Yi-Chen Wu, Sheryl S. Lazarus, Kristin K. Liu, & Martha L. Thurlow
December, 2022
All rights reserved. Any or all portions of this document may be reproduced and distributed without prior permission, provided the source is cited as:
Wu, Y.-C., Lazarus, S. S., Liu, K. K., & Thurlow, M.L. (2022). 2018-2019 APR snapshot #27: AA-AAAS participation and performance. National Center on Educational Outcomes.
An Alternate Assessment based on Alternate Academic Achievement Standards (AA-AAAS) has been developed by each state to measure the academic achievement of students with significant cognitive disabilities. This Brief summarizes AA-AAAS data used for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability. Using federally submitted data for the 2018-2019 school year, we present information on the number of students participating in the AA-AAAS and the performance of those students.
We present data for the 50 regular states as well as the 10 unique states (American Samoa, Bureau of Indian Education, District of Columbia, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Virgin Islands). Figures displaying statewide assessment data for other grades are provided in this report following each figure. Data tables for all grade levels are available at nceo.info/Resources/publications/APRsnapshot/data.
AA-AAAS participation and performance data for 47 regular states are reported in this Brief; three regular states’ data were not available for this analysis because one state did not report the data and the other two states’ data were suppressed because of data quality issues. Participation and performance data for grade 8 (as well as comparison participation data for grade 4) are presented in this brief; 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.
Calculations for this Brief used only data available through state-submitted Annual Performance Reports (APRs). Two types of participation rates and one proficiency rate were calculated for this Brief. One of the participation rates was calculated using the number of enrolled students with disabilities as the denominator, while the other one used the number of total tested students as the denominator. The denominator for the proficiency rate was the number of students with disabilities who participated in the AA-AAAS. The number of enrolled students was calculated by adding together the number of students with disabilities participating in each of a state’s assessments, plus any students with medical exemptions and any students who did not participate in an assessment. Typically, the state assessments included the regular assessment and the AA-AAAS. The number of enrolled students with disabilities was calculated separately for reading and mathematics assessments for each grade.
Throughout this Brief, 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.
Participation and proficiency rates for reading and mathematics AA-AAAS were calculated by content area regular states and unique states) at all grade levels for students with disabilities and for the total population. For each state, there were four possible data circumstances for each content area for both the general assessment and AA-AAAS from the IDEA data set (https://www2.ed.gov/programs/osepidea/618-data/state-level-data-files/part-b-data/assessment/bassessment2018-19.csv). These conditions were: (a) data were not available, (b) data were reported, (c) data were reported but were suppressed for data quality concerns, and (d) data were reported but were suppressed because of the small number of students. States were excluded from our analysis if they met one of the following criteria:
In addition, we made additional decisions when data were incomplete. First, assessment participation percentages were only calculated for states that had both general assessment and AA-AAAS participation data for a particular content area. Second, if a state provided assessment participation data for both the general and AA-AAAS, but only provided proficiency information for one of the two assessments, we calculated the overall proficiency rate based on that assessment. All of these results are included in this brief, but only results of 8th graders are highlighted in detail as an example.
Forty-seven regular states reported data on both reading and math AA-AAAS participation, and 47 states reported data on math AA-AAAS participation. Two states were excluded from this brief because they had no data available for both reading and math assessments either because the data were not reported or data were suppressed due to data quality issues. The general reading assessment data from another state were suppressed due to data quality concerns, so the AA-AAAS participation data were not calculated for this state’s reading AA-AAAS. The other state’s general math assessment data were suppressed due to data quality concerns, so the AA-AAAS participation data were not calculated for this state’s math AA-AAAS. Thus, in this brief 47 states were included in the reading and math AA-AAAS participation rates; two of the states were included in only the reading or in the math AA-AAAS participation rates based on students with disabilities.
