A Framework for Making Decisions About Participation in a State’s Alternate ELP Assessment (NCEO Report 426), which was published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO), offers state education agencies guidance on identifying English learners eligible for alternate English language proficiency (alt-ELP) assessments due to significant cognitive disabilities. It emphasizes the challenges in determining eligibility, particularly the interplay between language and cognitive ability. States and districts typically have two separate identification processes—one for identifying English learners and a second one for identifying children with disabilities.

The second process includes the identification of children with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are eligible to take an alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS) in mathematics, reading/language arts, science, or an alt-ELP assessment. Without state guidance on how to apply these two processes in tandem, there can be variation in the percentages and characteristics of students identified as English learners with disabilities who may take an alt-ELP assessment and who take the AA-AAAS. To provide greater consistency in implementation by states and districts, this resource offers a framework for identifying students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are eligible to take the alt-ELP assessment. This resource includes five sections:

• A summary of federal assessment requirements

• An overview of the characteristics of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, students who are English learners, and students who are English learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities

• A framework for identifying English learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are eligible to participate in the alt-ELP assessment

• A discussion of additional considerations for ensuring that students are accurately identified and supported

• A list of resources, including publications and key organizations that provide additional information on identifying English learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities