Thirty-five years ago, the educational outcomes of students with disabilities were largely invisible. This fall, The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) celebrates 35 years as the longest-running technical assistance center dedicated to designing assessments and assessment policies that ensure all students count. As a center funded by the US Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), NCEO is a national leader in improving access to educational assessments and providing leadership on alternate assessments for students with disabilities.

Since its founding in 1990 by Dr. Bob Bruininks, NCEO has worked to improve how students with a range of support needs—especially students with disabilities—participate in assessments. We provide research-based guidance, tools, and resources for states to design accessible tests, provide accommodations, and develop sound assessment policies. In our online resources library, you can find tools designed for use by everyone, from parents and families to policymakers.

“NCEO has an extraordinary record of contributions to the U.S. education system, from calling attention to the exclusion of students with disabilities in state assessments, to introducing universal design principles in the assessment process, to shaping national legislation and policy,” said Kristin Liu, who co-directs NCEO with Andrew Hinkle. “It was one of the first entities to report on the lack of accommodation policies for state assessments, and to advocate for including students with disabilities in assessments, work that informed decades of national advocacy by the families of students with disabilities.”

NCEO has helped drive major changes in how schools support all learners, and it has influenced federal education laws. Our website’s history page documents these contributions. From shaping national policies on alternate assessments to providing practical tools that states use to craft accommodations policies, NCEO’s work has helped ensure that every student has the opportunity to demonstrate what they know and can do. “Our work has helped create the expectation that all students will participate in meaningful assessments,” Hinkle said.

We are proud to celebrate 35 years of impact and collaboration—and to continue working toward meaningful participation and improved outcomes for every learner. Read more about the history of NCEO and check out the new report tracing the history of alternate assessment policies on our website at www.nceo.info.