Overall statewide participation in the grade 8 reading AA-AAAS, based on the number of students with disabilities, in 47 regular states is presented in Figure 1. For the majority of states (n = 35), less than 10% of all students with disabilities took the AA-AAAS in 2018-2019. Similar participation rates existed for grade 8 mathematics AA-AAAS (35 states with less than 10% participation rate).
Figure 1. Participation Rates for Grade 8 Reading AA-AAAS (Based on Students with Disabilities) in Regular States (N = 47)
Reading: Grades 3-7 and High School. Click the images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade HS |
Mathematics: Grades 3 - High School. Click images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8 | Grade HS |
Reading AA-AAAS participation rates in unique states that reported data greater than zero for both grade 8 regular reading assessments and reading AA-AAAS (n = 8) are presented in Figure 2. The reading participation rates varied from 0.8% to 33.3% of students with disabilities (also 0.8% to 33.3% for math AA-AAAS). Data for the unique states are available at nceo.info/Resources/publications/APRsnapshot/data.
Figure 2. Participation Rates for Grade 8 Reading AA-AAAS (Based on Students with Disabilities) in Unique States (N = 8)
Reading: Grades 3 - 7 and High School. Click the images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade HS |
Mathematics: Grades 3 - High School. Click images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8 | Grade HS |
States varied in their rates of students receiving special education services, from 9.3% to 17.7% of the total student population1 in 2018-19, for regular states (4.6% to 31.2% for the unique states), so it is important to look at participation rates based on the total tested student population as well. To be consistent with federal requirements for calculating participation in the AA-AAAS, 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-AAAS for the grade 8 reading AA-AAAS 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) with the reading AA-AAAS; only about one-fifth of states (n = 10) were below 1 percent. Similar participation rates existed for grade 8 mathematics AA-AAAS when viewed in terms of the total tested student population; one out of every seven states (n = 9) was below 1 percent.
Figure 3. Participation Rates for Grade 8 Reading AA-AAAS (Based on Total Tested Grade 8 Students) in Regular States (N = 47)
Reading: Grades 3 - 7 and High School. Click the images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade HS |
Mathematics: Grades 3 - High School. Click images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8 | Grade HS |
Participation rates in unique states (n = 8) that reported data greater than zero students participating in both the grade 8 general reading assessment and reading AA-AAAS are presented in Figure 4. The denominator is the number of test takers with valid scores. These unique states reported participation rates ranging from as low as 0.8% to as high as 33.3% for both reading and math AA-AAAS. 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-AAAS (Based on Total Tested Grade 8 Students) in Unique States (N = 8)
Reading: Grades 3 - 7 and High School. Click the images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade HS |
Mathematics: Grades 3 - High School. Click images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8 | Grade HS |
Figure 5 shows reading AA-AAAS participation rates (based on the total tested population of all students) for grade 4 and grade 8 in regular states. Forty-six states reported reading AA-AAAS for both grades 4 and 8. Across these states, an average of 1.2% of the total population of students participated in the AA-AAAS at grade 4 and 1.3% at grade 8. Differences between these two grades did not show any consistent trend. The majority of states (n = 13) reported higher rates in grade 4 than in grade 8. More than half of the states (n = 33) reported higher rates in grade 8 than in grade 4.
Figure 5. Participation Rates for Reading AA-AAAS (Based on Total Tested Students) in Grades 4 and 8 in Regular States (N = 46)
Reading: Grades 4 & 8 vs. High School. Click the images to enlarge.
 |
 |
| Grade 4 vs HS | Grade 8 vs HS |
Mathematics: Grades 4 vs. 8, 4 vs. High School, and 8 vs High School. Click images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 4 vs 8 | Grade 4 vs HS | Grade 8 vs HS |
Seven unique states reported participation rates for reading AA-AAAS in grades 4 and 8. The majority of unique states (n =5) showed a slightly higher participation rate (based on the total tested population) in grade 8 than in grade 4.
