Special Topic Area:
Participation of Students with Disabilities

Publications and Other Participation Resources

Online resources available at NCEO's Web site (the publications are listed chronologically, with the most recent first; Policy Directions will give a general overview of the issues with other publications providing greater depth):

• English Language Learners with Disabilities in State English Language Proficiency Assessments: A Review of State Accommodation Policies (Synthesis Report 66) (HTML format available soon) / PDF format
• 2005 State Policies on Assessment Participation and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities / PDF format (2006)
• 2005 State Special Education Outcomes: Steps Forward in a Decade of Change / PDF Version (3MB) (2005)
• 2003 State Policies on Assessment Participation and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities (Synthesis Report 56) / PDF format (2005)
• Steady Progress: State Public Reporting Practices for Students with Disabilities after the First Year of NCLB (2002-2003) (Technical Report 40) / PDF format (2005)
• Alternative Routes to the Standard Diploma (Synthesis Report 54) / PDF format (2005)
• 2003 State Special Education Outcomes: Marching On / PDF format (2003)
• Putting it All Together: Including Students with Disabilities in Assessment and Accountability Systems (Policy Directions 16) / PDF Version (2003)
• Going Public: What 2000-2001 Reports Tell Us About the Performance of Students with Disabilities (Technical Report 35) / PDF Version (2003)
• 2001 State Policies on Assessment Participation and Accommodations (Synthesis Report 46 / 2002)
• On the Road to Accountability: Reporting Outcomes for Students with Disabilities (Technical Report 32 / 2002)
• A Self-Study Guide to Implementation of Inclusive Assessment and Accountability Systems: A Best Practice Approach (2001) Please Note: This is a PDF file.
• Principles and Characteristics of Inclusive Assessment and Accountability Systems (Synthesis Report 40 / 2001)
• Addressing Standards and Assessments on State IEP Forms  (Synthesis Report 38 / 2001)
• 2001 State Special Education Outcomes: A Report on State Activities at the Beginning of a New Decade
• Recommendations for Addressing Standards and Assessments on State and District IEP Forms (Policy Directions 12 / 2001)
• Students with Disabilities in Standards-based Assessment and Accountability Systems: Emerging Issues, Strategies, and Recommendations (Synthesis Report 37 / 2001)
• State Participation and Accommodations Policies for Students with Disabilities: 1999 Update (Synthesis Report 33 / 2000)
• Minnesota's Comprehensive Assessments: 1998 and 1999 Participation and Performance of Students with Disabilities (Minnesota Report 32 / 2000)
• 1999 Report on the Participation and Performance of Students with Disabilities on Minnesota's Basic Standards Tests (Minnesota Report 29 / 2000)
• Initial Perceptions of Educators as They Work Toward Including Students with Disabilities in Minnesota's High Standards (Minnesota Report 25 / 2000)

For reports before 2000, see NCEO's Online Publications.

Additional Online Resources

IDEA 2004 Topical Brief on Assessment (IDEA-Reauthorized Statute)

National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) publications:

Rewards and Roadblocks: How Special Education Students are Faring Under No Child Left Behind

Understanding Assessment Options for IDEA-eligible Students provides an overview of the ways students with IEPs can participate in statewide tests required by NCLB, helps guide parents as the IEP team chooses the right types of assessments and offers questions to ask about the testing options.

Additional Resources

Almond, P. J., Lehr, C., Thurlow, M. L., & Quenemoen, R. (2002). Participation in large-scale assessment and accountability systems. Chapter 14 in Large-scale assessment programs for all students: Validity, technical adequacy, and implementation. Gerald Tindal and Thomas Halaydna (Eds.). Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

DeStefano, L., Shriner, J. G., & Lloyd, C. A. (2001). Teacher decision making in participation of students with disabilities in large-scale assessment. Exceptional Children, 68(1), 7-22.

Elliott, J. L., & Thurlow, M. L. (2005). Improving test performance of standards with disabilities (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Elliott, S. N., Braden, J.P., & White, J.L. (2001). Assessing one and all. Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.

Gagnon, J. C., & McLaughlin, M. J. (2004). Curriculum, assessment, and accountability in day treatment and residential schools. Exceptional Children, 70, 263-283. See http://drjc.gmu.edu/caaDRSchool.htm

Gloeckler, L.C. (2001). The door to opportunity: Let’s open it for everyone. The State Education Standard. Autumn, 2001. 20-25.

Koenig, J. A., & Bachman, L. F. (Eds.). (2004). Keeping score for all: The effects of inclusion and accommodation policies on large-scale educational assessments. Washington, DC: National Research Council.

Lashley, C. (April, 2002). Participation of students with disabilities in statewide assessments and the general education curriculum: Implications for administrative practice. Journal of Special Education Leadership 15(1), 10-16.

Lutkus, A. D., Mazzeo, J., Zhang, J., Jerry, L., Barton, K., Zenisky, A., & Goldstein, A. (February, 2003). Including special-needs students in the NAEP 1998 Reading Assessment: Part 1 comparison of overall results with and without accommodations Washington, DC: NCES.

Mazzeo, J., Carlson, J. E., Voelkl, K. E., & Lutkus, A. D. (March, 2000). Increasing the participation of special needs students in NAEP. Washington, DC: NCES.

McDonnell, L. M., McLaughlin, M. J., & Morison, P. (1997). Educating one and all: Students with disabilities and standards-based reform. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Shriner, J. G., & DeStefano, L. (Winter, 2003). Participation and accommodation in state assessment: The role of individualized education programs. Exceptional Children 69(2), pp. 147-161.

Thompson, S. J., Quenemoen, R. F., & Thurlow, M. L. (2003). The status of large-scale assessment practices for students with disabilities in rural America. Rural Special Education Quarterly 22(4), 3-9.

Thurlow, M., Elliott, J., & Ysseldyke, J. (2003). Testing students with disabilities: Practical strategies for complying with district and state requirements (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Thurlow, M.L., House, A.L., Scott, D.L. & Ysseldyke, J.E. (2000). Students with disabilities in large-scale assessments: State participation and accommodation policies. The Journal of Special Education 34 (2), pp. 154-163.

Thurlow, M. L., Lazarus, S. S., Thompson, S. J., & Morse, A. (2005). State policies on assessment participation and accommodations for students with disabilities. Journal of Special Education 38(4), 232-240.

Thurlow, M. L., & Thompson, S. J. (2004). Inclusion of students with disabilities in state and district assessments. In J. Wall & G. Walz (eds.), Measuring up: Assessment issues for teachers, counselors, and administrators (pp. 161-176). Greensboro, NC: ERIC/CASS and NBCC.

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