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Subject: NEW Assessment Regulations/2%
Modified Achievement Standards
Source: Heidi Atkins Lieberman, Assistant Commissioner
Intended Audience: Directors of Special Education, Special Education
Contacts, Stakeholders
Date: April 6, 2007
On Wednesday, April 4, 2007, the U.S. Department of Education announced the
release of the "2% regulations" for AYP purposes under NCLB. These
regulations allow states to develop modified academic achievement standards
for a small group of students with disabilities (up to 2% will be counted
for AYP purposes) that are challenging and measure a student's mastery of
grade-level content, but are less difficult than grade-level achievement
standards. These assessments must cover grade-level content and be aligned
with state standards and they will be subject to a peer review process.
These alternate assessments are intended for students with disabilities who
are capable of achieving high standards (grade-level content) but just not
in the same time frame as other students. Modified academic achievement
standards are intended to provide a more appropriate measure of these
students' knowledge of grade-level content.
A student's IEP Team will determine whether the student will be assessed
based on modified academic achievement standards. States must develop
guidelines for IEP Teams to ensure they are appropriately identifying
students to be assessed under this 2% regulation. IEP goals that are based
on grade-level content standards must be included in the IEPs of students
who are assessed based on modified academic achievement standards. Please
note that this option based on 2% is in addition to the other ways to assess
students with disabilities (meaning that there is still the 1% option of an
alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards - our
MAP-A.
We will provide more information as we receive it. The regulations are quite
lengthy and a close review will be conducted by the Department.
Obviously, the Department's Assessment Section will be working hard to
understand all the parameters of these new regulations and development of
modified assessments will be needed. We will keep you posted. For now,
please hold your questions.
For a copy of the regulations and the non-regulatory guidance, go to:
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2007/04/04042007.html.
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