States' Flexibility Waiver Plans for Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS). Synthesis Report 96

Download or read book States' Flexibility Waiver Plans for Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS). Synthesis Report 96 written by Sheryl S. Lazarus and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All states have alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. For accountability purposes, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) allows up to 1% of students to be counted as proficient with this assessment option. In 2011 the U.S. Department of Education provided the opportunity for states to request flexibility from some of the ESEA accountability requirements. The states' waiver applications included information that pertained to the AA-AAS, alternate achievement standards, and the students with disabilities who participate in the AA-AAS. This report compiles, analyzes, and summarizes what the states said about the AA-AAS in their applications. Key findings include: (1) Three quarters of the states included information about the technical assistance that would be provided to address the AA-AAS; (2) About half of the states included information about how data for students who participated in the AA-AAS would be included with data from the general assessment in the calculation of annual measurable objectives (AMOs), for accountability and for reporting purposes; and (3) About half of the states indicated that they planned to involve stakeholders as they developed and implemented new alternate assessment systems. The flexibility waivers provided states with an opportunity to develop plans that have the potential to improve student learning and outcomes for all students, including students who participate in the AA-AAS. Some states that belonged to one of the two AA-AAS assessment consortia funded by the Office of Special Education Programs--Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) and National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC)--included information about consortium plans in their applications; several of these states no longer belong to a consortium. There may be a need for these states and the U.S. Department of Education to revisit what the states said about their plans related to the AA-AAS and the students who participate in them to help ensure that the instructional and assessment needs of this population are being met. Appended are (1) State Documents Used in Analysis; and (2) AA-AAS Characteristics by State.