Inclusion StudyPercentages of Students with Disabilities

The decision about whether a student with disabilities is included in NAEP is made by a school staff member most knowledgeable about the student.  A student with disabilities is assumed to be able to participate in NAEP if he or she participated in the state assessment in the selected subject and can participate with accommodations allowed by NAEP. Schools are encouraged to have students with disabilities participate whenever possible.

The following tables capture the percentages of public school students nationally with disabilities who were identified and assessed by NAEP in mathematics and reading from 2005-2009:

Percentage of public school students with disabilities who are not English language learners and are identified and assessed in mathematics: 2005, 2007, and 2009

Percentage of public school students with disabilities who are not English language learners and are identified and assessed in reading: 2005, 2007, and 2009

Variation in Inclusion by Student Type

There are many reasons why NAEP inclusion rates might vary. Some students are more difficult to assess than others, and if the percentage of such students increases, one would expect the inclusion rate to correspondingly decrease.  Some measures that indicate whether it might be difficult to assess a student's performance on NAEP are: the student's disability type, the severity level of the student's disabilities, and whether or not the student received accommodation on the state assessment that is not allowed on NAEP.

The first two tables below provide average inclusion rates nationally among public schools for students with specific types of disabilities and other characteristics for the states in the NAEP mathematics and reading assessments for 2009. The third and fourth tables provide the range of these percentages among the states as well as the national average in the NAEP mathematics and reading assessments for 2005, 2007, and 2009:

Percentage of public school students with disabilities who are not English language learners and are included on the assessment, by characteristic, in NAEP mathematics: 2009

Percentage of public school students with disabilities who are not English language learners and are included on the assessment, by characteristic, in NAEP reading: 2009