Texas has become the first state to have its “alternate assessment aligned to modified academic-achievement standards” pass the U.S. Department of Education’s peer-review process, and can now officially use the test for accountability purposes under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Known as an AA-MAAS, such an assessment is part of the “2 percent flexibility” announced under former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to measure the content knowledge of some students with disabilities who do not have severe cognitive disabilities, but require an assessment different from the kind given to their peers.
There is no limit to the number of students who can be assessed using this form of test, but only 2 percent of proficient scores can be factored into NCLB decisions on adequate yearly progress.
