Design for Increasing the Participation of Students with Disabilities and Limited English Proficient Students in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has always included students with disabilities and limited English proficient (LEP) students in the sample to be assessed, but only in relatively limited numbers. Recent research has indicated that many students who have been excluded are in fact capable of participating. The National Center for Education Statistics has field tested the use of revised criteria for deciding whether students should participate in the assessment and various accommodations and adaptations to remove barriers to participation. Inclusion of more students with disabilities and LEP students was studied in three samples for the national NAEP mathematics and science assessments and in the state NAEP assessments in mathematics and science. Students with disabilities and LEP students were oversampled in the national assessments but not in the state assessments. Students with disabilities in one sample from the national assessments were offered various accommodations to remove barriers to their participation. Changes have been incorporated into the 1996 NAEP to further the goal of maximum inclusion of students with disabilities and LEP students, while maintaining trend measurements from past assessments and continuing to report on the academic performance of all students in the nation. These changes will result in an improved and more representative national assessment program and will benefit states and school districts as the NAEP often serves as a model for the best practice in large-scale assessment. (Contains one figure.) (SLD) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** DESIGN FOR INCREASING THE PARTICIPATION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT STUDENTS IN THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS (NAEP) BY ARNOLD A. GOLDSTEIN NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS FOR PRESENTATION AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATION. CHICAGO, IL MARCH 1997 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE DESIGN FOR INCREASING THE PARTICIPATION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT STUDENTS IN THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS (NAEP) by Arnold A. Goldstein National Center for Education Statistics