Alternate Assessments

Alternate assessments are measures of academic content or English proficiency intended for students with disabilities. Alternate assessments are different in one or more ways from general assessments intended for the majority of students in schools, including students with disabilities. This entry describes the three types of alternate assessments for students with disabilities that have been identified in federal laws or regulations. It examines each type in terms of the students for whom it was intended, its use in states, and the technical qualities it was expected to meet. The entry concludes with evidence of the consequences that have been attributed to one of the types of alternate assessments, the alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards, which by 2015 was the only alternate assessment recognized ...