No Child Left Behind: State Assessments: Exception to 1% Cap for Students with Disabilities:
NJDOE has sent out info to districts who may apply for an exception to the 1%
cap on APA students.
"Attached you will find an application for an exception to the 1.0 percent cap
on the number of proficient or advanced proficient scores that may be used in
calculating adequate yearly progress (AYP) for schools and districts."
As you know, many parents are being pressured to have their child take the APA
rather than the regular assessment with accommodations. If you are working with
a parent who believes a district is not following the appropriate guidelines for
assessing their child and is pressuring them to agree to use the APA, walk them
through NJ guidelines for the APA and for assessment accommodations.
Guidelines to Determine Which Students Should Participate in the New Jersey
Statewide Assessment Through the Alternate Proficiency Assessment
The New Jersey APA was developed for two purposes:
• To measure the progress of a small percentage of students with disabilities
who cannot participate in the regular statewide assessments even with
accommodations.
• To ensure that the educational results for all students are included in the
statewide accountability system at the individual, school, district, and state
levels.
The Individualized Education Program (IEP) team makes decisions about state
assessment participation. The IEP must determine for each content area assessed,
whether an individual will participate in the general assessment or the APA. The
New Jersey special education rules and regulations specify that:
Students with disabilities shall participate in the Alternate Proficiency in
each content area where the nature of the student’s disability is so severe that
the student is not receiving instruction in any of the knowledge and skills
measured by the general statewide assessment and the student cannot complete any
of the types of questions on the assessment
in the content area(s) even with accommodations and modifications (N.J.A.C.
6A:14- 4.10(a)2).
The United States Department of Education (USDOE) nonregulatory guidance
regarding achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive
disabilities provides further clarification regarding student eligibility for
participation in the alternate assessment based on alternate achievement
standards. The guidance states that:
“only students with the most signifi cant cognitive disabilities may be assessed
based on alternate achievement standards....the Department intended the term
“students with the most significant cognitive disabilities” to include that
small number of students who are (1) within one
or more of the existing categories of disability under the IDEA (e.g., autism,
multiple disabilities, traumatic brain injury, etc.); and (2) whose cognitive
impairments may prevent them from attaining grade-level achievement standards,
even with the very best instruction.”
The United States Department of Education (USDOE) nonregulatory guidance for
alternate assessments can be viewed online at
http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/altguidance.doc.
For an excellent parent-friendly brochure on alternate assessments, we suggest
you read the National Center on Educational Outcomes' brochure, "Learning
Opportunities for Your Child through Alternate Assessments." You can find all
of their parent guides at
http://cehd.umn.edu/nceo.