Figure 6. Participation Rates for Reading AA-AAAS (Based on Total Tested Students) in Grades 4 and 8 in Unique States (N = 7)
Reading: Grades 4 & 8 vs. High School. Click the images to enlarge.
 |
 |
| Grade 4 vs HS | Grade 8 vs HS |
Mathematics: Grades 4 vs. 8, 4 &8 vs. High School. Click images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 4 vs 8 | Grade 4 vs HS | Grade 8 vs HS |
The 1% cap on participation in the AA-AAAS required by ESEA is to be calculated by content across all tested grades.2 In this analysis, we examine not only the total participation rate across grade levels (grades 3-8 and high school; see Figure 7 and 8) but also the contribution of each grade to the total participation rate based on all test takers (see Figures 9 and 10).
AA-AAAS data from 46 regular states are included in this analysis of participation rates in the reading AA-AAAS at grades 3-8 and high school. Three states’ data were excluded were suppressed due to data quality issues. Another state’s data were excluded because no data were reported.
Figure 7 shows the participation rates of students participating in the reading AA-AAAS in the regular states. Only 15 states reported a participation rate that was less than 1%. The average rate across the states was 1.2%, with a range of 0.8% to 2.0%.
Figure 7. Overall Participation Rates for Reading AA-AAAS Across All Grade Levels (Based on Total Tested Students)
Similar participation rates existed for mathematics AA-AAAS. AA-AAAS data from 46 regular states are included in this analysis of participation rates in the mathematics AA-AAAS at grades 3-8 and high school. Three states’ data were excluded due to data quality issues. Another state’s data were excluded because no data were reported.
Figure 8 shows the participation rates of students participating in the mathematics AA-AAAS in the regular states. Only 14 states reported a participation rate that was less than 1%.
Figure 8. Overall Participation Rates for Math AA-AAAS Across All Grade Levels (Based on Total Tested Students)
Figures 9 and 10 show the contribution of each grade to the cumulative percentage of students participating in the AA-AAAS for reading (Figure 9) and mathematics (Figure 10). In both figures it is evident that in most states the percentage in each grade is similar. Still, in a few states, higher grades contribute more to the overall percentage than in lower grades.
Figure 9. Overall Participation Rates for Reading AA-AAAS by Grade Level (Based on Total Tested Students)
Figure 10. Overall Participation Rates for Math AA-AAAS by Grade Level (Based on Total Tested Students)
AA-AAAS data from 45 regular states were included in this analysis of proficiency for reading and 46 states for math assessments at grade 8. Figure 11 shows the percent proficient in reading in the 45 regular states. Data from five states were not included in Figure 11 because data were not reported or were suppressed either because of data quality issues or small cell sizes.
Figure 11 shows the rates of students participating in the reading AA-AAAS who were proficient or above in grade 8 in the regular states. The denominator is the number of students who participated in the AA-AAAS and the numerator is the number of students who participated in the AA-AAAS and scored at or above proficient. Proficiency rates ranged from 9.5% to 93.2% of students participating in the AA-AAAS. In two states, more than 90% of the students participating in the AA-AAAS were proficient or above. In nine states, less than 30% of students who participated in the AA-AAAS were considered proficient.
Figure 11. Proficiency Rates for Grade 8 Reading AA-AAAS in Regular States (N = 45)
Reading: Grades 3 - 7 and High School. Click the images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade HS |
Mathematics: Grades 3 - High School. Click images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8 | Grade HS |
Unique States
Rates of students proficient or above on the reading AA-AAAS in unique states for grade 8 are presented in Figure 12. Four unique states reported proficiency rates for students in grade 8 for reading and three unique states reported proficiency rates in math. In reading, rates of students with disabilities proficient or above varied from 29.2% to 55.6%, while the rates of students proficient or above in math varied from 34.4% to 51.4%. Proficiency data for the unique states are available at nceo.info/Resources/publications/APRsnapshot/data.
