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On Saturday, June 21, from 1-5 p.m., the day before the 2003 CCSSO Large-Scale Assessment Conference (see below), the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) is holding a Pre-Conference Clinic entitled: Assessment Architecture: Building Universally Designed Large-Scale Assessments. From this session, participants will take home the latest research-based information on elements of universally designed assessments, evaluate a variety of test items, and explore large-scale test results that help in understanding the effects of universal design.

For further information and to register, please contact Dorene Scott: scott027@umn.edu, or 612-624-4073. A registration fee of $60 covers clinic materials and related costs. Only those persons who are pre-registered are guaranteed a full set of materials.

2003 National Conference on Large-scale Assessment

The annual conference sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) will be held this year at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter, in San Antonio, Texas on June 22-25, 2003. This annual meeting focuses on student assessments developed in all areas of the curriculum and conducted on national, state, district, and classroom levels. NCEO staff will participate in numerous presentations during the conference.

The conference addresses critical issues affecting all schools, such as the assessment and evaluation of limited English proficient students and students with disabilities, requirements for assessment for Title I purposes, and test development and issues related to reporting of results. The conference also examines a wide range of technical concerns related to developing standards-based assessments, performance assessments, and portfolio assessments. For more information or to register visit CCSSO’s Web site: http://www.ccsso.org/conf.html

Public Reporting of Data: NCEO Publishes Report

NCEO has just completed its fifth analysis of state reports examining the extent to which states publicly report information about students with disabilities in statewide assessments. This information was primarily obtained by analyzing states’ Department of Education Web sites. If disaggregated results for students with disabilities were not evident, states were then asked to submit public documents that included these results. Final study results on public reporting were sent to states for verification.

NCEO’s previous analyses of public reports showed that few states (16 in our last analysis) reported both participation and performance for students with disabilities on all of their tests. This year the number rose to 28. NCEO found that another 16 states reported test results for students with disabilities on at least some of their state assessments. (Last year that number was 15.) Thus, a total of 44 states reported participation or performance for at least some state tests administered in 2000-2001, compared to the 31 states that did so for the previous year, 1999-2000.

States that report disaggregated performance results tended also to report disaggregated participation results. However, four states that reported performance results for all their tests did not include reporting on participation data.

States reported participation rates in a variety of ways. Most reported the number of students with disabilities who were tested. Ten states exceeded the 1997 IDEA requirements by reporting participation rates; two more provided enough information for NCEO to calculate participation rates.

The NCEO report also includes information on the actual performance of students with disabilities from those states that had three years of performance data available. The results showed the achievement gap between special education students and other students, a gap that seems to increase as grade level increases.

Many states are reporting on their alternate assessments for students with disabilities who are not able to take the general assessment even with accommodations. Thirteen states publicly reported both participation and performance results for their 2000-2001 alternate assessments. An additional ten states reported participation data only, and two states reported performance only.

Based on the analyses of the data, NCEO makes the following recommendations:

This report, Going public: What 2000-2001 reports tell us about the performance of students with disabilities (Technical Report 35), is available from the NCEO Publications Office at (612) 624-8561; it will also be available soon on the NCEO Web site at http://education.umn. edu/nceo.

NCEO is pleased to introduce the two newest members of the NCEO team. Some may already know Dr. Ann Clapper, who joins us from the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET). Ann has 30 years of experience in a variety of educational settings including a state department of education, K-12 schools, colleges, and intermediate educational service agencies. Her work at NCEO will focus on access to the general curriculum and linking assessment to the instructional process.

We are also fortunate to have Dr. Ross Moen now working with us. Ross brings formal training in research and assessment as a PhD psychologist with over 20 years experience helping public schools collect, analyze and use data in decision making. His NCEO work on quantitative research projects and theory building combine a concern for sound methodology and usable
results.

Three reports from NCEO soon to be in print and available online are:

Testing Students with Disabilities Out of Level: State Prevalence and Performance Results (Out-of-Level Testing Report 9). Several of the states that tested students with disabilities out of level in large-scale assessments during 2000-2001 provided participation data to NCEO. These data were analyzed to determine the numbers of students tested out of level and how far below grade level they were tested, as well as to examine how well students who were tested out of level performed. Cost: $15.00

Reporting Out-of-Level Test Scores: Are These Students Included in Accountability Programs? (Out-of-Level Testing Report 10). A series of telephone interviews with all states that test students with disabilities out of level in large-scale assessments revealed few states with reporting practices in place for out-of-level test scores to be reported to the public. Cost: $15.00

Measuring Academic Achievement of Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Building Understanding of Alternate Assessment Scoring Criteria (Synthesis Report 50). This report discusses how selected states are addressing the challenge of defining successful outcomes for students with significant disabilities, as reflected in state criteria for scoring alternate assessment responses or evidence. Cost: $20.00