On April 8, 2015, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) honored NCEO’s Director, Dr. Martha Thurlow, with the J. E. Wallace Wallin Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing assessment policy and practice in special education. The award was presented at the CEC annual Convention and Expo in San Diego, California. The Council celebrated Martha’s 40-year career dedicated to advancing educational opportunities for students with disabilities and English language learners. According to CEC, Martha’s “early research on the exclusion of these students from state educational assessments and the lack of any policy or process to guide teachers in remedying the problem led to dramatic policy changes at the state and local levels. These changes, which raised the bar for students with disabilities, took on national scope when they were included in the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1997.”

The Council recognized many of Martha’s accomplishments, including her many publications on such topics as large scale assessment, school dropouts, and the development of alternate assessments, and her leadership of the National Center on Educational Outcomes. Award nominators described Martha as a rare academic who can integrate research, policy, and practice. CEC noted that Martha’s expertise is actively sought by both federal leaders and researchers in the field of special education, and she most embodies the Council’s strive to see the big picture without losing sight of the students, families, and practitioners who are involved in the policy change process. We hope you join us in congratulating Martha on this prestigious and well-deserved award.