State Report Card:
Curriculum and Instruction

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Students with Disabilities

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Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities
WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT

The Assessment graphs on page 1 are similar to Learning and Achievement: Assessments. They depict the assessment scores on the last three years of NECAP tests for elementary schools and middle schools and the 2006-07 NSREs for high schools. These particular bar graphs show the results only for students with disabilities who are enrolled in public schools.

“Students with disabilities” includes both those students receiving special-education services through Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs) and students with 504 Plans.

The 100-point scale represents 100% of public-school students with disabilities who participated in the state assessments. For the elementary schools and the middle schools, the section of each bar above the dividing line shows the percentage of all students with disabilities who achieved proficiency. For the high schools, the numbers in the box below each bar show the percentage of all students with disabilities who achieved the standard.

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

You are hoping to see that all students with disabilities have met or exceeded the state standard or have reached proficiency. The standard is the same for all students statewide—whether or not they have disabilities.

In addition, you would like to see that students with disabilities had about the same proficiency level (percent proficient) as students in the state as a whole. If the proficiency level (percent proficient) for any category of student falls significantly below the statewide average for proficiency, then there is an “equity gap” for that category. These gaps must be closed.

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Characteristics of the Student Population in Rhode Island

The top two pie charts on page 2 present information about the characteristics of the student population in Rhode Island. The first chart shows what percentage of Rhode Island students have disabilities; it also shows that among those students with disabilities, what percentage have Individual Education Programs and what percentage have 504 Plans. The second chart shows demographic information about the state’s students with disabilities who have IEPs.

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Percent Proficient by Category of Students with Disabilities

The tables on page 2 show test results for two categories of students with disabilities—students receiving special-education services (IEPs) and students with 504 Plans—plus an aggregate of the test results for all students with disabilities. The information is presented by school level: elementary schools (tested grades 3-5), middle schools (tested grades 6-8), and high schools (tested grade 11).

The tables show, for each category of student, what percentage attained proficiency (reached the standard) on the NECAP exams for elementary schools and middle schools and the New Standards Reference Exams for high schools.
The tables also show the total number of students, including those with and without disabilities, eligible to take the state assessments.

Note: The number of eligible students may vary slightly from test to test; the numbers displayed in these tables are for the mathematics tests.

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Dropout/Graduation Rates for Students with Disabilities
WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT

The lower two pie charts on page 2 show the dropout/graduation rates for students with disabilities and for all students in the state. The graduation rate is the inverse of the dropout rate; together, they total 100%, accounting for all (high school) students in each of the categories.

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

The state’s goal for 2007 was a 75.3% graduation rate; the long-term goal is a 95% graduation rate (5% dropout rate) or better for all high schools. In addition, the dropout rate for students with disabilities should not be significantly higher than the dropout rate for all high-school students; if it is significantly higher, an “equity gap” exists within the state’s dropout rate.

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Alternate Assessment Performance
WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT

The charts on page 3 show the results of the state’s Alternate Assessments in 2006-07. These assessments are designed to evaluate the progress and programs of students with the most severe and profound disabililities, accounting for approximately 1% of the total student population.

Most children with disabilities take the regular state tests, with varying degrees of accommodations, depending on their Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan. About 1 of 100 children in the state has a severe or profound disability and is therefore unable to participate in the standard testing process. These students take the Alternate Assessment, a series of portfolio entries. These items are based on the Rhode Island content standards, as are the NECAP assessments. They also have goals that are agreed upon by the student’s IEP and caregivers.

The portfolio might include such items as samples of student work, captioned pictures, scripted videotape, or data from the teacher. The teacher develops these portfolios over time, not during a scheduled testing period. Each portfolio is evaluated by two trained scorers, using 27 standards derived and adapted from the NECAP and NSRE tests and 3 more standards addressing life skills appropriate to the child with severe disabilities.

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

You are hoping to see that all students who participated in the Alternate Assessment Program achieved the standard, and thereby met the proficiency goals set forth for them.

The Alternate Assessments provide information to the state, district, and school about the performance of students with severe disabilities and their programs; these assessments give parents and caregivers standardized, clear measures of student progress.

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