Many states and school districts have implemented K-2 academic assessments. These assessments are often used to measure progress or growth, for instructional decision-making, to predict grade 3 summative assessment performance, or to track literacy for reading guarantees. They may also be used in some State Systemic Improvement Plans (SSIPs), as either the State-Identified Measurable Result (SIMR) or as a measure of progress in a state’s evaluation plan for its SSIP.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that all students with disabilities, including English learners with disabilities, participate in all state and district-wide assessment programs. This includes assessments administered in grades other than those used for ESEA accountability, such as K-2 assessments. Despite the IDEA requirement, students with disabilities have sometimes been excluded from K-2 assessments.

NCEO recently published a brief titled, Including Students with Disabilities in K-2 Academic Assessments (Brief #28) that provides an overview of issues related to the inclusion of students with disabilities and English learners with disabilities in early grade (K-2) assessments and offers considerations for improved practices:

• Ensure that assessment items are developed using universal design principles and that a broad range of accessibility features and accommodations are available.
• Ensure that the assessment is accessible to all students and that it has an alternate assessment for students who need one.
• Ensure that requests for information (RFIs) and requests for proposals (RFPs) address students with disabilities.
• Provide professional development on how to include students with disabilities in K-2 academic assessments, as well as training and guides that help increase understanding of the assessment results and how to use the data.