Figure 12. Proficiency Rates for Grade 8 Reading AA-AAAS in Unique States (N=4)
Reading: Grades 3 – 7 and High School. Click the images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade HS |
Mathematics: Grades 3 - High School. Click images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8 | Grade HS |
Figure 13 provides a comparison of the percentage of students proficient on the AA-AAAS in grade 8 for reading and mathematics in regular states. This figure shows states ordered by proficiency rates for math AA-AAAS from high to low. Forty-four states reported proficiency data for both reading and math assessments. A majority of states (n = 31) reported higher proficiency rates for the reading AA-AAAS compared to the math AA-AAAS; 12 states had higher rates of proficiency on the math AA-AAAS. Fifteen states had less than a 5 percentage point difference between AA-AAAS reading and mathematics proficiency rates. Six of these states had differences that were less than 1 percentage points.
Figure 13. Proficiency Rates for Grade 8 Reading and Math AA-AAAS in Regular States (N = 44)
Grades 3 - 7 and High School. Click the images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade HS |
A comparison of the percentage of students proficient on the AA-AAAS in grade 8 in unique states for reading and mathematics is shown in Figure 14. Three of 10 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 state showed a higher proficiency rate for math compared to reading.
Figure 14. Proficiency Rates for Grade 8 Reading and Math AA-AAAS in Unique States (N = 3)
Grades 3 – 5, 7, 8, and High School. Click the images to enlarge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade HS |
The data presented in this report represent a snapshot of the participation and performance of students with disabilities who participate in the AA-AAAS. To some extent, variability in the participation and performance rates reflects the differences in the states’ AA-AAAS 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-AAAS tended to be higher than 1% of the total tested population of students (or about 10% of all students with disabilities).
Proficiency rates were extremely variable across states, with most states having high rates of students in the AA-AAAS deemed proficient or above. Still, the rates do not appear to be influenced by the percentage of students participating in the AA-AAAS. Proficiency rates tended to be 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-AAAS to high expectations greatly increases the learning opportunities provided to those students (see also Quenemoen & Thurlow, 2019; Thurlow & Quenemoen, 2019). 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, 2018; Wu et al., 2021;Wu & Thurlow, 2017).
1 The percentage of students in special education was calculated by dividing the number of students with disabilities ages 6-21 (https://www2.ed.gov/programs/osepidea/618-data/state-level-data-files/part-b-data/child-count-and-educational-environments/bchildcountandedenvironments2018-19.csv) by the number of students in K-12 enrollment (https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/elsi/tableGenerator.aspx).
2 ESEA indicates that the calculation is based on the number of total tested students.
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). 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.
Quenemoen, R. F., & Thurlow, M. L. (2019). Students with disabilities in educational policy, practice, and professional judgment: What should we expect? (NCEO Report 413). National Center on Educational Outcomes.
Thurlow, M. L., & Quenemoen, R. F. (2019). Revising expectations for students with disabilities (NCEO Brief 17). National Center on Educational Outcomes.
Thurlow, M., & Y.-C. Wu (2016). 2013-2014 APR snapshot #12: State assessment participation and performance of students receiving special education services. National Center on Educational Outcomes.
Thurlow, M., & Y.-C. Wu (2018). 2015-2016 APR snapshot #18: State assessment participation and performance of students receiving special education services. 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). National Center and State Collaborative.
Wu, Y.-C., Lazarus, S. S., & Liu, K. K. (2021). 2017-2018 APR snapshot #24: AA-AAAS participation and performance. National Center on Educational Outcomes.
Wu, Y.-C. & Thurlow, M. (2017). 2014-2015 APR snapshot #15: State assessment participation and performance of students receiving special education services. National Center on Educational Outcomes.
Wu, Y.-C., Thurlow, M. L., Albus, D. A., & Liu, K. (2019). Percent of students with disabilities by disability category for 2005-06 to 2016-17 (Data Analytics #8). National Center on Educational Outcomes.