Graduation Year
2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
Curriculum and Instruction
Major Professor
Ann Cranston-Gringas, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Jeanie Kleinhammer Tramil, Ph.D.
Committee Member
William Black, Ph.D.
Committee Member
David Lamb, Ph.D.
Keywords
alternate assessment, assessment participation, IDEA
Abstract
Participation of students in standardized testing has been a long-debated topic in the field of education since the beginning of accountability movements. Federal laws require that all students in the public school system in grades 3 -8 and high school participate in these assessments. Monitoring of participation on these assessments is a requirement of a state’s annual reporting across many identifying categories. One such category is students with disabilities identified under the IDEA (2004). Within those students identified as having a disability is a small population of students with a “most significant cognitive disability.” This population of students participates in an Alternate Assessment determined by a team of professionals within the course of an Individual Education Program (IEP) meeting. Concerns over increasing participation on the Alternate Assessment and potential misidentification of students to participate in these assessments triggered a response from federal education agencies to strengthen regulations specific to the alternate assessment. This study examines the influence of federal regulatory policies on participation rates of students on Alternate Assessments and the use of an Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) waiver to shape state-level participation policies.
Scholar Commons Citation
Arner, Justin N., "The ESEA Waiver from the 1.0 Percent Threshold and Participation Rates in State Assessments." (2022). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10277
