Welcome
Welcome to the Winter NCEO e-newsletter. This issue highlights a new video series for parents of students with significant cognitive disabilities. The videos focus on various aspects of supporting the learning of their children at home. Currently available videos address routines at home, helping with academics at home, foundations of communications at home, and communications at home.
This issue also highlights a new Brief that NCEO published on using pre-assessment to plan instruction for students with disabilities during distance education, as well as a review of the literature on literacy assessment and instruction practices for English learners with significant cognitive disabilities. Additionally, there is an article about eight tools which were developed with states that were members of several Peer Learning Groups (PLGs) organized by NCEO on topics related to addressing the 1% threshold on participation in alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). Finally, if you will be participating in the upcoming virtual Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Convention and Expo, we have a list of sessions that include NCEO staff.
As always, we welcome feedback and ideas about what you would like to see in future issues of NCEO’s e-newsletter.
Sheryl Lazarus
NCEO Director
Parent Video Series to Support the Learning of Children with Significant Cognitive Disabilities at Home
NCEO and the TIES Center, both funded by the Office of Special Education Programs, have jointly published the first four videos in a series for parents of K-12 students with significant cognitive disabilities. The videos, available on NCEO’s YouTube Channel address various aspects of supporting the learning of children with significant cognitive disabilities at home.
Brief on Pre-assessment to Plan Instruction for Students with Disabilities During Distance Learning
NCEO recently published Pre-assessment to Plan Instruction for Students with Disabilities During Distance Learning (NCEO Brief #21). This Brief describes using pre-assessment to plan instruction for students with disabilities, and presents 10 tools that can be used particularly during distance learning. Pre-assessment to plan instruction can help guide the instructional planning process and focus on the specific content to be taught in a unit or sequence of lessons.
New NCEO Report Reviewing the Literature on Literacy Assessment and Instruction Practices for English Learners with Significant Cognitive Disabilities
NCEO has published A Literature Review on Evidence-Based Literacy Assessment and Instruction Practices for English Learners with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (NCEO Report #422). This report summarizes a comprehensive investigation of research published between 2000 and 2018 on evidence-based literacy assessment and instruction practices for English learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Our goal is to provide policymakers and educators with actionable findings from the literature.
Alternate Assessment Resources from NCEO 1% Peer Learning Groups
In October 2018, more than 200 individuals gathered in Boston to develop state-action plans for meeting the 1% cap on state-level participation in alternate assessments aligned with alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). Then in 2019, states met with each other and NCEO in a series of Peer Learning Groups (PLGs) to develop resources to help themselves and other states address the 1% cap requirement. Eight tools were developed through these three PLGs. Each tool is described in brief here.
NCEO Presentations at Council for Exceptional Children Convention and Expo
The Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC) annual conference will be held virtually from March 8 through March 13, 2021. NCEO staff will be involved in several presentations and posters. If you plan to attend this conference, we invite you to attend conference presentations and posters by NCEO staff members and affiliated projects.
NCEO’s National Assessment Center is supported through a Cooperative Agreement (#H326G160001) with the Research to Practice Division, Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. The Center is affiliated with the Institute on Community Integration at the College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. The contents of this report were developed under the Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of Education, but do not necessarily represent the policy or opinions of the U.S. Department of Education or Office within it. Readers should not assume endorsement by the federal government.