Publications & Resources

Assessing Students With Disabilities: Issues and Evidence

Jan 2003

Daniel M. Koretz and Karen Barton

Until recently, many students with disabilities were excluded from large-scale assessments, such as those mandated by states. Recent federal and state policy initiatives, including the most recent reauthorization of IDEA, require that the large majority of students with disabilities be included in the statewide assessments used in accountability systems. Most observers agree that educational outcomes for students with disabilities were inadequate before the new policies were implemented; however, the research undergirding the new policies is limited. The reforms have spurred a rapid increase in relevant research, but more and improved research is needed. This paper reviews the status of research on some classification and assessment issues that are central to the new reforms and recommends directions for future research.

Koretz, D. M., & Barton, K. (2003). Assessing students with disabilities: Issues and evidence (CSE Report 587). Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST).