Appendix B Sample Letter Sent to Special Education Directors March 26, 2007 The National Center on Educational Outcomes is examining states’ public reports on 2005-2006 school year assessment results. Our goal is to (a) identify all components of each state’s testing system, (b) determine whether each state reports disaggregated test results for students with disabilities, (c) describe the way participation and performance information is presented, and (d) describe how states report results for students who took the test with accommodations or modifications. We have reviewed your Web site for test information, including both participation and performance data on your statewide assessments. Enclose are tables highlighting our findings from that review. A blank field indicates that we did not find information reported by grade level in that area. Please verify all included information and provide us with information that we could not find on your Web site. Specifically, please return the tables that we have attached, noting your changes to them. Also, if there is additional publicly reported information available for your state, please provide us with the public document and/or website that contains the accurate information. Address your responses to Deb Albus via fax at (612) 624-0879 or via mail to the above address Note that these tables were previously reviewed by your state’s director of assessment, and that we have incorporated changes which were documented in that response. We appreciate any additions or verification which you can offer, as well, which might further improve our accuracy. If you have any questions about our request, please call Deb Albus at (612) 626-0323 or email: albus001@umn.edu. If we do not hear from you by April 27, 2007, we will assume there is no additional publicly available information. Thank you for taking the time to provide this information. Sincerely,
Martha Thurlow Deb Albus Sample State Tables ALABAMA, 2005-2006 Table 1: Tests Administered and Results Found Please review this table for its accuracy, make any changes (if necessary), and fill in any blank fields.
*AAS=based on alternate achievement standards; GLAS=based on grade level achievement standards
Table 2: Participation Information for Students with Disabilities Please review this table, which describes the way in which participation data are publicly reported in your state. A "Y" indicates information is reported in this way. Please add a "Y" if you know of any other method of participation reporting, and please provide us with the information that is reported in that way (either a hard copy or a Web link).
Table 3: Performance Information for Students with Disabilities Please review this table, which describes the way in which performance data are publicly reported in your state. A "Y" indicates information is reported in this way. Please add a "Y" if you know of any other method of performance reporting, and please provide us with the information that is reported in that way (either a hard copy or a Web link).
*=Percentile Rank
Table 4: Accommodations We are interested in examining if and how states report information about students who take assessments using accommodations. Please change our responses (if necessary) to reflect information that is reported for your state. If you do make changes, please provide us with the information (either a hard copy or a Web link).
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