Attending to the State’s Alternate Assessment

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Assessment Accommodations Manual Updates

November 16, 2023

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Lynn Vásquez

Director of Assessment

Assessment Bureau

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Margenia Davis

DLM Assessment Coordinator

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Education is Calling

Presentation Topics

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• Minimum federal assessment requirements for all students

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• Longitudinal alternate assessment participation rate

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• Federal requirements imposed on states and districts when the state exceeds the 1% cap

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• Guidance for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities

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• Updated assessment accommodations manual

Our Students

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• 89 Districts
• 103 State and District Charters
• 892 Schools
• 50,000 Educators and Support Staff

Minimum Federal Assessment Requirements for All States

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Minimum Federal Testing Requirements

The Every Student Succeeds Act 1111(c)(4)(E)(i) requires states to annually measure the achievement of not less than 95% of all students, and 95% of all students in each subgroup of students, who are enrolled in public schools.

ESSA 1111(b)(2)(B) requires the assessment of all students, including students with disabilities and English learners, in:

● reading and/or language arts in Grades 3-8 and once in high school;

● mathematics in Grades 3-8 and once in high school;

● science once in Grades 3-5, once in Grades 6-9, and once in Grades 10-12;

● English language proficiency for students identified as English learners.

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ESEA’s 1% Statewide Cap

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• In 2017, federal law limited the total number of student with the Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities who are assessed statewide with a Reading/English Language arts, mathematics or science Alternate Assessment to 1% …in each of these same subject areas (ESEA section 1111(b)(2)(D)(i)(I)).

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• This 1% threshold raises the importance of ensuring that appropriate students participate in the Alternate Assessment, in part because of the additional requirements placed on states and districts when a state exceeds the threshold.

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ESSA, Title I End-of-Year Summative Assessments

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Measures of Student Success and Achievement (MSSA)

Math 3-8

Math 3-8, and 11

Science 5, 8, and 11

Language Arts 3-8

Science 5, 8, 11

Lang. Arts 3-8, and 11

Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) Alternate Assessment

Assessment of Science Readiness (ASR)

SAT School Day

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Math 11

Language Arts 11

ACCESS for ELLs

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ELP K-12

Alternate ACCESS for ELLs

ELP 1 -12

Students w/ Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities

All General Education Students, Including English Learners and Students w/Disabilities

Only English Learners (ELs), Including ELs w/Disabilities

ELP = English Language Proficiency

ELs w/ Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities

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Spanish Reading SBA

1% Representation of NM SWD Population

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How is the 1% Cap Calculated?

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34 CFR 200.6(c)(3) requires that states not exceed the 1% cap, and the statute provides the definition of the 1% cap and guidance on the calculation. The cap must be reported with only one decimal point and is calculated as follows for each content area (i.e., math, reading, science):

• State calculation: The numerator includes only the number of students who take the AA-AAAS (DLM) in one subject area (i.e., reading/language arts, math, science) and the denominator includes all students assessed in the same subject area.
• LEA calculation: See below

Statewide Alternate Assessment Longitudinal Trend

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Spring 2020 and spring 2021:

pandemic impacted

2022-23SY Alternate Assessment Rate

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Patterns in Yearly Test Assignments

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Orange = Alternate Assessment (only students with IEPs)

Teal = General Education Assessment with or without Accommodations (students with or without IEPs)

Prior Assessment Years/Grades 3-8

Additional Federal Requirements for States and Districts

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LEA Responsibilities

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• LEAs expecting to exceed 1.0% in alternate assessment participation must submit information to the SEA (PED) justifying* the need to exceed 1.0%.
• Include the types of data and processes that the IEP team utilizes to qualify students for the alternate assessment
• Ensure annually that the appropriate test is administered to each student
• Identify if the district needs additional training
• In SY 23-24, explain how the LEA will address any disproportionality, if applicable

*34 CFR 200.6(c)(3)ii-iv requires the state make LEA justifications publicly available.

Alternate Assessment Justification Form

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ALL LEAs: COMPLETE PART A & B:

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PART A: LEA Assurances

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PART B:

1. The LEA’s Prior Year (2022-23) Alternate Assessment Rates

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• The LEA’s Current Year (2023-24) Projected Alternate Assessment Rates

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ONLY LEAs EXCEEDING 1%: PART C

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PART C: LEA’s Justification & Reasoning

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PART D: LEA Identifies Assistance Needed from PED

Justification Survey Completion, Submission, Deadline

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• LEAs must return the Justification Form to PED by: December 15, 2023

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• LEAs will be emailed a Google Forms link to the survey

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• The Form must be signed by the LEA Director of Special Education AND the Superintendent/Charter Leader OR their Designee (e.g., DTC)

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• PED Assessment & Office of Special Education will host a joint office hours / Q & A sessions for LEAs. Please see the DTC Public Training Calendar.

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Criteria for Alternate Assessment Placement

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Three Criteria for Most Significantly Cognitively Disabled

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The student requires extensive, direct, repeated and individualized instruction and substantial supports to measure gains; not just temporary or transient; use of adaptive materials and individualized methods; across multiple settings.

