed less than 2 percent of their total tested student population (which included both students with disabilities and students without disabilities) using the reading AA-AAS; only about one-fifth of states were below 1 percent. Similar participation rates existed for grade 8 mathematics AA-AAS when viewed in terms of the total tested student population; about one-eight of states were below 1 percent.
Figure 3. Participation Rates for Grade 8 Reading AA-AAS (Based on Total Tested Grade 8 Students) in Regular States
Participation rates in unique states (n = 8) for the grade 8 reading AA-AAS are presented in Figure 4. The denominators are the number of test takers with valid scores. These unique states reported participation rates ranging from as low as 0.0% to as high as 33.3%; two unique states did not report participation data. Data for the unique states are included in data tables available at nceo.info/Resources/publications/APRsnapshot/data.
Figure 4. Participation Rates for Grade 8 Reading AA-AAS (Based on Total Tested Grade 8 Students) in Unique States
Grades 3 - 7 and High School Reading. Click the images to enlarge.
 Grade 3 |
 Grade 4 |
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 Grade 7 |
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Grades 3 - High School Mathematics. Click images to enlarge.
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Unique States: Grades 3 - 7 and High School Reading. Click the images to enlarge.
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Unique States: Grades 3 - High School Mathematics. Click images to enlarge.
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Figure 5 shows reading AA-AAS participation rates (based on the total tested population of all students) for grade 4 and grade 8 in regular states. Across these states, an average of 1.2 percent of the total population of students participated in the AA-AAS at grade 4 and 1.3 percent at grade 8. Differences between the two grades did not show any consistent trends. The majority of states (n = 22) reported higher rates in grade 4 than in grade 8. More than half of the states (n = 25) reported higher rates in grade 8 than in grade 4.
Figure 5. Participation Rates for Reading AA-AAS (Based on Total Tested Students) in Grades 4 and 8 in Regular States
Six unique states reported reading AA-AAS data at grades 4 and 8. The majority of unique states (n = 4) showed a slightly higher participation rate (based on the total tested population) in grade 8 than in grade 4. Only two unique states reported higher participation rates in grade 4 than in grade 8.
Figure 6. Participation Rates for Reading AA-AAS (Based on Total Tested Students) in Grades 4 and 8 in Unique States
Grades 4 & 8 vs. High School Reading. Click the images to enlarge.
 Grade 4 vs HS |
 Grade 8 vs HS |
Grades 4 vs. 8 4 &8 vs. High School Math. Click images to enlarge.
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Unique States: Grades 4 & 8 vs. High School Reading. Click the images to enlarge.
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 Grade 8 vs HS |
Unique States: Grades 4 vs. 8, 4 &8 vs. High School Math. Click images to enlarge.
 Grade 4 vs 8 |
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The 1% cap on participation in the AA-AAS required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is to be calculated by content across all tested grades. (ESSA indicates that the calculation is to based on the number of total tested students.) In this analysis, we examine not only the total participation rate across grade levels, but also the contribution of each grade to the total participation rate based on all test takers.
AA-AAS data from 47 regular states are included in this analysis of participation rates in the reading AA-AAS at grades 3-8 and high school. Figure 7 shows the participation rates of students participating in the reading AA-AAS in the regular states. Only eight states reported a participation rate that was less than 1%. The average rate across the states was 1.3%, with a range of 0.7% to 2.3%. Similar participation rates existed for mathematics AA-AAS (see Figure 8).
Figure 7. Overall Participation Rates for Reading AA-AAS Across All Grade Levels (Based on Total Tested Students)
Figure 8. Overall Participation Rates for Math AA-AAS Across All Grade Levels (Based on Total Tested Students)
Figures 9 (reading) and 10 (math) show AA-AAS participation rates for each state, made up of the accumulation of grades 3-8 and high school.
Figure 9. Contribution of Each Grade to Participation Rates for Reading AA-AAS (Based on Total Tested Students)
Figure 10. Contribution of Each Grade to Participation Rates for Math AA-AAS (Based on Total Tested Students)
AA-AAS data from 46 regular states are included in this analysis of proficiency for both reading and math assessments at grade 8. Data from four states were not included because either no data were reported or data were suppressed because of data quality issues.
Figure 11 shows the rates of students participating in the reading AA-AAS who were proficient or above in grade 8 in the regular states. The denominator is the number of students who participated in the AA-AAS and the numerator is the number of students who participated in the AA-AAS and scored at or above proficient. Proficiency rates ranged from 9.3% to 91.6% of students participating in the AA-AAS. In one state, more than 90% of the students participating in the AA-AAS were proficient or above. In eight states, less than 30% of students who participated in the AA-AAS were considered proficient. Similar percentages of grade 8 students were proficient or above on the mathematics AA-AAS, with 16 states showing less than 30% of students participating in math AA-AAS considered proficient. Proficiency data for regular states are available at nceo.info/Resources/publications/APRsnapshot/data.
