Statewide Assessment Results for Students with Low-Incidence Disabilities

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001 (P.L. 107-110) requires annual testing in reading and math for grades 3-8 beginning in 2005-06 and annual testing in science by 2007-08. The tests are to be based on rigorous state standards, and NCLBA expects 100% proficiency within 12 years. These testing requirements form the main accountability provisions of NCLB, and the results enter into the determination of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), a measure that is expected to increase linearly year-by-year. Districts and schools that do not make AYP are subject to corrective actions. NCLBA in effect holds schools responsible for the academic progress of their students. This law is up for reauthorization in 2007.

NCLBA requires states to report assessment results by several subgroups, including race, ethnicity, students with disabilities, students living in poverty, and students with limited English proficiency. A minimum of 95% of each subgroup must participate in testing, and participation is considered to occur if the test score is counted. However, accommodations that result in unreliable or invalid administrations may be excluded from participation.

Students with low-incidence disabilities are those who comprise less than 2% of the school-age population of children with disabilities. They are also the students who require the greatest degree of testing accommodations. NCLBA has the potential to hold schools accountable for the educational progress of students with low-incidence disabilities at the same time as it risks excluding these students altogether because of the accommodations needed to help them learn. In 2004, states were permitted the option of indicating up to 1% of their student population as making AYP based on alternate achievement standards. This group of students comprises those with severe cognitive disabilities.

In 2003, the National Center on Severe and Sensory Disabilities began collecting statewide assessment data on children with low-incidence disabilities. It turned out to be a difficult task - as few states disaggregate their results by type of disability, and indeed NCLBA does not require them to do so. But 10 states did agree to share this information with NCSSD. At the end of our second data collection period, fourteen states agreed to participate. Data from 2001 - 2006 are summarized below. In February, 2007, NCSSD began its third data collection period. Data for 2007 will be posted as soon as it is available.

Major Findings of this Project to Date:

1. Students with low-incidence disabilities are not performing commensurate to their non-disabled peers on statewide assessments.
2. States do not all use the same disability categories for reporting test information (e.g., students with hearing loss may or may not include students who are deaf; students who are deafblind may be reported in the category of multiple disabilities or blindness/visual impairment).
3. All states do not report the same data (e.g., some states report reading, writing and math; while others report English Language Arts . reading and writing combined).
4. The results are not comparable from year-to-year, nor from state-to-state. Different sets of students participate during each testing year for each grade level.
5. Since 2001, increasingly more states are disaggregating and sharing their state assessment data by disability areas.
6. During the 2005-2006 academic year, approximately 900 people visited NCSSD's website regarding this project.

Understanding the Data:

• The numbers represent the mean proportion of students scoring proficient or better, based on all states that reported data for that year, grade level, and subject.
• Sometimes no students were tested in a category, sometimes no results were reported, and sometimes the numbers of students taking the test were not reported. For this reason, data does not exist for all disability groups for all grade levels for all subjects, and your customized searches may turn up empty.
• Students with significant support needs are classified differently by different states. We have reported the results for students with mental retardation, autism, multiple disabilities, and traumatic brain injury separately, but we cannot be sure that these represent discrete categories. Sometimes no students were tested in a category, sometimes no results were reported, and sometimes the numbers of students taking the test were not reported. For this reason, data does not exist for all disability groups for all grade levels for all subjects, and your customized searches may turn up empty.
• Students with significant support needs are classified differently by different states. We have reported the results for students with mental retardation, autism, multiple disabilities, and traumatic brain injury separately, but we cannot be sure that these represent mutually exclusive categories.
• All states do not report the same data.
• Some states do not report the number of students participating in the state assessment. In cases where exact counts are not available, the minimum known count is preceded by a ">" sign.
• Data reported by only one state were not used. "No data" indicates either that only one state reported data or that no results were reported by any state for that category. This is why deafblindness only appears in only a few tables and charts.
• The results are not comparable from year-to-year, or from state-to-state. Different sets of students participate during each testing year for each grade level.
• In the graphs that follow, all purple horizontal bars refer to students with significant support needs; green, to students with visual impairments; magenta, to students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing; turquoise, to ALL students with disabilities; and red, to all students without disabilities.

The National Center on Severe and Sensory Disabilities is grateful to those at the state departments of education who have shared these data with us, and we encourage other states to make efforts to disaggregate their disability results in the future. Data collection for the 2005-2006 academic testing periods began February, 2007. If you would like more information regarding this project or how your state can participate, please contact Shawn Barnard (800-395-2693 v/tdd) or email at shawn.barnard@unco.edu.

Currently Available State Assessment Data:

(Click on the below to access customizable reports.)

Subject	Grade	2001	2002	2003
Math	3
Math	4
Math	5
Math	6
Math	7
Math	8
Math	9
Math	10
Reading	3
Reading	4
Reading	5
Reading	6
Reading	7
Reading	8
Reading	9
Reading	10
English Language Arts	4
English Language Arts	8

The data are available in Excel spreadsheet format for the following years:

• 2002
• 2003

Last Updated April 17, 2008.

the National Center on Severe and Sensory Disabilities

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