This report outlines the approaches that state education agencies (SEAs) have taken in defining and using formative assessment practices, including practices to explicitly support students with disabilities. At the state level, there have been efforts to develop or adopt formal definitions of formative assessment practices that guide how these…

The purpose of this study was to use data from the United States' National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 (NLTS 2012) to present descriptive information on youth and parent participation and youth's role in required Individualized Education Program (IEP)/transition planning meetings by disability category and age groupings (14-22 year olds,…

Although considerable research has focused on engaging parents or guardians in education, little research has addressed engaging parents or guardians to meet the needs of English learners (ELs) with disabilities in the United States. In this article, we summarize literature from general education, special education, and EL education to provide…

Although federal policies have promoted the inclusion of students with disabilities in educational opportunities, success remains elusive. Yet much has been learned about how best to include students with disabilities in assessments and accountability, graduation requirements, and educational programming. Based on this learning, we highlight red…

To help ensure that assessments are properly administered, states have developed policies about who can administer or proctor assessments, and the training they must have. This report presents the findings of our analysis of states' 2021 policies on the qualifications and requirements for test administrators, proctors, and accommodations providers…

One important aspect of special education research that makes it complex is the variability of the disability categories being studied. This study used the context of Individualized Education Program (IEP)/transition planning and National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 (NLTS 2012) student and parent survey items associated with this context to…

The present study was undertaken to update what is known about the status of graduation policies across the nation. It follows up on previous work, the last such study having been conducted in 2011 (Johnson, Thurlow, & Schuelka, 2012). Three research questions served as the focus of this national study of high school graduation requirements…

This report provides an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations. Previous reports by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) have covered research published since 1999. In this report, we summarize the research published in 2019. During 2019, 11 research studies were published on the topic of testing accommodations…

The purpose of this report is to provide a synthesis of the research on K-12 testing accommodations. In this report, we summarize the research published in 2017. Previous reports by NCEO have covered research published since 1999. During 2017, 14 research studies were published on the topic of testing accommodations in the elementary and secondary…

Text-to-speech (TTS) refers to technology that reads aloud digital text (Understood, 2019). For years, TTS and its human counterpart--read aloud--have generated controversy about when and for whom these supports should be allowed on state assessments (Thurlow, Christensen, & Rogers, n.d.; Thurlow & Weiner, n.d.; Thurlow, Laitusis, Dillon,…

Research suggests that bullying victimization occurs at higher rates among students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than among their typically-developing peers. This study used data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 to explore differences in student and family characteristics between students with ASD and students with all…

This report provides an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations. Previous reports by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) have covered research published since 1999. In this report, we summarize the research published in 2020. During 2020, 11 research studies addressed testing accommodations in the U.S. K-12…

The purpose of this report is to present a synthesis of the research on test accommodations for U.S. elementary and secondary students (K-12) published in 2018. The academic literature described here encompasses empirical studies of performance comparability, investigations into accommodations use, implementation practices, and perceptions of the…

The 2015 reauthorization of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) placed a state-level 1.0% threshold on student participation in the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standard (AA-AAAS). ESSA also stipulated that state education agencies (SEAs) may not impose on any local educational agency (LEA) a cap on the percentage…

This report presents the findings of an analysis of states' FFY 2018 State Systemic Improvement Plans (SSIPs), submitted to the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in April 2020. It specifically addresses how assessments were included in states' State-Identified Measurable Results (SIMRs). For states with…