When updated by Congress in 2001, ESEA became known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). It introduced the most sweeping changes the American educational system has seen in decades. Tough new requirements introduced in NCLB were intended to increase the quality and effectiveness not only of the Title I program, but also of the entire elementary and secondary education system—raising the achievement of all students, particularly those with the lowest achievement levels.

During its 2004 reauthorization, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was more closely aligned with NCLB, as Congress sought to ensure educational accountability for students who receive special education services. While NCLB seeks to improve the education of all children – with an emphasis on children from low-income families – IDEA focuses on the individual child and seeks to ensure specialized services for children with disabilities so that they may benefit from education.

Given new provisions in NCLB and IDEA, these two laws now have become even more important to parents of students with disabilities. Since NCLB provisions apply to all students, including those whose disabilities require special education, it is important that parents understand the requirements of NCLB as well as ways the two laws can work together to improve the academic achievement of students with disabilities.

NCLB requires all states that accept Title I funds to bring all students to a proficient level in reading and math by 2014. To achieve that goal, every state is required to:

• Develop challenging academic standards that are the same for every student
• Develop annual academic assessments for all students
• Ensure that there is a highly qualified teacher in every classroom
• Define the amount of academic progress that school districts and schools must achieve each year in reading/language arts and mathematics in order to reach the proficiency goal by 2014
• Ensure that schools and school districts test at least 95 percent of all students in the required grades, academic areas, and required subgroups of students (see box)
• Determine a minimum size for required subgroups of students to be included in yearly progress calculations, based on technical considerations
• Ensure the availability of reasonable adaptations and accommodations for students with disabilities
• Produce an annual statewide Report Card of performance and make the report available to the public as well as provide reports to parents on each student’s individual performance.

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NCLB ANNUAL TESTING REQUIREMENTS

All students in grades 3 through 8 must be tested each year in both reading/language arts and math. In addition, high school students must be tested sometime during grades 10-12 in both reading/language arts and math. (Beginning in 2008, all students must also be assessed in science once during grades 3-5, once during grades 6-9, and once during grades 10-12. However, schools are not held accountable for student performance on these science assessments.)

NCLB STUDENT SUBGROUP REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Schools, school districts and states must report both test participation and performance for all students tested as well as separately for the following subgroups of students:

•       Students who are economically disadvantaged

•       Students from major racial/ethnic groups

•       Students with limited English proficiency

•       Students with disabilities (IDEA-eligible students with IEPs)

Annual statewide assessments (or tests) of student progress are the centerpiece of NCLB’s school accountability requirements. Data from these assessments, combined with other important indicators, are used to determine if schools and school districts are making continuous improvement in reading/language arts and mathematics toward the goal of 100% proficiency in 2013-2014, known as “Adequate Yearly Progress.” (See Figure 1)

Participating in the statewide annual assessments provides evidence of how the school is doing in educating every child. Results from these assessments are provided to parents so that they can understand just how their child is performing compared to other students in the same grade. Results can be used to develop a child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) and set annual goals that will help accelerate learning.

Students who receive special education services and supports have a wide range of abilities. Most are expected to participate in the same regular assessment taken by all students, possibly with the addition of appropriate accommodations. For some students, acquiring the same academic knowledge and mastering the same skills as all other students may proceed more slowly and require more intensive instruction. Yet these students need to participate in all state assessments to maintain school accountability. To allow for full participation, the U.S. Department of Education has developed guidelines for states that permit alternate assessments for special education students to be used in a limited manner. Allowing states to create these flexible assessment options is designed to provide a range of ways special education students can participate in the testing required by NCLB.

HOW SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS CAN BE TESTED

   A regular grade-level assessment measures student progress on the same state grade-level content standards as all students, with or without appropriate accommodations. Most students should participate in this assessment.

   An alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) measures student progress on the full range of state grade-level content standards, and is judged against a different level of proficiency that is appropriating challenging for students who participate in this option. A student’s participation may be supported by accommodations and assistive technologies. Some students may participate in this type of assessment, which may not be available in every state.

