How Have Students Receiving Special Education Services Fared on the NAEP and NALS?
Inclusion in the national data collection programs as a whole will enable students to be included in national assessments that use performance-based measures. Unfortunately, about 50% of students with disabilities are typically excluded from participating in national assessments. Why is this so? * Guidelines are exclusive: It is questionable whether the guidelines themselves result in high exclusion rates. For example, NAEP guidelines allow students to be excluded if the student is mainstreamed less than 50% of the time in academic subjects and is judged to be incapable of taking part in the assessment. * Accommodations are not available: Neither the NAEP or the NALS allow any accommodations or adaptations to be made for individuals who need them in order to participate meaningfully in the assessment. Overall, school officials hesitate to include students with disabilities into high-stakes testing situations for obvious reasons. Without a guarantee that all districts are using the same
