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. Three PLGs were held to address three priority topics for the states:

• Digging into Your Data: Building a 1% Data Analysis and Use Plan
• Guiding and Evaluating District Justifications for Exceeding the 1% Cap
• Building Capacity of IEP Teams and Parents in Making Decisions about Assessment Participation

Eight tools were developed through these three PLGs. Each tool is described in brief here.

Data Analysis and Use Planning Tool for Examining AA-AAAS Participation: Addressing the Percentage of Students Participating in the Alternate Assessment (NCEO Tool #2)
This tool is designed to help states and districts develop a plan for analyzing and using their AA-AAAS data. It provides a four-step data analysis framework that is intended to serve as a starting point for states and districts.

State-District Data Display Templates: Addressing the Percentage of Students Participating in the Alternate Assessment (NCEO Tool #3)
This tool is designed to provide states and districts with templates to use to display their data, with the end goal being to support an examination of the data displayed to determine whether there are any unusual results that require further examination and discussion.

District Dialogue Guide: Addressing the Percentage of Students Participating in the Alternate Assessment (NCEO Tool #4)
This dialogue guide is designed to help district and school staff, and stakeholders, engage in thoughtful conversations, tailored to their unique contexts, about participation in the AA-AAAS. It includes questions that can be modified, as appropriate, for the context in which the discussion occur.

Frequently Asked Questions on AA-AAAS (NCEO Tool #5)
This FAQ documents questions that were asked during the 1% Cap National Convening in October 2018 and the answers provided by the U.S. Department of Education. The questions were ones posed by state personnel who participated in the 2018 1% Cap National Convening, the following meetings of PLG 2 members, or from a 1% Community of Practice that NCEO hosts.

Who Should Participate in Your State’s Alternate Assessment? A Slide Presentation Tool for Administrators (NCEO Tool #6)
This resource supports the need for administrators to have access to brief but substantive information about who should participate in the state’s alternate assessment. It highlights the purpose of alternate assessments, the implications of a student taking the alternate assessment, strategies for talking with parents, and identification of students who should participate in the alternate assessment. It includes slides that can be adapted by the presenter, and provides comments the presenter might want to say when using the slides.

Start with the End in Mind: An Infographic to Guide Decisions about Student Participation in the Alternate Assessment (NCEO Tool #7)
This infographic is designed to provide guidance about decision making for a student’s participation in the state’s AA-AAAS. It uses clear language to help explain how the decision can affect future opportunities available to a child with a disability. It can be used in IEP training, provided to parents and guardians to read before an IEP team meeting, reviewed by the team during an IEP team meeting, and used to talk with parents and guardians to prepare for an IEP team meeting.

A Five-Step Process for Developing and Reviewing District Justifications for Exceeding 1.0% AA-AAAS Participation (NCEO Tool #8)
The purpose of this tool is to provide states with a systematic process to support the implementation of requirements for districts to provide information justifying the need for AA-AAAS participation rates over 1.0%. It also provides a process for states to use in reviewing information from districts, providing support and oversight, and ensuring that only students with the most significant cognitive disabilities participate in the AA-AAAS.

IEP Team Resource: Making Decisions about Participation in the Alternate Assessment (NCEO Tool #10)
This tool is designed to support IEP team members in making the decision about whether a student with a disability should participate in a general assessment or an AA-AAAS. It provides several resources to encourage rich discussion about the assessment participation decision. States can modify the tool as needed to reflect any differences in their IEPs or to link to their own guidelines for participation in the AA-AAAS.

All of the resources developed by the PLGs, and others, are available in the 1% Toolkit at https://nceo.info/Resources/tools.