   An alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) measures student progress on state grade-level content standards at a reduced breadth, depth, and complexity, and is judged against a different level of proficiency. A student’s participation will likely be supported by assistive technologies, prompting or scaffolding. This type of assessment is designed for students who have significant cognitive disabilities, which is a very small percentage of special education students nationwide.

OUT-OF-LEVEL TESTING

Out-of-level testing generally refers to the practice of giving a student a test intended for students at a lower grade level. Out-of-level testing is often associated with lower expectations for students with disabilities, tracking such students into lower-level curricula with limited opportunities.   It may also limit student opportunities for advancing to the next grade or graduating with a regular high school diploma.   According to the National Center on Educational Outcomes, research does not support the use of out-of-level test scores from state assessments when measuring student proficiency on standards for the grade level in which a student is enrolled.

WHO DECIDES

How a special education student will participate in the statewide assessments required by NCLB (and any other state or district-wide assessments required for all students) is decided by the student’s IEP team. Making this decision is a very important part of the development of a student’s IEP. A student’s participation at the most challenging level will ensure that every student is being provided with full access to the general curriculum, appropriate accommodations, and high expectations. If the IEP team decides that the student will not take the regular assessment, the IEP must include a statement explaining why the student can’t participate and must describe the particular alternate assessment that will be used. The IEP team must consider a variety of information and evidence to make this decision.

A less rigorous assessment should not be selected because the student has not been exposed to the material on the test, because the student’s placement has restricted access to the general curriculum, or the student’s teacher isn’t qualified to teach the academic content being tested. A decision should not be made based on whether the assessment option will help a school’s AYP calculations.

Understanding the implications of each assessment option is a critical component of making a wise decision. Participation in some alternate assessment options may eventually mean that the student will not be able to earn a regular diploma because of a state’s requirements for awarding diplomas. While NCLB doesn’t require or even encourage that the results of assessments required by NCLB should be used to make decisions regarding a student’s grade promotion or graduation, many states have policies in effect that link a student’s performance on state assessments with grade promotion and/or graduation with a regular diploma. Also, in many states, the same high school assessment is used to make graduation decisions and to satisfy the NCLB requirement for a high school assessment in reading/language arts and math.

Every state is required to establish clear guidelines for IEP teams to use when deciding if a student should be assessed using the regular assessment or an alternate assessment based on modified or alternate achievement standards. These guidelines should provide parameters and direction to ensure that students are not assessed based on their placement, their disability category or their racial or economic background.

TEST ACCOMMODATIONS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS

NCLB requires all states to provide appropriate accommodations that are needed by students with disabilities to fully participate in state assessments. And IDEA requires every state to establish guidelines for test accommodations to make sure that students use only the accommodations that produce a score that is valid for school accountability purposes. For example, if the reading assessment is supposed to measure how well a student can decode text, then reading the test aloud to the student as an accommodation would result in an invalid score on the test because the accommodation would interfere with the skill being measured. If, however, the skill is comprehension of text, reading the test aloud might be a permissible accommodation. The student’s IEP team must also make decisions about the accommodations needed on state assessments. These accommodations must be clearly listed in the IEP and should be adhered to during test administration.

Accommodations used in state assessments should mirror those used in day-to-day classroom instruction and classroom tests, to the extent possible. An accommodation should never be introduced for the first time in a state assessment.

Accommodations level the playing field so that the test measures what a student knows and can do and not the effect of the child’s disability. Accommodations are generally grouped into the following categories:

• Presentation (e.g., repeat directions, read aloud, use of larger bubbles on answer sheets)
• Response (e.g., mark answers in book, use reference aids, point, use of computer)
• Timing/Scheduling (e.g., extended time, frequent breaks)
• Setting (e.g., study carrel, special lighting, separate room)

Moving students along in their learning – and keeping expectations high – remains the primary objective for all special education students, including those who may need to participate in state assessments by way of an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards.   NCLB’s focus on grade-level proficiency in the essential skills of reading, writing, and math is a powerful tool for improving the academic achievement of special education students.