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Diagnostic Evaluation

Assignment of Alternate Standards

Instructional Program

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Three Participation Criteria for

Dynamic Learning Maps Assessment

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DLM Participation Guidelines

State Definition: MSCD

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In alignment of the 2015 ESEA reauthorization, PED’s Office of Special Education provided LEAs with a definition for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in August of 2023.

Criteria 1 - Most Significant Cognitive Disability

Definition: Part A

A. For a local education agency to classify a student as having a most significant cognitive disability, all of the following must be true:

1. Student is already determined eligible for special education and has an IEP;
2. Student demonstrates cognitive functioning and adaptive behavior which are significantly below age expectations even with program modifications and accommodations (typically characterized as having IQ or adaptive behavior scores 2.5 or more standard deviations below the mean);
3. Student requires intensive, repeated, and direct individualized instruction and substantial supports in order to learn and generalize academic, functional, and adaptive behavior skills across multiple settings;
4. Student requires substantial modifications to access the general education curriculum; and
5. Student has a disability that results in dependence on others for meeting their daily living needs and they are expected to require considerable ongoing support into adulthood.

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Criteria 1 - Most Significant Cognitive Disability

Definition: Part B

B. A local education agency shall not classify a student as having a most significant cognitive disability based solely on:

1. Disability classification;
2. Below grade level academic achievement;
3. Expected poor performance on the general assessment;
4. Anticipated impact of student’s scores on accountability system;
5. Anticipated disruptive behavior if student takes general assessment;
6. Poor attendance;
7. English learner status; or
8. Need for accommodations to participate in the general assessment.

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Criteria 2: Assignment of Alternate Standards

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Students who have been identified by the IEP Team (as documented in the IEP) as a student with a most significant cognitive disability must be instructed using the state’s alternate standards, the Essential Elements.

Criteria 2: Essential Elements

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Criteria 3: Instructional Support

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DLM Student Instructional Supports

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1. The student requires extensive direct individualized instruction and substantial supports to achieve measurable goals in the grade-and age-appropriate curriculum;

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2. The student requires extensive, repeated, individualized instruction and support that is not of a temporary or transient nature; and

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3. The student uses substantially adapted materials and individualized methods of accessing information in alternative ways to acquire, maintain, generalize, demonstrate, and transfer skills across multiple settings.

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Other Options for Students

If a student does not meet the three (3) criteria for alternate test assignment, then they would be placed into the general education assessments (i.e., MSSA, ASR, SAT School Day) with appropriate accommodations.

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Examples of Accommodations, Accessibility Features, and Universal Design:

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• ASL Videos
• Basic Scientific Calculator
• Text to Speech
• Work Prediction
• Answer Masking
• Color Contrast
• Answer Eliminator
• Bookmark

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• Expand Passage
• Line Reader
• Notepad
• Pop-Up Glossary
• Reference Sheet
• Ruler
• Sketch Tool
• Text Highlighter
• Zoom (magnifier)

Federal IDEA Guidelines Regarding Alternate Assessment

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IDEA Sec.300.160 Participation in Assessments:

• For assessing the academic progress of students with disabilities under Title I of the ESEA, the alternate assessments and guidelines in paragraph © (1) of this section must provide for alternate assessments that:

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• (i) Are Aligned with the State’s challenging academic content standards (Essential Elements) and challenging student academic achievement standards;

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• (ii) If the State has adopted alternate academic achievement standards permitted in 34 CFR 200.1 (d), measure the achievement of children with the most significant cognitive disabilities against those standards; and

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• (iii) Except as provided in paragraph © (2) (ii) of this section, a State's alternate assessments, if any, must measure the achievement of children with disabilities against the State’s grade-level academic achievement standards, consistent with 34 CFR 200.6(a)(2)(ii)(A).

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DLM First Contact Survey

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• First Contact Survey (FCS) must be completed for all students.

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• DLM assessment can not be administered until the PNP/FCS are done.

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• Deadline: November 15th each year

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Key Elements in the First Contact Survey:

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• Special Education Services
• Educational Placement
• Sensory Capabilities
• Vision
• Motor Capabilities and Health
• Computer Instruction
• Expressive Communication
• Language
• Receptive Communication
• Academic Skills
• Reading Skills
• Writing Skills
• Math Skills

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New Mexico PED Assessment Accessibility and Accommodations Manual: 2023-24

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Accommodations Manual Locations

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New PED Assessment Accommodations Manual

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Important Features

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New Sections for Each Assessment

• NM MSSA/iMSSA
• NM ASR
• DLM
• SAT School Day
• Istation
• English Language Learner Highlights
• WIDA/ACCESS
• WIDA/Alternate ACCESS
• Avant Stamp

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Overview of Each Assessment

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Accommodations Charts

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Special Instructions

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Embedded in Platform Clarifications

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Resources

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Questions

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NMPED Contacts

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Assessment Policy

Lynn Vásquez

Director

lynn.vasquez@ped.nm.us

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DLM & Testing Accommodations

Margenia Davis

DLM Assessment Coordinator

margenia.davis@ped.nm.gov

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Students with Disabilities Policy, Definition of Most Significant Cognitive Disability, IEP Addendum

Lorie Pacheco

Education Administrator

PED Office of Special Education

lorie.pacheco@ped.nm.gov