Figure 11. Proficiency Rates for Grade 8 Reading AA-AAS in Regular States
Rates of students proficient or above on the reading AA-AAS in unique states for grade 8 are presented in Figure 12. Four of the unique states reported proficiency rates for students in grade 8 for reading and 5 unique states reported proficiency rates in math. In reading, rates of students proficient or above varied from 18.8% to 43.5%, while the rates of students proficient or above in math varied from 27.8% to 87.5%. Proficiency data for the unique states are available at nceo.info/Resources/publications/APRsnapshot/data.
Figure 12. Proficiency Rates for Grade 8 Reading AA-AAS in Unique States
Grades 3 - 7 and High School Reading. Click the images to enlarge.
 Grade 3 |
 Grade 4 |
 Grade 5 |
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 Grade 7 |
 Grade HS |
Grades 3 - High School Math. Click images to enlarge.
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Unique States Grades 3 – 5, 7, 8, and High School Reading. Click the images to enlarge.
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Unique States: Grades 3 - High School Math. Click images to enlarge.
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Figure 13 provides a comparison of the percentage of students proficient on the AA-AAS in grade 8 for reading and mathematics in regular states. This figure shows states ordered by proficiency rates for math AA-AAS from high to low. A majority of states (n = 30) reported higher proficiency rates for the reading AA-AAS compared to the math AA-AAS; 16 states had higher rates of proficiency on the math AA-AAS.
Figure 13. Proficiency Rates for Grade 8 Reading and Math AA-AAS in Regular States
A comparison of the percentage of students proficient on the AA-AAS in grade 8 in unique states for reading and mathematics is shown in Figure 14. Four of ten unique states reported proficiency rates for both reading and math in grade 8. Two unique states showed a higher proficiency rate for reading compared to math and the other two unique states showed a higher proficiency rate for math compared to reading.
Figure 14. Proficiency Rates for Grade 8 Reading and Math AA-AAS in Unique States
Grades 3 - 7 and High School. Click the images to enlarge.
 Grade 3 |
 Grade 4 |
 Grade 5 |
 Grade 6 |
 Grade 7 |
 Grade HS |
Unique states: Grades 3 – 5, 7, 8, and High School. Click the images to enlarge.
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1 Percentage of students with disabilities is based on the students between ages 6-21 (https://www2.ed.gov/programs/osepidea/618-data/static-tables/2015-2016/part-b/child-count-and-educational-environment/1516-bchildcountandedenvironment-8.xlsx)
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The data presented in this report represent a snapshot of the participation and performance of students with disabilities who participate in the Alternate Assessment based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS). To some extent, variability in the participation and performance rates reflects the differences in the states’ AA-AAS themselves, including where the proficient cuts were set.
The participation rates described in this report are provided in two ways: (1) based on the total number of students with disabilities in a grade for each content area; and (2) based on the total tested population in a grade for each content area. Participation rates under each approach were fairly consistent across states. Participation rates for the AA-AAS tend to be higher than one percent of the total tested population of students (or about 10 percent of all students with disabilities).
Proficiency rates were extremely variable across states, with most states having quite high rates of students in the AA-AAS deemed proficient or above. Still, the rates do not appear to be influenced by the percentage of students participating in the AA-AAS. Proficiency rates were slightly higher for reading compared to mathematics.
According to the U.S. Department of Education (Quenemoen & Thurlow, 2007), holding students who participate in the AA-AAS to high expectations greatly increases the learning opportunities provided to those students. It is important to keep these expectations in mind when examining proficiency rates of students with significant cognitive disabilities compared to proficiency rates of students with disabilities on the regular assessment (see Thurlow & Wu, 2016).
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Kearns, J. F., Towles-Reeves, E, Kleinert, H. L, Kleinert, J. O., & Thomas, M. K. (2011). Characteristics of and implications for students participating in alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards. Journal of Special Education, 45(1), 3-14.
Quenemoen, R. (2008). A brief history of alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (Synthesis Report 68). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, National Center on Educational Outcomes.
Quenemoen, R., & Thurlow, M. (2007). Learning opportunities for your child through alternate assessments. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
Thurlow, M., & Y. C. Wu (2016). 2013-2014. APR snapshot #12: State assessment participation and performance of students receiving special education services. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, National Center on Educational Outcomes.
Thurlow, M. L., Wu, Y., Quenemoen, R. F., & Towles, E. (2016). Characteristics of students with significant cognitive disabilities (NCSC Brief #8). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, National Center and State Collaborative.