The National Study on Alternate Assessments
(NSAA) was mandated by Section 664(c) of
the Individuals With Disabilities Education
Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA). Specifically,
the law called for a “Study on Ensuring
Accountability for Students Who Are Held
to Alternative Achievement Standards” The alternate assessment arena is rapidly
evolving across the 50 states and the
District of Columbia, reflecting the states’
responses to legislative, regulatory, technical,
and methodological developments in the
assessment of students with significant
cognitive disabilities for federal, state, and
local accountability purposes. NSAA is
examining alternate assessment systems
during this period of rapid evolution using two
primary data collection methods: document
analysis and data verification activities in
50 states and the District of Columbia, and
teacher surveys in selected states.