NC 1501-12.4 Participation in Assessments

Plain English summary

This regulation requires that all children with disabilities be included in general State and district-wide assessments with appropriate accommodations or alternate assessments as specified in their IEPs. States and LEAs must develop accommodation guidelines that preserve score validity, provide alternate assessments for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, inform parents and IEP teams of assessment implications including effects on high school diploma requirements, and publicly report participation and performance data for children with disabilities. Universal design principles must be applied to the extent possible in developing and administering assessments.

Key requirements

• The State must ensure that all children with disabilities are included in all general State and district-wide assessment programs, including assessments described under section 1111 of the ESEA, with appropriate accommodations and alternate assessments, if necessary, as indicated in their respective IEPs.
• The State (or, in the case of a district-wide assessment, an LEA) must develop guidelines for the provision of appropriate accommodations.
• The State's (or, in the case of a district-wide assessment, the LEA's) guidelines must identify only those accommodations for each assessment that do not invalidate the score.
• The State's guidelines must instruct IEP Teams to select, for each assessment, only those accommodations that do not invalidate the score.
• If a State has adopted alternate academic achievement standards for children with disabilities who are students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, the State (or in the case of a district-wide assessment, an LEA) must develop and implement alternate assessments and guidelines for the participation in alternate assessments of those children with disabilities who cannot participate in regular assessments, even with accommodations, as indicated in their respective IEPs.
• A State may not adopt modified academic achievement standards that do not meet the requirements in section 1111(b)(1)(E) of the ESEA for any children with disabilities under section 602(3) of the IDEA.
• A State (or in the case of a district-wide assessment, an LEA) must provide to IEP team a clear explanation of the difference between assessments based on grade-level academic achievement standards and those based on alternate academic achievement standards, including any effects of State and local policies on a student's education resulting from taking an alternate assessment aligned with alternate academic achievement standards.
• A State (or in the case of a district-wide assessment, an LEA) must not preclude a student with the most significant cognitive disabilities who takes an alternate assessment aligned with alternate achievement standards from attempting to complete the requirements for a regular high school diploma.
• A State (or in the case of a district-wide assessment, an LEA) must ensure that parents of students selected to be assessed using an alternate assessment aligned with alternate academic achievement standards are informed that their child's achievement will be measured based on alternate academic standards, and of how participation in such assessments may delay or otherwise affect the student from completing the requirements for a regular high school diploma.
• An SEA (or, in the case of a district-wide assessment, an LEA) must make available to the public, and report to the public with the same frequency and in the same detail as it reports on the assessment of nondisabled children, the number of children with disabilities participating in regular assessments, the number provided accommodations, the number participating in alternate assessments, and performance results.
• The SEA (or, in the case of a district-wide assessment, an LEA) must, to the extent possible, use universal design principles in developing and administering any assessments under this section.

Affected parties

• Children with disabilities
• Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities
• IEP Teams
• Parents of students selected for alternate assessments
• State Education Agency (SEA)
• Local Education Agencies (LEAs)

Official source

https://www.dpi.nc.gov/documents/publications/catalog/ec144-policies-governing-services/open#page=44