Was NCLB the first federal law to require states to include students with disabilities in the states assessment system?
NCLB is the first law to hold schools accountable for ensuring that all students participate in the state assessment system, but it is built on earlier law. The 1997 amendments to the IDEA required that students with disabilities participate in state and district assessments and that their results be reported publicly in the same way and with the same frequency as those of other students. The federal law that preceded NCLB, the Improving Americas Schools Act of 1994, required schools to include the assessment results of students with disabilities in accountability decisions for Title I schools. NCLB and the 2004 IDEA amendments strengthened a commitment to this requirement, and now all states are paying attention to testing students with disabilities and are using those results to hold schools accountable for the performance of these students. Data indicate that participation and achievement levels are rising each year. Data from the National Council on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) show
