Alternate assessments are designed to evaluate the progress of students who are unable to participate in regular assessments, even with accommodations. For many students with disabilities, alternate assessments are the only appropriate way to evaluate how much they know, have learned, or can do. The IDEA requires that this alternative be available to students who need it, as decided by their IEP teams.
When an IEP team determines that a statewide or districtwide assessment is not appropriate for a specific student, they must include in that student's IEP:
- An explanation as to why the regular general assessment is not appropriate for the student, and
- A description of how the student will be assessed instead.
While an important topic in its own right, alternate assessments are beyond the scope of this Evidence for Education. However, not to leave you in the lurch, should information on this topic be appropriate to your student, we would like to refer you to the following resources on alternate assessment.