The Special Education Unit has recently received numerous complaints and questions regarding the alleged use of alternate portfolio assessment for students with disabilities who do not meet the established criteria for the use of this method of assessment. This is a very important and timely issue.
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) require that ALL students be assessed, either with the statewide standards based criterion-referenced tests, with or without accommodations or, when appropriate, with an alternate form of assessment. In Arkansas, an alternate assessment in the form of a portfolio is provided for a limited number of students with a “significant cognitive disability” whose Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams have determined that it is not appropriate for these students to take the standard benchmark tests, even with allowable accommodations.
The criteria for the use of the alternate portfolio assessment for students with a “significant cognitive disability” is very specific in defining the circumstances under which this form of assessment may be used.
It is the sole decision of the student’s IEP team, including the student’s parent or guardian, to determine the form of assessment for a student with disabilities. This team decision is based on a number of factors and must be made during an IEP meeting and recorded on the student’s IEP.
The decision to assess a student with the alternate portfolio is NOT an administrative decision, nor should a student be placed in alternate assessment in an effort to by-pass the regular benchmark exam for any individual or group of students. It is not intended that portfolio assessment be used as a way to generate higher student scores, thus improving a school’s/district’s performance for meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).
The determination of the appropriate means of including a student with disabilities in the State’s assessment program is an IEP team decision for each individual based on established criteria. Simply because it is anticipated that certain students or groups of students may not score well on the standard benchmark exam is NOT an acceptable reason for use of the alternate portfolio. Improper use of the alternate portfolio with groups of students or certain students may, if confirmed through investigation, be considered a compliance violation under the IDEA. Further, it will be reported as a violation of test administration and will be investigated under the Department’s rules for such investigations.
Guidelines containing the criteria for the use of the alternate portfolio for assessment of students with significant cognitive disabilities have been included in the ACTAAP Administrators Manual and the ACTAAP Teacher Handbook, Arkansas Alternate Portfolio Assessment System for Students with Disabilities. A copy of these criteria is also attached to this Memo. Copies of the ACTAAP materials can be downloaded from the web at www.arkedu.k12.ar.us .
Refer to previous Director’s Communications IA-05-012 dated 7/21/04 and IA-04-111 dated 5/13/04 for additional information concerning assessment of students with disabilities.
For further information, contact Tom Hicks at 501-682-4221 or thicks@arkedu.k12.ar.us.