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The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently released non-regulatory guidance on Alternate Achievement Standards for Students with the Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities. This guidance is a supplement to the Department's regulations released December 9, 2003. It does not address the recently proposed "2 percent" policy or the issue of "modified" achievement standards. The guidance provides States with detailed information about how best to use and implement alternate achievement standards.
The purpose of the December 9, 2003 regulation was to ensure that students with the most significant cognitive disabilities are fully included in State accountability systems and have access to challenging instruction linked to State content standards. Several critical elements in Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), are designed to ensure that schools are held accountable for educational results so that each and every student can achieve to high standards. State assessments are the NCLB mechanism for determining whether schools have been successful in teaching students the knowledge and skills defined by the content standards. States are required to hold all students to the same standards, except that the December 9, 2003 regulation permits States to measure the achievement of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities based on alternate achievement standards.
The guidance can be viewed online [PDF]. To view the regulations, visit ED's Web site. For additional information, please contact Catherine D. Clarke, ASHA's Director of Education and Regulatory Advocacy, via e-mail at idea@asha.org or by phone at 800-498-2071, ext. 4159.
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